Designers of luxury fashion and accessories have long struggled to prevent the sale of counterfeit merchandise from small shops and street vendors. Shops near Canal Street in New York City are famous for selling knockoffs of designer goods, such as handbags, watches, and other accessories.
Michael Kors is trying a new tactic to put those counterfeit dealers out of business: It is suing the landlord who rents the spaces where their shops operate. The lawsuit claims that Mulberry Street Properties, which owns several storefronts on Mulberry Street near Canal Street, has long turned a blind eye to its tenants’ sale of counterfeit merchandise. Michael Kors says it has had to contend with the knockoff goods for years. The company is seeking unspecified damages from the lawsuit against the landlord.
Michael Kors hired investigators, who repeatedly purchased fake goods at four small shops on Mulberry Street owned by the landlord. Michael Kors says it has seized fake handbags, jewelry, and sunglasses from the stores. However, the company says in its lawsuit that the landlord continues to allow the shops to sell fake designer merchandise. Mulberry Street Properties claimed that the building had been sold to an unspecified buyer.
This is not the first case in which a luxury designer has sued the landlord of a business that sold counterfeit merchandise. In December 2013, a flea market owner in Fort Lauderdale, Florida agreed to pay Coach $5.5 million for allowing its tenants to sell fake versions of the company’s products to customers.
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