Challenge to Fashion Merger Shows a New Antitrust Philosophy in Action
The bid to block a tie-up between two fashion conglomerates goes beyond consumer prices, and looks at market competition and labor harms.
BY DAVID DAYEN APRIL 24, 2024
This story is part of a Prospect series called Rollups, looking at obscure markets that have been rolled up by under-the-radar monopolies. If you know of a rollup like this, contact us at rollups(at)prospect.org.
The Federal Trade Commission is working to prevent every store in a moderately upscale Southern California mall from having the same owner. More specifically, it wants to prevent the workers who staff those stores from enduring lower wages and benefits.
Those are some of the primary stakes in a merger challenge to a proposed $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings by Tapestry, Inc. Few would recognize these two parent companies, but you probably know their associated brands: Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors are part of Capri, while Kate Spade, Coach, and Stuart Weitzman are in the Tapestry empire. All would come under the same corporate owner if the deal were to go through.
https://prospect.org/economy/2024-04-24-challenge-fashion-merger-new-antitrust-philosophy/
