Happy new year to everyone and welcome to another year on the rollercoaster of change in Retail and Consumer!

2018 will see an ever more demanding regulatory environment, with changes increasing the cost base, infrastructure requirements, risks of penalty and disclosure requirements.

And of course consumer engagement and technological enablement will continue to move at a rapid rate, with particular opportunities, and challenges, in digital engagement and payment platforms.

As the Christmas and New Year headlines have already shown market conditions present unprecedented challenges for retailers and inevitably more will fail to meet those challenges. As always however, well-prepared businesses with great products and a clear engagement strategy will continue to prosper and to find new consumers.

This month's articles

Launch of our new Retail & Consumer Horizon Scanner

Click here for our 2018 Horizon Scanner to help you plan your navigation of the year ahead and we very much look forward to talking further with you about your opportunities and challenges.

Food Manufacturers targeted by HSE for Proactive Inspections in 2018

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have announced a new nationwide campaign of proactive inspections into health and safety standards across the food manufacturing industry.

The programme of unannounced inspections began on 2 January and will focus on the two main causes of ill health in the sector; occupational asthma from exposure to flour dust in bakeries, cake and biscuit manufacturers and grain mills and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).

The purpose of the inspections is to ensure measures are being taken by those responsible to protect workers against health risks and the HSE will not hesitate to use enforcement to bring about improvements.

In response to the announcement, we would urge companies and people working in food manufacturing to ensure that workplace health and safety policies and procedures are up to date and compliant to ensure risks are effectively managed as prosecution by the authorities can lead to conviction and an unlimited fine.

If you require any assistance or support in relation to the above, please do not hesitate to contact Erin Shoesmith, Head of Health and Safety at Addleshaw Goddard.

Advertising update

In this edition of our Advertising Update, we discuss topics such as gender stereotyping in advertising, Twitter's new Advertising Transparency Centre, broadband speed ads, plus much more.

Read the full article here

Payment Practices Reporting update

All large businesses are now required to report twice a year on how quickly they pay their suppliers. For information on what we can learn from the new figures.

Read the full article here

Events

Retail Travelution 

Cities face major challenges of meeting the mobility demands of a growing population in the context of congested roads and overcrowded public transport systems. The solution may lie partly in working with key sectors that generate transport demand to moderate and manage future demands. We invite you to discuss this issue and contribute your thoughts on the way forward in a participatory event being jointly organised by Addleshaw Goddard LLP and UCL’s Centre for Transport Studies, in collaboration with Transport for London.

London: 23 January 2018
60 Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4AG - Map
RSVP - email

Are you compliant?

To help busy General Counsel and other governance and compliance professionals keep on top of the ever shifting sands of the compliance landscape we've created a programme of seminars and workshops to make sure you're up to speed.  This will be a very practical session, bringing you up to date with changes to the law, but also providing practical advice as to how to maximise compliance within your organisation.  The speaking panel will comprise experts in their respective fields at Addleshaw Goddard and will be chaired by Nichola Peters, our Head of Corporate and Financial Crime, and Will Chalk, our Head of Corporate Governance.

Edinburgh: 29 January 2018
Exchange Tower, 19 Canning Street, Edinburgh EH3 8EH - Map
RSVP – Megan Roughan

Manchester: 8 February 2018
1 St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 3DE - Map
RSVP – Kirsty Travis

Shared IP – an IP/IT Update

Social media platforms provide brands and retailers with unprecedented access to their customers. Maintenance of the brand image, click-through purchasing and links with the right "influencers", can all convert visitors to buyers.  But without the right underlying commercial agreements, use can lead to infringement and exposure.  AG's experts give an overview of the IP related contractual issues which are commonly encountered, and how best to get it right.

London: 20 February 2018
60 Chiswell Street, London, EC1Y 4AG - Map
RSVP - Vivienne Graham

Leeds: 28 February 2018
3 Sovereign Square, Sovereign Street, Leeds, LS1 4ER - Map
RSVP - Sharon Buckle

Manchester: 6 March 2018
1 St Peter's Square, Manchester, M2 3DE - Map
RSVP - Lisa Stansfield

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