Daily LInks
1. Can High Fashion Change? Most brands at the pinnacle of the luxury pyramid have made a mission of chasing younger and more-diverse consumers by dabbling in streetwear or athleisure or by partnering with the most au courant hipster that social media can uncover. Piccioli has insisted that Valentino remain relevant, such as with collaborations with Birkenstock and Levi’s. But he has never abandoned the essential core of the brand — not even in the midst of the coronavirus crisis. – Read More on the Washington Post
2. The Case Against Holding Amazon Liable for Third-Party Merchants’ Sales in its Marketplace: Amazon could, and probably should, do more to police its marketplace from unsafe products. But any steps the company takes should be voluntary. If it’s forced to act by regulators or courts, Amazon might very well see it as an unnecessary expense and just close the marketplace. After all, if it’s going to be liable for trying—and inevitably failing—to ensure merchant safety, why try at all? – Read More on Tech & Marketing Law Blog
3. RELATED READ: Amazon Can Be Liable for Third-Party Sellers’ Defective Products, Says California Appeals Court. This string of cases are significant in that a determination that Amazon is, in fact, liable for the goods offered up by third-parties on its vast marketplace site, which represented some 52.8 percent of the retailer’s revenue as of 2018, could drastically alter the workings of its model, including by adding new costs and significant legal liabilities. – Read More on TFL
4. Coty sees a series of tie-ups in the Kardashian empire playing a large role in the effort to capitalize on a booming skin-care market. After raising the stakes on its $200 million bet on Kim Kardashian West’s color cosmetics brand, Coty CEO Sue Nabi has begun working with the reality TV star to develop skin-care products. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. ‘An issue of direct replication’: As more DTCs flood the market, the line between inspiration and copycatting blurs. Goodboy’s founders began noticing other sites doing similar things. “It was hard to pawn it off as just inspiration,” said co-founder Kari Sapp. But this is anything but a unique problem. – Read More on Modern Retail
6. RELATED READ: The Making, Branding, and (Alleged) Copying of a DTC Startup. Daily Harvest – which has set forth claims of trade dress infringement, unfair competition, and violations of New York General Business Law, and is seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief – does not actually claim that Revive copied any of its proprietary products. Instead, the suit firmly centers on what is likely an even more integral element: Revive’s alleged co-opting of the Daily Harvest brand, which seems to suggest that the most valuable – and thus, copy-worthy – elements at play may not be the products, themselves, but something else entirely. – Read More on TFL
