Monthly Archives: July 2018

Death In Idaho Led to Rogue Internet Mail Order Pharmacy

Two New Jersey residents were arrested  for operating a rogue Internet mail order pharmacy. The rogue site was identified following the overdose death of a victim in Boise, Idaho, on or about March 17, 2017. The victim’s computer showed that he had repeatedly ordered painkillers from the rogue website, and that he had wired thousands of dollars to a bank account in connection with these purchases.

Law enforcement subsequently discovered that this bank account was being used by the defendants. Bank records showed that this bank account and several others  had received over $750,000 in apparent narcotics proceeds, and that the defendants  had withdrawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from these accounts, and had also used these bank accounts to pay for costs associated with the drug distribution operation, including the costs of shipping controlled substances.

The defendants were charged on July 7th with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and more than 40 grams of the fentanyl analogue U-47700, distribution of controlled substances over the Internet, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in connection with a large-scale drug distribution operation purporting to be an online pharmacy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burberry Destroys Unsold Inventory for Brand Protection

In its annual report, Burberry’s reported destroying $37.8 million in unsold inventory. The total of goods destroyed by Burberry over the last five years is more than $150 million. Burberry is not the only luxury brand that destroys unsold inventory.

To be fair, there can be practical reasons for destroying inventory. For example, H&M, the Swedish fashion company, is struggling with an inventory of unsold clothes worth $4 billion—and this is a contributing factor dragging down profits by 28% in the first half of 2018.

Rather than destroy the unsold inventory, a remedy would be to remainder the goods—sell in quantity to jobbers and discount wholesalers. However, this involves loss of control and this is precisely why luxury brands destroy the unsold inventory—they don’t want the goods, which includes apparel, accessories and fragrance—to wind up in the hands of counterfeiters or to be sold as gray market or to be offered on the Internet at a steep discount.

However, destroying so much unwanted goods, comes at another cost—outrage from environmentalists, shareholders, and the public who don’t approve of the practice.