Retail Bites

Tuesday 6th October 2015

In case you missed them, a round-up of interesting retail related stories from the last week or so.

Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 took effect on 1 October, and is a landmark in the field of consumer law.  It covers consumer rights and remedies for the sale of goods and services and, for the first time, the supply of digital goods and services. It also contains reforms of the law on unfair terms in consumer contracts.  The links below show some of the key questions which retailers should consider to ensure that their terms and conditions are compliant with the changes.

If you would like to discuss then please contact Andy Brian or another member of our Commercial department.

Guest editor Andrew Thornton on food waste, the living wage and Booker (membership needed)

A few interesting points made by Andrew Thornton when guest editing the Grocer. He points out that the race to the bottom on price could have serious effects on the quality of food the consumer can buy. A fair point and one which could be expanded upon. Suppliers may cut corners to lower the prices of their goods, but suppliers may also face decreasing and unsustainable margins as the grocery price war continues – the effect could be suppliers cutting corners, suppliers going out of business and suppliers refusing to invest in new products/production methods. The net result of this is likely to be reduced competition and increasing prices in the long run.

Aldi to launch online sales in UK

Aldi knows, as everyone does that online grocery is growing quicker than anything else in the grocery sector. 15% in the last quarter. That is why Aldi is looking at online deliveries of wine and non-food now. Moving to online is, however, dangerous territory for Aldi and Lidl. The cost base is what make those retailers appealing. Moving online could undermine the model of those businesses. And, online, sku count means a great deal.

Single Use Plastic Bags – a load of old rubbish but beware 5th October 2015

With effect from 5 October retailers with over 250 full time equivalent employees will have to charge their customers a minimum of 5p for each single use plastic bag supplied to them,  unless that bag is exempt.  Our Regulatory Partner, Dan Stowers, provides some further detail.

Ocado to create almost 2,000 jobs by Christmas

Will Ocado begin to sell Carrefour’s or another foreign grocer’s products? It would be an easy way into the market and Carrefour, as the fourth largest retailer in the world, probably wants a slice of the £178B UK grocery market.

If you would like to discuss any of these Retail Bites in further detail, please contact our retail experts, Andy Brian on 0113 227 0354 or at andy.brian@gordonsllp.com or Mark Jones on 0113 227 0297 or at mark.jones@gordonsllp.com.