DLA Piper

Combining deep retail experience with legal insights

Retail continues to experience disruption. In this complex, challenging environment, we anticipate legal problems, advise on new and emerging trends, and understand what regulators and industry professionals are thinking. Our focus is on helping you to identify and benefit from opportunities to adapt and change.

We advise many of the world’s leading organizations in this competitive sector. We understand how our clients’ businesses work, providing commercially minded solutions.

Our experience includes representing luxury designers, emerging talent, supermarket chains, and general retailers. Our clients work online, in physical premises, and a combination of the two.

We also help businesses who want to grow and expand into new product lines and territories, bringing experience of the regulatory regimes in all jurisdictions.

“First, we have many years’ experience advising retail and fashion clients of all sizes, in local markets and globally, across all legal and business matters.”

This is a fast-evolving sector. Consumers are more powerful than ever, brand loyalty is declining, and omnichannel retailing is a reality. Experiential shopping has been called ‘the future of retail’. The need for greater sustainability and transparency, the dominance of e-commerce, the impact of technologies like AI, and trends such as social currency have to be accounted for. These trends are reshaping our world. We can help you to adapt, change, and evolve.

The quality of our legal advice is founded on three factors. First, we have many years’ experience advising retail and fashion clients of all sizes, in local markets and globally, across all legal and business matters. Second, we are committed to providing a seamless client-focused service. And third, we can help you to navigate your way through new retail and fashion opportunities.

Awards and recognition

Experience

Advising Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE: FL) in its USD360 million acquisition of Text Trading Company, which owns and licenses the atmos brand, a digitally-led, global retailer of premium sneakers and apparel headquartered in Japan.
Advising fashion retailer H&M Group on significant partnerships with Lightsource bp, one of the largest solar developers in the world, and Matrix Renewables, a Madrid-based global renewable energy platform. These long-term partnerships will help to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global fashion industry and the transition to renewable energy.
Advising Lululemon athletica in expanding the scope and strength of its intellectual property portfolio, on employee benefits and equity compensation awards worldwide, as well as other guidelines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advising The Hut Group in relation to a number of arrangements concerning its operation of over 100 international e-commerce websites selling consumer goods direct to consumers.
Advising Manolo Blahnik, the world-famous shoe designer and founder of the eponymous luxury brand on his successful re-trial application before China’s Supreme People’s Court (Supreme Court), following a long-running trademark dispute in China which lasted more than 20 years.
Advised specialist retail investor Alteri Partners LLP (“Alteri“) in relation to its significant investment into Missguided Limited; all aspects of legal due diligence, acquisition structure, contingency planning and financing and security advice
Advising iconic British clothing brand on the manufacture under license by Interparfums of its fragrance range and Luxottica of its sunglasses range.
Advising major fashion houses on limitation and impacts of sustainability claims and communication of environmentally friendly statements.
Advising AllSaints Retail, across multiple practices and geographies on a number of strategic technology and commercial transactions, including advising on a number of wholesale and concession arrangements, logistics arrangements, brand licenses and strategic engagements with advertising and marketing partners. We have also provided HR and data protection advice and supported a regulatory review.