Consumer Products
& Retail
Our Consumer Products & Retail practice represents many of the world’s biggest retailers, e-commerce companies and retail-focused investment firms in their most complex, high-value transactions, challenging commercial disputes, high-stakes product liability, mass torts and consumer class actions, and business-critical restructuring matters. We represent many of the largest big-box conglomerates as well as the most well-known consumer brands in the world across a wide range of sectors, including luxury fashion, consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, and sports and entertainment.
Our transactional practice, including a deep bench of highly experienced M&A, finance, securities, tax and intellectual property lawyers, advise retail clients on the full range of transactions, including strategic acquisitions and divestitures, joint ventures, capital markets transactions and IP asset management. We have significant experience representing private equity firms in all aspects of their retail acquisitions, divestitures and other transactions. We are also skilled at guiding retail clients through the intricacies of cross-border deals, and have extensive experience navigating antitrust and regulatory terrain in the U.S. and EU. The team has handled numerous multibillion-dollar deals for major companies in the retail space, including Amazon, Casey’s General Stores, the Estée Lauder Companies, General Mills, Kate Spade & Co. and Shopify, among many others.
Our litigators combine deep industry knowledge, trial-tested skills, and strategic judgment to help our clients navigate evolving legal and regulatory challenges. We have extensive experience in complex and large-scale product liability, mass torts and consumer class actions; copyright, trademark, false advertising and unfair practice claims brought by competitors, regulators and consumers; securities litigation; employment claims; and commercial disputes with suppliers, distributors licensors, franchisees and other business partners. Among other highlights, we are lead counsel to Amazon in several antitrust lawsuits targeting Amazon’s core fair-pricing policy; we are lead trial counsel to Johnson & Johnson in product liability litigation related to its talcum-based baby powder products; and we have secured favorable results for Duracell, Gianni Versace, Kraft Heinz, LVMH and the founder of lululemon athletica.
“When you need to get something done expertly, Paul Weiss's team always delivers.”
- Chambers USA
Recognition
The Fashion Law: Top U.S. Law Firm for Retail CompaniesÂ
- Chambers USA: a leading firm in Retail: Â鶹ĘÓƵ & Transactional for the past seven years
- Recognized by the China Business Law Journal as an international law firm winner in seven award categories, including Consumer and Retail
- Awarded “Consumer, Retail, Food & Beverage Deal of the Year (Large Cap)” for Roark-backed Inspire Brands’ acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands by The Deal
Recent Engagements
Transactional and Restructuring
- 3G Capital on its acquisition of Skechers U.S.A., the world’s third-largest footwear company with $9 billion in annual sales; and in its $7.1 billion acquisition of Hunter Douglas
- Amazon in its $1.4 billion proposed acquisition of iRobot and $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical
- Casey’s General Stores in its $1.145 billion acquisition of Fikes Wholesale, owner of CEFCO Convenience Stores
- Chico’s FAS in its $1 billion sale to Sycamore Partners
- The Estée Lauder Companies in its $2.8 billion acquisition of the Tom Ford brand
- General Mills in its $1.45 billion acquisition of Whitebridge Pet Brands’ North American premium Cat feeding and Pet treating business from NXMH
- GSK in its $2 billion acquisition of BELLUS Health; up-to-$50 million acquisition of Elsie Biotechnologies; and acquisition of CMG1A46 from Chimagen Biosciences
- Inspire Brands, a Roark Capital Group portfolio company, in its $11.3 billion acquisition of Dunkin’ Brands Group, the parent company of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins; and in its acquisition of a majority interest in Jimmy John’s Sandwiches
- Kate Spade & Co. in its $2.4 billion sale to Coach
- The Kraft Heinz Company in its $3.2 billion sale of its natural, grated, cultured and specialty cheese businesses to Groupe Lactalis; and proposed $143 billion acquisition of Unilever
- ˛Ńł¦¶Ů´Ç˛Ô˛ą±ô»ĺ’s in its successful proxy contest against Carl Icahn
- Merck & Co. in its $11.5 billion acquisition of Acceleron Pharma; and its $10.8 billion acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences
- Restaurant Brands International in its $1 billion acquisition of Firehouse Restaurant Group and its $1 billion acquisition of Carrols Restaurant Group
- Revlon and certain of its subsidiaries in their chapter 11 cases in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
- Roark Capital Group in numerous transactions, including its acquisition of Subway Restaurants and its investment in The Cheesecake Factory
- An ad hoc group of first lien lenders of Serta Simmons Bedding in connection with the chapter 11 cases filed by the company and its affiliates
- Shopify in its $2.1 billion acquisition of Deliverr
- Simon Property Group in its approximately $9 billion acquisition of Taubman Centers
- Starbucks Corporation in the activist campaign by Elliott Management and its successful proxy contest against the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions
Litigation
- Amazon in the complete dismissal, with prejudice, of a class action lawsuit filed in the Western District of Washington alleging that Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm is biased, causing consumers to overpay for products by favoring higher-priced offers from Amazon Retail and third-party sellers using Amazon’s fulfillment service, in violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act
- Duracell in a false advertising dispute with its main competitor, Energizer, regarding allegations made by each company that the other made false and misleading claims in advertising and packaging for their premium household batteries. Following Duracell’s countersuit, the parties reached a settlement agreement and the complaints were subsequently dismissed without prejudice
- Gianni Versace, S.r.l., one of the most recognized and influential fashion brands in the world, in securing the favorable settlement of a copyright, trademark and trade dress dispute with “fast-fashion” e-commerce company FashionNova concerning FashionNova’s alleged copying and sale of products that violated Versace’s exclusive registered copyrights, trademarks and distinctive trade dresses
- Johnson & Johnson as trial counsel in product liability litigation where the plaintiffs alleged that J&J’s talcum-based baby powder products contained asbestos that caused the plaintiffs to develop mesothelioma
- LVMH in expedited litigation in the Delaware Court of Chancery concerning LVMH’s proposed $16.2 billion acquisition of luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co., asserting that a material adverse effect had occurred since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The parties settled prior to trial, with LVMH agreeing to purchase Tiffany at price below the initial per-share offer
- The founder of lululemon athletica in the dismissal of a securities class action and derivative litigation alleging the company had omitted to disclose deficiencies in the company’s quality control procedures
- The RealReal in a dispute brought by luxury fashion brand Chanel asserting false advertising and trademark infringement claims arising out of TRR’s sale of allegedly counterfeit Chanel handbags and TRR’s advertising claims regarding the authenticity of its products
- Sony Interactive Entertainment in the successful settlement of a class action antitrust litigation accusing Sony of monopolizing the market for digital PlayStation games
