Target is actually being sued by Coach for selling knock-offs. I think someone else is suing them as well, but I can't remember who.
Coach Accuses Target of Selling Counterfeit Handbag (Update4)
By Susan Decker
Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Coach Inc., the luxury leather-goods maker, sued Target Corp., claiming the second-largest U.S. discount chain was selling counterfeit versions of one of its handbags.
Target sold over $1 million in copies of a Coach bag it ``explicitly identifies as a genuine Coach product,'' according to a lawsuit filed Sept. 29 in Manhattan federal court.
The complaint for trademark infringement claims Minneapolis- based Targetis purposely misleading customers into believing they are buying a Coach bag at a discount. A bag bought at a Targetstore in Largo, Florida, ``is an exact replica'' of a Coach bag, the suit claimed.
Coach is seeking a court order barring Targetfrom selling counterfeit bags. The lawsuit also requests payment of any profits the discount retailer made on sales of the item, and the name of the person or company that's been supplying it.
Target has outpaced the growth of bigger rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc. by offering clothing from well-known designers such as Sophie Albou and Isaac Mizrahi. A spokeswoman for Target said the company planned to issue a statement later today.
Target shares rose 57 cents to $55.82 in New YorkStock Exchange composite trading and are up 7.5 percent from a year ago. Coach shares fell 20 cents to $34.20 and are up 9.1 percent from this time last year.
The case is Coach Inc. v. Target Corp., 06cv7875, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
To contact the reporter on this story: Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net .
Hosestly I'm kinda glad bigger companies like that are being targeted for selling fakes. It reminds of the whole Express seven Jeans fiasco from a couple years ago.
__________________
I'm thinking balls are to men what purses are to women. It's just a little bag, but we feel naked in public without it.
Carrie Bradshaw