Fendi and Wal-Mart settle dispute |
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Friday, 08 June 2007 |
 The battle against counterfeit luxury goods took a new turn this week when Fendi and Sam's Club, a division of Wal-Mart, settled out of court a dispute that claimed the value retailer sold fake handbags and leather goods with the Fendi logo. Under the sealed agreement, Sam's Club agreed
 to pay the Italian luxury firm a confidential amount to settle the dispute and dismiss the action, which had charged the retailer with selling "significant quantities" of counterfeit items valued "in the millions of dollars." Sam's Club is also offering its customers a full refund for any counterfeit Fendi bags, wallets and scarves they purchased.
"We're pleased with this outcome," Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive officer of Fendi, told WWD. "It's good for our customers, our trademarks and their customers, too. Counterfeiting is a global problem." Burke declined to discuss specifics about the Sam's case, but pledged to continue Fendi's efforts against counterfeiting, disclosing that the luxury brand has filed suits against five other U.S. retailers:
Burlington Coat Factory, Ashley Reed, Filene's Basement, Annie Sez and Colton International. Those cases continue. He noted that counterfeit goods were also widely distributed in Europe .
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