Consumer Goods, Services & Retail

Consumer protection and consumer finance regulation is constantly developing and, as such, it is vital that our clients remain abreast of matters in order to ensure compliance and avoid penalties and possible legal action. Our lawyers hold in-depth knowledge and experience in consumer protection and consumer finance regulation and
are able to efficiently navigate our clients through the intricacies of the developing South African consumer
protection and consumer finance legal and regulatory landscape.

Our corporate and commercial lawyers provide premium services in all areas of corporate and commercial law and corporate governance. Our specialists have advised a number of multinational and local companies on establishing and building their presence in the South African market, and we have long-standing relationships with clients in the sector.

There are frequent legal and regulatory changes affecting the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector. As a result, companies in the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector are tasked with navigating many competition issues that affect business performance. Our competition law practice has deep experience advising clients on all competition law issues, including mergers, market inquiries, prohibited practices litigation, general compliance, corporate leniency, whistle blower cases and, exemption applications and merger notifications.

The Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector faces continual challenges in managing large work forces with a varied skill levels, irregular working patterns and high staff turnover. Our employment law practitioners are  positioned to offer our clients premium services. They possess a deep and thorough understanding of the unique
challenges that the sector faces and have extensive experience in all aspects of employment law. Our employment law practice has kept itself at the forefront of new employment law issues, particularly issues impacting our clients in the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector, and prides itself as a national thought leader in its field. The practice remains at the cutting edge of employment law, releasing innovative e-training products and dealing swiftly and effectively with unprecedented legal issues such as those introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown and mandatory vaccinations.

The importance of sound compliance with food safety and product standards cannot be understated. Failure to adequately comply with such laws and regulations can expose clients to immense liability through, amongst others, hefty penalties and class actions. Our lawyers offer a range of expertise in this area and are able to avoid crisis situations through advising on sound compliance with the relevant laws and regulations as well as provide incident support service in managing and navigating our clients out of such crisis.

Our environmental and regulatory practice specialises in advising on the regulation of occupational health and safety as well as food, cosmetics and disinfectants, offering compliance advice to clients in respect of the extensive requirements prescribed under various laws regulating the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector, including the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHSA), the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act 130 of 1993 (COIDA) and the Foodstuffs Act

In the increasingly complex and competitive retail environment, brand protection and commercialisation is of
significant importance and intellectual property often accounts for some of the most valuable assets within a
business in the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector. We regularly advise on transactions in this sector
which involve intellectual property.

Our Real Estate Law practice advises clients on a range matters from the structuring and planning phase until implementation. We have a strong focus on commercial property spanning microbusinesses, franchises and global retailers. Our real estate law practice understands the markets and environment in which our clients operate and provides strategic, legal and commercial support to them.

The structuring of a transaction will have different and often conflicting tax consequences for different parties to the
transaction which need to be appropriately and effectively handled at the early stages of the transaction. In addition, given the increase in e-commerce and general trends of globalisation, businesses in the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector are increasingly transacting across borders. These transactions may attract
exchange control, customs and excise and valued-added tax (VAT) and need to be understood and properly managed in order to avoid major economic penalties. Our Tax & Exchange Control practice specialises in giving tax and exchange control advice on a wide range of matters that are regulated by South Africa’s extensive tax legislation framework, such as income tax and VAT legislation, as well as exchange control legislation,

Our Dispute Resolution practice has a reputation for succeeding in  the most sensitive and complex of matters in the Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector. Through our approach of providing pragmatic, commercially-focused legal solutions for our clients’ most labyrinthine issues, we have earned the confidence of the leading Consumer Goods, Services and Retail Sector brands in Southern Africa, who entrust us with their most important matters.