Burberry sues Penney over plaid products, faces unrelated customer suit on outlet store price tags
It has been a busy week for Burberry in the American legal system.
On Tuesday, the British luxury goods seller known for its trench coats and cashmere scarves sued J.C. Penney Co. in federal court in Manhattan over claimed misappropriation of Burberry’s iconic plaid “check” pattern. Although the pattern has been trademarked for nearly 100 years, Burberry says Penney’s sold a “scarf coat” and a quilted jacket that replicated the design, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports.
Then on Thursday, in an unrelated matter, a Florida customer filed suit in the same court against Burberry, contending that the upscale retailer used misleading price tags to create “the illusion of a bargain” at its outlet stores, according to The Fashion Law and Reuters.
The new suit says Burberry “led consumers to believe its deceptive reference prices” on tags for outlet store items “represented authentic price information about the Burberry outlet products they purchased. In reality, Burberry manufactures the Burberry outlet products for exclusive sale at its Burberry outlets and always sells these goods for the advertised “Now” price, never the deceptive reference price.”
Responding on Friday to the suit by Thomas Belcastro, which seeks class action status, Burberry said it is committed to transparent and fair pricing.
“All pricing policies and practices are designed to ensure compliance with applicable laws and local practices,” the retailer said in a written statement provided to Reuters.
“Burberry will be contesting this lawsuit but will not comment further while proceedings are under way.”
Meanwhile, Penney declined to comment on the suit filed by Burberry when contacted by the Wall Street Journal.
Similar suits over outlet store pricing have been filed against a number of retailers, including one in federal court in California last year that named Kate Spade as a defendant, as Law 360 (sub. req.) reported at the time.
