Brandt Law PLLC

01/14/2026

Brings back memories of my time as General Counsel at Syms Clothing heading into bankruptcy after its acquisition of Filene's Basement. Good luck to all working their way through this draining process.

Saks Global was close to finalizing a $1.75 billion financing package with creditors that would allow its stores to remain open, two people familiar with the negotiations told Reuters earlier on Tu…

10/20/2025

While Target and Ulta start their conscious uncoupling (set to finish up in 2026), Target is creating a wholesale space for Bombas. As many other DTC companies have done in the past, Bombas is looking to expand its overall presence through brick-and-mortar and wholesale relationships.

08/27/2025

Over the past decade, the conversation around retail and real estate has focused more on LLs partnering with retailers or buying brand IP and, on the other hand, larger retailers engaging in sale leaseback transactions. In a welcomed shift, Dillards is teaming with a real property company to purchase a mall. Each of these moves are proactive steps being taken by companies within the retail industry seeking ways for the retail sector to grow and evolve.

The department store teamed up with mixed-use developer Trademark Property Co. to acquire the 646,000-square-foot Longview Mall in Texas.

08/20/2025

Time to learn a new word "Metroburb."

Learn how the metroburb concept and a TIF transformed an empty AT&T campus into Bell Works Chicagoland, a vibrant suburban mixed-use hub.

08/12/2025

That's a first (at least to me) . . . a church coming to your local mall. For many years, there's been a shift from strict retail to mixing in housing and even warehouses along with experiences such as more restaurants, playgrounds/activities, and gyms. With all of that ongoing innovation, this is the first time I'm reading about a church being one of those added experiences. Maybe Dayton Mall is onto something.

As mall staples like Macy's and Sears close, and Claire's declares bankruptcy, new success is arriving from businesses that lead to retail "cross-shopping."

02/20/2025

Retail has always been about adaptation and evolution. We generally think of it in terms of the aesthetics of fashion. However, this also applies to the business of retail. A year ago, Tapestry and Capri Holdings were looking to merge. Now, due to the FTC block of that transaction, both Tapestry and Capri Holdings have now seemingly turned into sellers. Tapestry is considering a sale of the Stuart Weitzman brand to Caleres while Prada is looking to buy the Versace brand from Capri Holdings.

With the sale to Caleres, "Tapestry’s plans of being a large luxury house are not happening," according to an analyst.

01/14/2025

We spent much of last year discussing mergers that didn't go through such as Tapestry's acquisition of Michael Kors (Capri Holdings), the Kroger/Albertsons Deal, and Mattress Firm's acquisition of Tempur Sealy. In with the new year is a new merger: Sparc Acquisitions (driven mainly by Simon Property Group's brand acquisitions over the past several years) and JC Penny have joined forces to form Catalyst Brands which will hit it operational ground running with 1,800 doors, 60,000 employees and $1Billion in liquidity. Let's see what changes this catalyst triggers for the retail industry.

PLANO, Texas, January 08, 2025--JCPenney and SPARC Group today announced that they have combined to form a new organization, Catalyst Brands, creating an unmatched portfolio of six iconic retail banners that celebrate the essence of American style.

12/30/2024

And the circus continues!! Another court has acted to halt FINCEN's BOIR deadline. Stay tuned. . . .

Three days after a panel of judges granted a government motion to lift the injunction, another panel said it was reinstating a lower court’s ruling. An AICPA statement urged CPAs to be prepared to file BOI reports. A statement by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said that, in light of the ...

12/26/2024

BOI filing requirement under The Corporate Transparency Act is back on. It's delayed a bit but it's back on. FINCEN has pushed the deadline to Jan 13, 2025. I will republish my recent newsletter article explaining the process on my LinkedIn feed.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has dissolved the preliminary injunction in Texas Top Cop Shop Inc. v. Garland thus re-instating the January 1, 2025, deadline.

12/09/2024

Earlier in the year, Macy's announced that it would be closing 150 stores which, of course, would lead to massive layoffs. Those layoffs also included 13% of its corporate staff. On top of all that, recently, there's been an announcement of a large accounting "error" of $154 million being discovered causing Macy's to delay its reporting. Now, not surprisingly, the next shoe has dropped in that activist shareholders are doing what they do and making demands. In this case, the demand is to optimize Macy's real estate holdings. As a former General Counsel of Syms Clothing, this real estate demand against a company struggling to reset its footing in the market is triggering a bit of deja vu for me.

Barington Capital and Thor Equities urged Macy's to create a real estate unit and consider options for its Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury chains after building a position, the activist investor group said on Monday without disclosing their stake.

12/08/2024

After being inundated with reminders over the past few months (including my firm newsletter from just last week! -- nothing like great timing on my part) of the impending Beneficial Owner Information Report filing deadline of January 1, 2025 under the Corporate Transparency Act ("CTA"), the deadline has been suspended per the opinion of Judge Mazzant in the Texas Top Cop Shop, Inc., et al. v. Garland, et al. case (Case No. 4:24-cv-478 (E.D. Tex.)) which was issued on December 3, 2024. FINCEN has since stated that the federal filing requirement is now voluntary.

For those of us in NY, we need to keep in mind that the state has passed its own state level version of the CTA which is set to go into effect as of January 1, 2026. As this law literally piggybacks on the federal CTA, we should expect litigation to commence to seek confirmation that the state level CTA is now effectively unconstitutional based on the findings under the Texas Cop Shop case. Stay Tuned!

A Texas judge delivered a nationwide injunction against application of a law requiring small businesses to report their real beneficial owners by January 1.

10/27/2024

One doesn't typically think "fashion collaboration" when thinking about hockey. As a hockey fan (Go ISLES!), I'm curious to see what the NHL collaboration with Lululemon will look like. It's great to see fashion companies continue to seek out unique collaborations seeking out new demographics.

The multiyear extension includes Navy Federal maintaining its status as the official military appreciation partner of the NHL.