Anna Behrmann
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Writer & communications specialist @wellcometrust, a global health foundation 💫. Previously commissioning @theipaper; features @bbc @guardian @thetimes
Articles by Anna Behrmann
A Review of Early Antitrust Enforcement Under Trump 2.0 | JD Supra
April 24, 2025 Anna Behrmann, Kathy Osborn, Kaylee Racs Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP + Follow x Following x Following - Unfollow Contact To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog: Terminated Democratic commissioners of the FTC, Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, filed a lawsuit arguing their terminations are illegal because FTC commissioners may only be removed from their positions for cause, as a protection against presidential overreach under the Supreme...
Updated DOJ Antitrust Guidance Offers New Insights for Companies’ Compliance Programs | JD Supra
Although the updates include new and more detailed considerations for designing and implementing antitrust compliance programs, the underlying antitrust violations DOJ seeks to avoid are not new. As such, we anticipate this Antitrust Guidance will be as relevant to the DOJ under the Trump administration as it was in the waning days of the Biden presidency.
New HSR Act Size-of-Transaction Increasing to $126.4 Million | JD Supra
The FTC, with the concurrence of the DOJ, has issued final rules for premerger notification that substantially revise the requirements for transacting parties under the HSR Act. Such changes will be effective for all HSR filings made after February 7, 2025. The FTC also announced new 2025 thresholds for interlocking directorates under Section 8 of the Clayton Act.
FTC Announces Record $5.6 Million Gun-Jumping Fine and Reminds Parties of Perils of Prematurely Transferring Beneficial Ownership During HSR Waiting Period | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP - JDSupra
Under the HSR Act, parties to a proposed transaction that meet certain jurisdictional and monetary thresholds must provide notice to the FTC and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) and observe the statutory waiting period (usually 30 days) prior to consummating their deal. During the waiting period, parties are not permitted to transfer beneficial ownership of the target business, and the parties must continue to act as separate, independent entities.
On the Eve of the Election, Harris, Trump Offer Diverging Visions on the Future of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Enforcement | JD Supra
Looking to 2025 and beyond, both political parties have expressed a desire to use the FTC and the DOJ to pursue diverging political objectives. If Donald Trump is elected in November, some Biden-era enforcement priorities such as noncompetes and related labor issues may fall by the wayside as enforcers focus on ESG/DEI, First Amendment, and child protection/parental rights issues.
HSR Final Rules and Forms Substantially Revised — Considerations Ahead of the Anticipated January Effective Date | JD Supra
The final rules for premerger notification under the HSR Act reflect significant changes compared to the current requirements. Businesses will face more extensive data collection, especially regarding competitive overlaps and existing contractual relationships between parties, requiring more time and expense in preparing HSR filings. Certain proposals from last year’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking have been scaled back or dropped, reducing some of the initially anticipated burdens.
Recent Decisions in Noncompete Cases Expose Deep Divides in Opposing Visions for Antitrust Enforcement | JD Supra
In January 2023, the Federal Trade Commission introduced a new proposed rule under Section 5 of the FTC Act that bans almost all noncompete agreements between employers and employees as “unfair methods of competition.” Parties filed legal challenges to the final rule within hours of its announcement. To date there are competing decisions from district courts in Texas and Pennsylvania regarding whether the FTC overstepped its authority when it engaged in substantive rulemaking.
History in the Making: Conservatives Work Quickly to Challenge FTC’s Final Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements | JD Supra
At least two federal lawsuits are challenging the FTC’s final rule that would ban nearly all noncompete agreements, with more complaints expected. There is no immediate need for businesses to change course, but employers should begin planning for new methods of protecting confidential information and trade secrets if the final rule goes into effect.
Biden Administration Announces New Initiative to Challenge Unfair and Illegal Pricing Practices | JD Supra
The newly announced strike force is one in a series of three new actions announced by President Biden’s Competition Council to promote enforcement of his 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. Key sectors where the administration is looking to curb potentially illegal inflation of prices include prescription drugs and health care, food and grocery, housing, financial services, and more.
DOJ, FTC Issue Guidance Regarding Preservation of Employees’ Chat Messages for Merger Investigations, Subpoenas and CIDs | JD Supra
With the increased use of collaborative communication tools in the modern workplace, businesses must be cognizant of their obligations to preserve chat messages in government investigations and enforcement actions. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have released new guidance to this effect.
New HSR Act Size-of-Transaction Increasing to $119.5 Million; Filing Fee Increases Going Into Effect Soon | JD Supra
The minimum size of transaction requiring an HSR Act filing has been increased from $111.4 million to $119.5 million. Generally one party to a transaction must also have assets or annual revenues of at least $239 million (up from $222.7 million), and the other must have assets or annual revenues of at least $23.9 million (up from $22.3 million). However, if the size of transaction is $478 million or more (up from $445.5 million), the size-of-parties test does not apply.
DOJ Continues “Vibrant Section 8 Enforcement” to Purge Companies of Potentially Anticompetitive Interlocking Directorates | JD Supra
In March 2023, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) announced that five additional directors have resigned from four corporate boards in response to the DOJ’s efforts to enforce prohibitions against so-called interlocking directorates. In addition, the DOJ’s efforts led to one company declining to exercise its board appointment rights to seat a would-be offending director.
Federal Antitrust Agencies Ramp Up Hiring Efforts and Request Additional Funding to Support Aggressive Enforcement Agendas | JD Supra
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have made no secret of their intentions to revamp antitrust enforcement and merger control efforts across wide swaths of the U.S. economy to curtail what they view as monopolistic conduct by some of the country’s largest businesses.
Members of Congress Continue to Press DOJ on Health and Dental Insurance Antitrust Enforcement | JD Supra
Congressional leaders continue to seek information from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the DOJ’s efforts to enforce the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act (CHIRA), which partially repealed the McCarran-Ferguson Act’s “business of insurance” antitrust exemption for insurers and was signed into law by former President Trump in the final days of his term after receiving bipartisan Congressional support.
With a Full Slate of Commissioners, the FTC Is Poised to Tackle the Chair’s Ambitious Antitrust Enforcement Agenda | JD Supra
With the May 16, 2022, confirmation of Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya, the Federal Trade Commission finally has a 3–2 Democratic majority and can move forward with Chair Lina Khan’s ambitious agenda. The Commission majority has significant ramifications for numerous industries, which are likely to see the FTC flex its rulemaking muscles consistent with the president’s 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition.
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ) recently suffered significant losses in two criminal trials involving alleged criminal wage-fixing and related “no-poach” agreements by and between competitors. These were the first cases ever where the parties have proceeded to trial after the DOJ pursued criminal charges under Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act predicated on such conduct.
DOJ Antitrust Chief Previews Additional Antitrust Scrutiny for Interlocking Directorates | JD Supra
During the recent Spring 2022 Enforcers Summit, Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division chief, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Jonathan Kanter, announced that interlocking directorates will face increased scrutiny from the DOJ.
DOJ Urges State Court to Use Antitrust Principles to Invalidate Noncompetes
Noncompete agreements between employers and their employees traditionally are governed by state law. But that didn’t stop the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) from recently filing a statement of interest encouraging a Nevada state court to consider federal antitrust principles to invalidate noncompete agreements between a large medical group and its physician-employees.
Guest column: Potential antitrust implications of noncompete agreements
Listen to this story This audio file is brought to you by 0:00 0:00 Loading audio file, please wait. 0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00 1.25 1.50 1.75 2.00 Popular in the labor market to protect legitimate business interests, noncompete agreements (also known as restrictive covenants) take many forms and are used by companies and employers to protect their interests and investments in employees and business relationships.
Drapers Investigates: opening the door to boardroom equality
While men still dominate the boardrooms of fashion retail companies, the industry is slowly turning up the dial on female representation. Drapers' annual survey of fashion retail companies listed on the FTSE and Aim markets, published to coincide with International Women's Day, found that almost one-third (33% of board positions on the 20 companies are held by women – an increase of around 5 percentage points from 2021 (27.5%) and 2020 (28.1%).
DOJ Encourages State Court to Consider Antitrust Principles to Invalidate Non-Compete Agreements | JD Supra
Non-compete agreements between employers and their employees traditionally are governed by state law. But that did not stop the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) from recently filing a statement of interest encouraging a Nevada state court to consider federal antitrust principles to invalidate non-compete agreements between a large medical group and its physician-employees.
How is the fashion industry measuring up on ESG?
As Giorgio Armani and Hermès top the FT Diversity Leaders Survey, Simon Kerr-Davis, employment counsel, Linklaters Diversity Faculty delves into how fashion measures up in terms of the social aspect of ESG. In recent years, the environmental, social and governance (or “ESG”) aspects of business have received ever more attention and companies have been pushed through legal, regulatory, consumer and employee pressure to use their values and culture to drive an ESG agenda forward.
Higher clothing and footwear prices push living costs up in January
Consumer prices rose by 5.5% in the 12 months to January, up from 5.4% in December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Clothing and footwear, housing and household services (which includes energy bills), as well as furniture and household goods prices all pushed up inflation in January, the ONS noted.
Reiss launches new website to improve customer experience
UK shoppers on the Reiss.com website can now benefit from a range of new improvements online, including last orders for next-day delivery extended from 7pm to 11pm. There will be also be increased stock delivery thanks to a new store-fulfillment facility. Next day delivery will be reduced to £5. There will also be free next-day delivery in-store, going from 50 to 600 collection points.
Advertising Standards Authority bans latest Boohoo advert
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a complaint that the images of a female model shown on the advert were "offensive, harmful and irresponsible". The complaint said that the advert objectified and sexualised the woman. The ASA noted that although it had been presented as part of the swimwear category, the advertised product was an oversized T-shirt and the product listing appeared as a result of searches for T-shirts or tops.
JD Sports fined over Footasylum meetings
The CMA found that there was a failure to have proper safeguards in place that made breaches "almost inevitable". The CMA had imposed an "interim order during an in-depth phase 2 merger investigation" on JD Sports and Footasylum in May 2021. These orders prevent companies from integrating further and ensure they continue to compete against one another as they would have before the deal took place.
Under Armour reports 'record revenues'
Revenue was up 27% (25% on a currency-neutral basis) to $5.7bn (£4.2bn) year on year. Wholesale revenue rose 36% to $3.2bn (£2.4bn), and direct-to-consumer sales grew 26% to $2.3bn (£1.7bn) year on year, driven by the performance of its owned and operated stores. Revenue from clothing rose 33% to $3.8bn (£2.8bn), footwear 35% to $1.3bn (£960m) and accessories 12% to $462m (£341m). Gross margin increased 210 basis points to 50.3%.
Monday briefing: John Lewis profits, Fenwick, Shein, Hugo Boss
John Lewis: A leaked memo, seen by the Mail on Sunday, has reportedly revealed a profit surge at the retailer following "fantastic" Christmas sales. This has restored hopes that John Lewis might reinstall its staff bonus scheme. The retailer is reportedly "far ahead" of its £100m annual profit target. In the memo, this year’s payout was reportedly described as a “possibility” by executive director for finance Bérangère Michel.
What are the metrics of store performance today?
Bricks-and-mortar retail faces a reckoning. The Covid-19 pandemic has recalibrated shopping habits and redrawn high streets. Long-established chains, once the mainstay of bustling town centres, are disappearing as footfall fluctuates and pressure on the fashion industry hits an all-time high. But, for every brand pulling down the shutters, there are more taking the plunge into physical retail.
Pure London confirms return to Olympia
Pure will take place at the west-London venue on 17-19 July. Exhibitors will include One Hundred Stars, Brodie Cashmere, Onjenu, Lily & Me, My Doris, Meraki Beach, Jayley, Alpe, Sonatachic, and Joko Edu. The trade show will house a new area for fine and precious jewellery, called Pure Jewel. The Pure Lab section will feature emerging designers, while manufacturing and sourcing area Pure Origin will also return.
Three in four firms hike prices as 'cost crisis' bites
Almost two-thirds (62%) of the 1,000 firms surveyed cited soaring energy bills as the main driving factor behind prices rises, while 63% also cited increased wage bills. The BCC has warned the Treasury of an impending "cost of doing business crisis".
Brexit 'leaves mark' on UK trade with Germany
German exports to the UK dropped by 7.6% to €5bn (£4.2bn) in December 2021, compared with the same month the year before. Imports from the UK were down 18.2% to €2.6bn (£2.2bn). Commenting on the data, Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomics at Dutch financial services firm ING, said: “Looking at export destinations, 2021 clearly marks a structural shift, illustrating current themes including reshoring, slowing of Chinese growth and different ways to deal with the pandemic.
Bira calls for more detail on government's 'levelling up' plan
4 February 2022 By Anna Behrmann News The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has called on the government to recognise that independent retail plays an increasingly important role in 'pride in place' and to reduce business rates. You have read 1 of 1 free-access articles allowed for 30 - days. For further access please register or log in.
Gilly Hicks to open Carnaby Street store in spring
The menswear and womenswear label currently has 30 store experiences in the UK, including a side by side store at Westfield London in White City. Gilly Hicks will open a 3,000-square-foot store at 39 Carnaby Street sometime in spring, according to Women's Wear Daily. This is part of the US brand's European expansion plans. It will also be opening a store in Oberhausen, Germany in early summer, and has noted it is due to expand its stand-alone footprint in the US as well in the future.
Slow start to 2022 for fashion retailers
According to BRC-Sensormatic IQ data, total UK footfall decreased by 17.1% in January compared with the same period in 2020, with a 1.5 percentage point improvement on December. This is just above the 3-month average decline of 17.3%. Footfall on high streets declined by 24.2% in January 2020, 1.1 percentage points worse than last month's rate and below the 3-month average decline of 22.2%.
Very Group rolls out 'stockless fulfilment' to Quiz
The stockless fulfilment model launched in autumn 2021. Quiz previously worked with the retailer on a wholesale basis. Glasgow-based Quiz said its growing partnership with The Very Group provides a "strong platform" for it to "drive exposure for its trademark occasionwear and dressy casualwear products among an additional customer base".
Premium Group returns trade shows to Berlin
Premium Group moved its Premium, Seek and Fashiontech events to Frankfurt in the summer of 2020. However, organisers said that the plan to establish the events in the new location were stymied by the pandemic. The next editions of the shows will take place on 7-9 July in Berlin. A new concept will allow brands to present to consumers, as well as retailers. Direct-to-consumer brands will be given a platform in the form of a fashion festival during Premium, called The Ground.
Why everyone is talking about Nobody's Child
When Drapers meets Jody Plows in January, the Nobody’s Child CEO is thrilled to have spotted Marks & Spencer brand ambassador and television presenter Holly Willoughby wearing one of the womenswear label’s mini-dresses on her first appearance of 2022 on ITV’s This Morning.
Drapers Sustainability Clinic: Our experts answer your burning questions
Sustainability is no longer a "nice to have" for the fashion retail industry: it is business critical as consumers increasingly choose brands that take responsibility for pollution and exploitation in their supply chain. The Co-op's Ethical Consumerism Report 2021 showed that the amount spent on ethical products surged by 23.7% to £122bn in 2020. However, it can be difficult to know how to make a real difference while balancing business needs, and avoiding "greenwashing".
FTC Publishes Revised HSR Thresholds for 2022 | JD Supra
On January 24, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its adjusted reporting thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (HSR Act) in the Federal Register. The FTC revises the HSR thresholds annually to track year-over-year changes in gross national product (GNP).
Tom Ford cancels New York Fashion Week show
The show had been scheduled for 16 February, on the last day of New York Fashion Week. According to media reports, Ford said: “I am incredibly disappointed not to be able to present a show during New York Fashion Week as I feel strongly that a live presentation is the best way to convey a clear message for the season. "We have struggled internally over the past month with many of our staff out with Covid in our design studio and atelier in Los Angeles, as well as in our factories in Italy.
Shein has 'no plans' to launch New York IPO
The etailer was said to be working with advisers at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, according to Reuters. Shein has denied that it has any plans to list on any domestic or international stock markets. A Shein spokeswoman told Drapers: "Shein has no plans to IPO." The company also denied media reports that Shein's founder, Chris Xu, is contemplating changing his citizenship to Singaporean to bypass China’s rules on overseas listings.
Decathalon looks to Ikea for new CEO
Decathlon has appointed Ikea’s chief digital officer Barbara Martin Coppola as its new chief executive. By Anna Behrmann 26 January 2022 Coppola joined Ikea in 2018. Previous employers include Google, where she was latterly head of growth at Google Express. She will replace Michel Aballea at French sportswear and sporting equipment retailer Decathlon in March. Aballea has been CEO since 2015.
Kurt Geiger accelerates store openings as rents fall
Clifford told The Times Kurt Geiger could open at least one new shoe shop every month this year. He said store sales have recovered to 80% of pre-pandemic levels, while online sales remain resilient. The footwear chain's charity initiatives during the pandemic – for example, it gave 3,500 £100 vouchers to 70 critical care units, and donated its first month of shop profits after the end of the first lockdown to the NHS – won it new customers.
In The Style CFO and COO to step down
19 January 2022 By Anna Behrmann News COO and CFO Paul Masters has informed the Board of his need to step down from the Manchester-based fast fashion etailer in March 2022. You have read 1 of 1 free-access articles allowed for 30 - days. For further access please register or log in.
In The Style announces growth at Christmas
Manchester-based fast fashion etailer In The Style reported strong growth during the Christmas trading period, the eight weeks to 31 December 2021. Gross order value (GOV), a pre-returns metric that indicates underlying customer demand, increased 41.4% to £15.2m against the prior year performance. In the Style has also announced that CFO & COO Paul Masters will have to step down in March 2022, “in order to focus on his health” and that he will be succeeded in that month by Richard Monaghan.
Burberry reports strong performance and rise in sales Original
Burberry reported strong underlying revenue performance in the third quarter. Full-price comparable store sales were up 26% compared with the third quarter in 2020 (LLY) - the 13 weeks ended 25 December. This was driven by ongoing strength in the Americas and a material improvement in Asia Pacific and EMEIA. Retail revenue was £723m compared for the 13 weeks ending 25 December 2021, compared with £688m for the same period in 2020.
Tributes paid to Lord Sainsbury
Sainsbury's CEO Simon Roberts described him as "one of the great retailers of his time". He said Lord Sainsbury was "a shopkeeper to his core" and "was ambitious for the company and led Sainsbury's through an unprecedented period of growth; he was a truly inspirational man".
Italian fashion designer Nino Cerruti dies
Cerruti took over the family cloth mill in 1950 when his father, Fratelli Cerruti, died suddenly, and began to modernise it to incorporate clothing production. He produced his first men's ready-to-wear collection in 1957. In 1967, he established menswear brand Cerruti 1881 and opened his first store in Paris, on the Place de la Madeleine, where he also set up the company's headquarters. Cerruti was a mentor to Giorgio Armani and Veronique Nichanian.
The Monday Briefing: Asos CEO; Boohoo share giveaway
Asos: A former executive at Farfetch is thought to be in the running to become the next boss of Asos, sources have told Sky News. Andrew Robb, who left Farfetch in 2020, is reportedly among the candidates being considered as the successor to Nick Beighton. Beighton stepped down as CEO of Asos last October. Asos COO Matthew Dunn last week said the search is still underway for a replacement CEO. Drapers has approached Asos for a comment on the Sky News report.
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