Business
NRF and RILA asked appeals court to overturn federal judge’s approval of controversial lawsuit settlement over Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees
WASHINGTON, 2014-6-17 — /EPR Retail News/ — The National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association today asked an appeals court to overturn a federal judge’s approval of a controversial lawsuit settlement over Visa and MasterCard’s credit card swipe fees, saying it was negotiated by only a handful of merchants and would do nothing to bring the fees under control.
“The truth is that there is no settlement with the retail industry, only an agreement with a handful of merchants who do not represent the industry as a whole,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said. “Given that the judge knew this backroom deal was opposed by a broad range of small and large retailers alike and allows these fees to continue to skyrocket, it clearly should never have been approved. This is a serious mistake the appellate court needs to correct.”
“The retail community remains fully committed to fighting this flawed settlement and addressing the fundamental lack of competition in the electronic payments market,” RILA Executive Vice President and General Counsel Deborah White said. “Quite simply, the proposed settlement not only undermines merchants’ legal rights and fails to restrain Visa and MasterCard’s ability to increase swipe fees with impunity, but it also has broad implications on the rights of others in future meritorious class action cases.”
Both organizations filed notices of appeal with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York earlier this year, and followed up today with a joint brief asking the court to overturn a December 13, 2013, ruling by U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson.
“A broad cross section of the American retail industry numbering thousands of businesses from iconic national department store chains and general merchandise chains to apparel outlets, specialty shops, restaurants and one-location Main Street stores thoughtfully analyzed the settlement and concluded that it offers them no benefit,” the brief said. “While a settlement this skewed was bound to be unpopular, the extent of dissatisfaction within the retail industry has been extraordinary.”
“Approval of a mandatory settlement of such breathtaking scope in the face of widespread and substantive objection is unprecedented and warrants reversal,” the brief said.
The district court approved the antitrust settlement even though NRF, RILA and other opponents argued for more than a year that it failed to reform the price-fixing system under which Visa and MasterCard set fees for credit cards issued by thousand of banks. Rather than lower the fees, the card companies proposed in the settlement that they be passed along to consumers as a surcharge. Major retailers rejected the surcharge proposal, saying it was the opposite of what they had sought.
The 2005 lawsuit was brought by 19 retailers and trade associations, but 10 of the plaintiffs, including all of the associations, rejected the settlement when it was unveiled in 2012. Neither NRF nor RILA was a plaintiff in the case but both have argued against it because its class-action status would impose its terms on thousands of their members. Today’s brief noted that 19 percent of merchants by card volume formally objected to the settlement and that 25 percent opted out, amounting to a “Who’s Who of American merchants.”
The settlement would grant only pennies on the dollar compared with overcharges the lawsuit claimed and small retailers would see as little as a few hundred dollars each. Retailers who reject the monetary settlement would still be bound by other restrictions the court would not allow them to opt out of, including a prohibition on future lawsuits over the fees.
The brief cited a number of legal errors in the decision, including failure to adequately balance the monetary relief against the requirement to give up future legal claims, dismissing “substantive and thoughtful” opposition and ignoring a court-appointed expert’s opinion that the proposal for surcharging was of “uncertain” value that would “have only a small impact” on swipe fees.
Swipe fees are charged to merchants by banks to process credit card purchases and average about 2 percent of the transaction. They have tripled over the past decade and currently total about $30 billion a year, driving up costs for consumers.
NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s This is Retail campaign highlights the industry’s opportunities for life-long careers, how retailers strengthen communities, and the critical role that retail plays in driving innovation. www.nrf.com
RILA is the trade association of the world’s largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 Trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution center domestically and abroad.
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J. Craig Shearman
(202) 626-8134
press@nrf.com
(855) NRF-Press
GHENT, 14-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Franklin Junction partners with Casper, a modern day food hall offering 100% virtual orders for takeout and delivery, to expand iconic American restaurant brands to Benelux and France. Franklin Junction founder, Rishi Nigam, and Casper founder, Matthias Laga, presented their expansion plans at the recent International Ghost Kitchen Conference in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Franklin Junction has been named to Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for 2023 as they continue to deliver innovative technology solutions for restaurants in the US and now abroad. Leading the way with their proprietary Host Kitchen® model, Franklin Junction has grown into a full suite of solution services to empower restaurant success in the digital age. In 2022, Franklin Junction introduced its AI-powered digital food hall that allows consumers to order food and earn loyalty from multiple concepts in a single transaction and delivery.
“As industry leaders driving the growth of American restaurant brands in new markets, we have received a tremendous amount of interest to expand to the European market for a few years now,” shares Franklin Junction CEO Rishi Nigam. “After getting to know Matthias and the entire Casper team over the past year, we have full confidence that they are a trusted partner to expand globally with and we’re thrilled to bring iconic American fare to new diners across Europe.”
Casper launched in Ghent, Belgium and raised €5 million for their Series A in 2022 with the objective of creating a hybrid restaurant and food hall model where customers can walk-in to place orders for takeout or order through digital channels for delivery. In just a short time, Casper has expanded to over 10 locations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, with an expansion goal of 50 kitchens by 2024.
“We’re very excited to partner with Franklin Junction and begin by introducing Nathan’s Famous’ authentic New York flavors to our European customers in the coming weeks,” states Matthias Laga, Co-founder and CEO of Casper. “Franklin Junction uniquely understands restaurants, multi-concept food halls, and restaurant eCommerce and their proprietary processes are extremely virtuous for all stakeholders.”
SOURCE: EuropaWire
The Retailer will interview CEOs, influencers, and professional athletes on a weekly basis
New York, New York, USA, 2022-Dec-23 — /EPR Network/ — coop & spree, the New York City based contemporary retailer, has launched a podcast called coop convos, which is all things business, retail, sports and wellness. Coop convos is hosted by coop & spree CEO and founder, Brooke S. Richman, who will interview various business leaders, tastemakers, and influencers in their aforementioned industries. Since Richman is an avid New York Knicks Fan (the Spree in coop & spree comes from her childhood pup’s name which paid homage to former Knick, Latrell Sprewell), she’s even interviewed and secured some former NBA stars.
The Podcast is available on over 10 platforms, and the first episode will likely air February 1st, 202 depending on the rifting process. To date, Richman has secured over 35 prestigious guests and has already recorded episodes with Stephanie Gottlieb, founder of Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry, Dale Stabler, wellness entrepreneur and co-founder of Sweats + The City, co-founder of the Orro + Theheard apps, and Allan Houston, the 2x NBA All-Star for the New York Knicks, Olympic Gold Medalist, and founder of FISLL,
Notable confirmed guests include Emily Faith Strauss, founder and designer of EF Collection, Helen Hall-Leland, CEO of Blender Bombs and Hustle Smoothie Bar, Alexa Leigh Meyer Mufson, founder and designer of Alexa Leigh, and John Wallace, former NBA star, current investor, philanthropist and New York Knick radio host.
During the start of the pandemic in March 2020, Richman moved temporarily from her NYC apartment to her childhood home in Greenwich, CT, where she learned how to code and created her e-comm website, coopandspreevip.com. Since her Elizabeth Street store in NYC was closed due to the pandemic, she had all her vendors ship her orders to her CT home where she fulfilled them. When she wasn’t opening new merchandise or packaging her clients’ orders, she would use Instagram live as a way to engage with her coop & spree audience, since she no longer could interact with them in person. She decided to start interviewing different designers and influencers, many of whom she knew and many of whom she had never met, and she absolutely loved it. So did her audience. It turned into a weekly tradition and the rest, as they say, is history. Not only did these weekly IG TV “interviews” create much needed connection at a time of unprecedented isolation, but also, they provided Richman, and coop & spree, with a new way of engaging with both customers and vendors.
Coop convos has the same format as Richman’s IG lives, where Richman focuses on each guest’s career path and personal story, in a relaxed format, that seems less like an interview and more like two old friends catching up. While the Podcast’s main goal is to provide valuable and informative insights and resources to those specifically interested in entrepreneurship, retail, sports, and wellness, Richman promises it’s also filled with lighthearted banter and just the right number of laughs.
WEBSITES:
coopandspreevip.com
coopconvos.com
FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM:
@coopandspree
@coop_convos
ABOUT COOP & SPREE
coop & spree, the brainchild of founder and CEO Brooke S. Richman, first opened in August 2014 in downtown New York City’s Nolita neighborhood as a multi-brand contemporary women’s apparel, accessory, and jewelry boutique. While it was solely brick-and-mortar by design when it opened, coop & spree had to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now a full-fledged omni-channel retailer with over 70 brands. It operates both a physical store in New York City’s NoHoc neighborhood, via appointment only, and has an e-commerce shopping site. In addition to selling women’s contemporary apparel, accessories, and jewelry, coop & spree has expanded its product offering to include an extensive assortment of children’s apparel and accessories, health and wellness products, paper goods, novelty items and more. coop & spree was just listed this month as a winner on the Inc. Magazine’s Best of Business 2022 list in the “Lean and Mean” category due to its unwavering commitment to philanthropy, specifically to NYC based non-profits which help underprivileged youths in NYC. It’s been featured in publications such as Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times, US Weekly, Huffington Post, Business Insider and more.
For media inquires:
media@coopandspree.com
NICOSIA, Cyprus, 2022-Sep-28 — /EPR Network/ — ContactPigeon, one of the leading omnichannel customer engagement platforms for retailers in Europe and the USA, expands its operations in Cyprus. By building up a special team of professionals that will be based in the neighboring country, ContactPigeon will be providing its customer engagement services to its cross-industry clients that are operating there. With this expansion, the Greek startup aims to consolidate its reach to the thriving Cyprus market.
Furthermore, ContactPigeon becomes an official sponsor for the 14th e-Commerce Conference that took place in Nicosia, Cyprus on the 20th of September 2022.
The E-Commerce Conference by IMH is a benchmark for the e-commerce industry in Cyprus. With industry experts as keynote speakers and leading businesses as sponsors and participants, the conference presents the upcoming, international trends in the e-commerce sector as well as case studies that provide attendees with valuable knowledge and insights. The 14th E-Commerce Conference is addressed to entrepreneurs, Commercial Managers, Marketing & Communication and advertising professionals, Digital Managers, and also those who are interested to start operating in the e-Commerce sector.
This year, the participants had the opportunity to meet with ContactPigeon members at its booth and learn about the company’s activities and the benefits of its omnichannel customer engagement platform.
About ContactPigeon
ContactPigeon empowers marketing leaders and business owners with the only omnichannel customer engagement platform built for retailers. The platform is designed to deliver perfectly timed and personalized messages for each customer, regardless of whether the point of contact is offline or online. The company has been awarded numerous industry awards and distinctions since 2015 and is also a member of the Pledge 1% corporate philanthropy movement. Its client base consists of hundreds of retailers in Europe and the USA such as Fujitsu, Tommy Hilfiger, GAP, and L’OREAL.
Contacts
Anna Fotopoulou
Content Marketing Coordinator
+30 211 8006178
marketing@contactpigeon.com
www.contactpigeon.com
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