Coach is fighting back against market knock-offs by filing a lawsuit against the entire city of Chicago. The case claims the city allows vendors at New Maxwell Street Market to sell counterfeit Coach handbags.
Apparently Coach hired an investigator who found that several New Maxwell Street Market vendors were selling imitation Coach and Chanel handbags. I wonder whether Chanel will join Coach and lodge its own lawsuit on the back of these claims.
Coach says it has spent time, resources, and money developing its brand and reputation, which is compromised by the knock-off handbags. It adds that customers are confused and deceived by these fake goods.
I’m not sure I agree with the latter claim, as anyone who thinks they’re getting a genuine Coach bag from a market stall clearly has rocks in their head. But I do think these vendors need to be held accountable. It’s fascinating that Coach has gone after the city of Chicago itself rather than the sellers involved though. I’ll be interested to see how this case plays out.
