Lululemon has filed a lawsuit against Costco accusing the wholesale club operator of selling some low-priced duplicates of popular athleech clothing.
Lululemon Athletica claims that in a lawsuit filed in US District Court for the Central District of California, Costco “illegally traded” over its reputation, goodwill and fairness in sweat.
Lululemon claims that Costco is known to use a manufacturer of popular branded products with the private label Kirkland brand, but the company and manufacturers do not communicate their relationship to consumers about many of the Kirkland branded products. For this reason, Lululemon claims that this leads at least some shoppers to believe that Kirkland branded products are made by authentic suppliers of “original” products. Lululemon claims that Costco will not try to dispel ambiguity.
“As an innovation-led company that invests heavily in the research, development and design of our products, we are responsible for protecting and enforcing our intellectual property rights very seriously and pursuing appropriate legal action when necessary,” a spokesman for Lululemon Company said in a statement.
Lululemon says Costco is creating a duplicate of popular scuba hoodies, definition jackets and ABC pants.
Lululemon claims that one of the duplicates Costco is selling is the HI-TEC Men’s Scuba Full Zip, and the lawsuit showing screenshot images on Costco’s website shows a price of $19.97. Lululemon sells several men’s jackets that cost over $100 each.
Costco, based in Issaquah, Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Lululemon is requesting a trial for jury and hopes that Costco will cease selling products that are considered replicas. They also seek an unspecified amount of financial damage.
Lulemon was suffering from a similar legal dispute to Peloton in 2021. Two years later, the company announced a five-year partnership, including Lululemon becoming Peloton’s leading athletic apparel partner.
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