Retail roundup: Mattel vs. MGA, Versace for H&M, salad recall
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-- A federal judge granted Mattel’s request to dismiss rival MGA Entertainment’s antitrust suit against the toy giant. The two Southern California toy makers have been embroiled in a years-long dispute over ownership of the Bratz doll line and have accused each other of stealing trade secrets.
In the separate Bratz case, a Santa Ana jury in April sided with MGA; U.S. District Judge David O. Carter later awarded MGA more than $309 million in damages, fees and other costs. Mattel has filed a notice to appeal in that case.
In throwing out MGA’s antitrust lawsuit this week, which the toy maker filed alleging anti-competitive practices by Mattel, Carter said the case was too similar to prior litigation, according to the Associated Press.
-- H&M, which announced earlier this year that it would partner with Versace for its next designer collection, this week released the line’s lookbook and other details.
The collection will be available in more than 300 stores next month and will focus mostly on apparel for men and women. The trendy fast-fashion retailer also said that the line would be the first time an H&M designer collaboration would include homeware pieces.
‘Dominated by colour, print and cut, the brand’s creative director Donatella Versace has gone back to the archives to bring some Versace classics to a whole new audience,’ H&M said in a statement. ‘Iconic dresses are the focus of the women’s collection, while menswear is centered on sharp tailoring.’
My colleague Booth Moore from our Image section has her take on the collection here, as well as more photos.
-- Taylor Farms Retail Inc. is voluntarily recalling 3,265 cases of salad blends that could be contaminated with salmonella after a random test conducted on a finished package of spinach by the State of Washington Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
The products were distributed in several states including California, Arizona and Colorado and sold in various supermarkets. There have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items, the agency said.
Customers who have purchased the products, listed here, are urged to not consume the products and should dispose of them.
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-- Andrea Chang
Top photo: MGA’s Bratz doll line. Credit: Christina House / For The Times.
