Selima vs. Kering Lawsuit over "Made In" Stamp

[Quince]

http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/ke...er-new-lawsuit


"THE FASHION LAW EXCLUSIVE - Your “Made in Italy” sunglasses may not be quite as Italian as you think, at least not according to a strongly-worded new lawsuit filed against Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, and Balenciaga.

Selima Optique – which sells its own celeb-favored eyewear, as well as the designs of Kering brands, in its buzzy boutiques in New York, Santa Monica, and Paris – filed suit against the Paris-based conglomerate on Tuesday in a federal court in Manhattan. According to Selima’s lawsuit, Kering is employing a “bait-and-switch scheme” by “deliberately and falsely represent[ing] that their eyeglasses and sunglasses are ‘Made in Italy,’” when “in truth, their products, or substantially all parts of their products, are made in China, and (at best) shipped to Italy for final assembly and packaging, and then exported.”

To be exact, Selima claims that beginning in September 2016 – shortly after Kering launched its first global sales campaign for Gucci Eyewear after bringing its eyewear production in-house two years prior – Kering began defrauding consumers by “simply replacing the ‘Made In China’ labels [that come with affixed to its eyewear] with ‘Made In Italy’ labels” before selling them to wholesalers, such as Selima, or directly to consumers..."

"...A spokesman for the conglomerate continued on to state: "By mistake, 21 pieces of 'Made in Italy' luxury eyewear that were already stamped 'Made in Italy' also received a 'Made in China' stamp that was dedicated to Puma frames. Kering Eyewear immediately apologized for the mistake and offered the clients to exchange these products, and sent all due certificates to customers demonstrating that these products are indeed 'Made in Italy.' All customers accepted the exchange except Selima Optique, who had bought one pair of glasses."

The plot thickens...

[Kujiradesu]

http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/ke...er-new-lawsuit


"THE FASHION LAW EXCLUSIVE - Your “Made in Italy” sunglasses may not be quite as Italian as you think, at least not according to a strongly-worded new lawsuit filed against Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Brioni, and Balenciaga.

Selima Optique – which sells its own celeb-favored eyewear, as well as the designs of Kering brands, in its buzzy boutiques in New York, Santa Monica, and Paris – filed suit against the Paris-based conglomerate on Tuesday in a federal court in Manhattan. According to Selima’s lawsuit, Kering is employing a “bait-and-switch scheme” by “deliberately and falsely represent[ing] that their eyeglasses and sunglasses are ‘Made in Italy,’” when “in truth, their products, or substantially all parts of their products, are made in China, and (at best) shipped to Italy for final assembly and packaging, and then exported.”

To be exact, Selima claims that beginning in September 2016 – shortly after Kering launched its first global sales campaign for Gucci Eyewear after bringing its eyewear production in-house two years prior – Kering began defrauding consumers by “simply replacing the ‘Made In China’ labels [that come with affixed to its eyewear] with ‘Made In Italy’ labels” before selling them to wholesalers, such as Selima, or directly to consumers..."

"...A spokesman for the conglomerate continued on to state: "By mistake, 21 pieces of 'Made in Italy' luxury eyewear that were already stamped 'Made in Italy' also received a 'Made in China' stamp that was dedicated to Puma frames. Kering Eyewear immediately apologized for the mistake and offered the clients to exchange these products, and sent all due certificates to customers demonstrating that these products are indeed 'Made in Italy.' All customers accepted the exchange except Selima Optique, who had bought one pair of glasses."

The plot thickens...

Very interesting...

I had heard that in Italy some fashion brands will employee Chinese workers on temporary work permits and are paid well below what many Italian workers would be paid. All to get that made in Italy stamp for Made in China prices. Apparently, there is also a mafia dimension at play where some of those workers visas and working conditions are less than legit...

[Quince]

Very interesting...

I had heard that in Italy some fashion brands will employee Chinese workers on temporary work permits and are paid well below what many Italian workers would be paid. All to get that made in Italy stamp for Made in China prices. Apparently, there is also a mafia dimension at play where some of those workers visas and working conditions are less than legit...

That's one way to work the system, I guess.

Being just a rumor as of now I don't think many other accounts are taking any kind of action, but I'll be interested to see what impact this will have, if any.

[PartTimer]

Roberto Saviano's "Gomorrah" intro chapters deal with this sort of issue in the Italian fashion industry, stuff coming off of boats from Bangladesh, etc. labeled with "Made in Italy." It also exposed unscrupulous manufacturers who do import Chinese labor for this very reason. The entire system has deep ties to local mafia.

It is surprising to note that through this system, high quality is produced by actual Italian workers in extremely small factories, though not in the way you might think. It was an interesting read to see how the economics of this works out, and how large discount places like Ross/TJ Maxx etc. end up with a lot of goods through the strange bidding process, and through the grey and black market reselling that high fashion goes through. The book won some awards, and threats were frequent (which is an all too common feature of a lot of good investigative journalism).

As far as frames manufacture: I'm sure it happens all the time; there is a lot of Chinese immigration to Italy, and they aren't all new money barons. Each manufacturer makes that business and moral decision. It is more important to have vetted the quality of what you are buying, and work with a company you feel has some integrity.