Meanwhile, a number of former employees are considering legal action against the company for alleging that the layoff process was not properly managed. Suppliers to the collapsed fast-fashion brand Missguided have filed a formal complaint with the bankruptcy department and are considering legal action for what activists call a “reckless action” by the company`s private equity owners. What does this mean for possible legal claims? Alex said: “It is good news that the Frasers Group has purchased Missguided as it will preserve jobs and the value of the company in the long term. A number of former employees at the headquarters are considering legal action against the company over allegations that the firing process was not properly handled. Law firm Aticus Law said more than 65 former workers had sought help and advice. Law firm Aticus announced plans to take legal action after employees claimed the firing process had not been properly handled. “UK law is silent on companies` financial and legal liability to workers in their supply chain. Suppliers and supply chain workers are at the bottom of the pile as unsecured creditors in insolvency proceedings. This is deeply regrettable,” the letter reads. Below, we describe some of these issues.
To view Missguided`s full detailed stories and general ethics review, please register or subscribe. The collapse of fashion retailer Missguided led to formal complaints to the suppliers` insolvency service, claiming the online brand had continued to negotiate and order new deliveries despite the threat of bankruptcy. Alex Jay spoke to the Guardian and Yahoo! Finance when initial news broke about what the bankrupt retailer could mean for suppliers and the possibility of legal action. Our research highlights several ethical issues with Missguided, which scored the worst ethical consumers in categories such as likely use of tax evasion strategies, animal rights, supply chain management, labor rights, carbon management and reporting, environmental reporting, toxins, and palm oil sourcing. In fact, they took advantage of the way they treated women at their headquarters as trailblazers and “broke the glass ceiling.” However, there was absolutely no evidence that Missguided included or protected workers` rights in its supply chain. Although they have a social audit program, the details were incredibly easy on how this audit program was implemented, how breaches were resolved, and what issues were even checked during the audit. Nadeem Arshad, owner of Manchester-based fashion supplier Moku, said his business was “on the verge of collapse” as it owed almost £500,000 for recent orders and is now seeking legal advice and partnering with other suppliers who are in this dire situation”. Misguided workers are considering legal action against the fast fashion brand as it negotiates a sale. One vendor said it was considering legal action, believing Missguided could have acted fraudulently if it continued to place orders with administration looming on the horizon. Two suppliers said the company told them less than six weeks ago that it was “business as usual.” The imitator itself was not the subject of the dispute, mainly due to copyright loopholes when it comes to useful items such as clothing. Instead, the mega-influencer claimed that Missguided had become accustomed to using her name and image to sell her copycat products without her permission, thereby engaging in “intentional” trademark infringement and unfair competition, and violating the right to publish, the latter being a state-specific legal doctrine designed to give individuals — like Kardashian — the ability to prevent others from using their names and/or Likenesses for commercial purposes without permission. Another insolvency expert, Brian Burke of consultancy Quantuma, said there was unlikely to be a “short-term solution” for suppliers who owed money, and legal action would take time.
He added that they would likely have to wait for directors to assess how much unsecured creditors might expect, adding: “Unfortunately, for the majority, I expect them to incur significant losses.” However, analysts have warned that Boohoo is facing its own problems at a turbulent time for fast fashion retailers. The court order comes after Missguided failed to respond to the lawsuit, prompting Kardashian`s lawyer to seek a quick win and more than $10 million in financial damages. While Justice Virginia A. Phillips of the United States The District Court for the Central District of California refused to issue default judgment against Misguided UK, almost certainly on jurisdictional issues, permanently prohibited Misguided USA “from using Kardashian`s trademarks in connection with the sale, marketing or distribution of its products” and ordered the company to pay $2,759,600. a fraction of the more than $10 million. that Kardashian was striving for. “The collapse of mismanagement also has the potential to create a ripple effect, as supplier reports owed amounts of over £2 million, which can now be sunk, undoubtedly causing major supply chain problems.” In the fall, the online retailer was rescued from collapse when retail investor Alteri, backed by investment firm Apollo, stepped in to take a 50% stake in the company and agreed to cover its growing debt. A cost-of-living crisis presents a “turbulent and uncertain outlook” for consumer-facing businesses, Thorne added. The company has seen excellent growth in its home market, expanding into the US, Australia, France and Germany, serving up to 180 markets and opening a series of irreverent flagship stores when it left a purely online player. However, the company has been hit hard by recent cost increases and supply disruptions, while demand has declined as people couldn`t go out during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Labour Behind the Label has launched a petition to demand that workers and suppliers be paid, amid reports that several thousand pounds are due. The Guardian believes that the directors of consulting firm Teneo, which is due to operate Missguided in the coming weeks as part of the Fraser deal, will not be able to pay the requested refunds before their meeting on Monday. Deliveries of goods already ordered are also not guaranteed during ongoing negotiations with GXO, the operator of Missguided`s warehouse in Trafford Park, Manchester. Thousands of Missguided customers could be left out of pocket as administrators are not supposed to pay refunds requested before Monday`s call and delivery of orders is not guaranteed.
