On the legal front, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey recently brought down the hammer on Dolgencorp, LLC, most popularly known as
Dollar General. The popular retailer is being accused of swindling consumers via infringements of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA).
According to Bailey, Dollar General had been routinely misleading fresh and loyal customers alike about the true prices of their items, thereby manipulating their purchase decisions. Serious charges, indeed, for a company that has woven its brand around providing maximum value at the lowest price.
This player in the retail industry is not the first and will certainly not be the last to feel the burn of the legal flame. The case does bring into light the fundamental need for businesses, big or small, to maintain a high bar for ethics and transparency when communicating with their consumers.
The effects of this story might ripple into far-reaching corners of the global market. For corporate legal professionals, this serves both as a reminder to safeguard their companies’ public image from both a PR and a legal perspective and to be ever vigilant in ensuring not just the letter, but the spirit of the law is respected and upheld.
This case highlights the modern legal paradigm wherein public opinion and online transactional transparency can often be as important or more so than traditional legal parameters. Legal professionals would be amiss to neglect this aspect of their job in an increasingly connected world.
Indeed, the Dollar General story is an important warning for corporations worldwide — laws like the MMPA are in place for precisely this reason. To ensure that businesses operate in a fair and upfront manner, and that consumers are shielded from the unscrupulous practices that some might indulge in under the guise of commerce.
While the Dollar General lawsuit is significant news in of itself, it may also serve as a marker for a broader push towards more comprehensive legal protection for consumers, and thus more stringent regulatory compliance for corporations at large.
Legal teams in corporations large and small may need to take this as a cue to revisit their own practices, and ensure that all laws — local and international — are being not just followed but exemplified within their own business practices.