Julia will prostitute her pride for the sake of cheap gin. Yet her home diffuser of choice is set on the other end of the scale being that of Jo Malone. Or so I thought .

On my fortnightly trip down to our local Aldi, to fill up the back of our car with cheap gin, a new item has been added to my Aldi shopping list , no 1, or if out of stock a number 3. So what may these be ? I think a picture tells a thousand stories, but in this case you need just two pictures….

nuff’ said. Nah, think it deserves another two…

I have got to say when the option is …£3.99 or £62.00 , the word option goes out the window. Now I am sure Jo Malone is not that fussed as she carted away her millions, when Estée Lauder bought the company twenty years ago. But Estée maybe.

So what is this ? A knockoff ? A copy ? A counterfeit ? Or just a plain and simple lookalikey. The only definite, is that it isn’t a counterfeit. Or at least I think it isn’t. So how are the rest defined and what if any are the consequences ? I need to be clear that there is a difference in the product . The Aldi version is smaller and carries less liquid scent. It probably doesn’t last quite as long, although we haven’t tested it . But the difference is not a factor of fifteen. Oh yes, the Jo Malone stores are a tad swisher and in more salubrious locations. So maybe we are now up-to fifteen quid RSP. Yep there are development and marketing costs . So maybe at a push another tenner. Now we are at £24. Of course , you are buying into a lifestyle that adds £0 . Still £24. The much higher retail attracts a much higher cash value of vat (at £3.99 inc £0.67 vat , £62 inc £10.33 vat) . Hurrah ! at last a winner….for the exchequer!

The law being doing its usual ‘ as clear as mud impersonation ‘ I don’t know what really defines ‘counterfeit’. One key aspect is the branding or rather brand name, and of course the products above make no reference to the brand name. Seemingly clever stuff. Yet I have some sympathy with the brand. Jo Malone/Estée Lauder will have spent trolley loads of cash developing the product, marketing the brand and maintaining its awareness with their targeted consumer. Aldi pop along with no added costs apart from the product cost and reap the benefits.

Aldi seem to have a bit of a ‘lookalikey’ history . The image below is one of many that suggests that the product development at Aldi is very fond of major brand packaging design (Lidl is not that far behind) or rather that of other major brands

Courtesy of Dean Williams – print to print blog, April 2015.

Dean continues in the blog…

so how have they been allowed to get away with blatant copycat packaging without being sued.?

Intellectual property partner Jeremy Hertzog, of law firm Mishcon de Reya, says: ‘Brands are cautious about taking legal action in situations like this.

The brand would need to prove that the copycat product is deliberately out to confuse the buyer into believing that the similar-looking product is actually connected economically to the original in some way.’

Well blow me down with a pigeons feather. If they are not deliberately out to deceive then if you pick up a bottle of Magnum in Aldi don’t expect it to taste of ice cream.

Within our own market , as with others, we are plagued by ‘fakes’. If major High Street chains are able to get way this practice, and continue they will continue, unless the consumer stops buying them, then we shall all carry on knocking our heads against the proverbial.

Some suppliers have tried their day in court, and some who can’t afford a long legal battle, have protested to no avail . So it is unlikely to stop.

Will I stop filling the spare space in my car with lookalikey smellys ? No, because we save fifty eights squids and more importantly it is legal , at the moment. I comfort my conscience, by thinking we still buy the odd Jo Malone, or rather our daughter does for a pressie on mother’s day.

I would also like to add Julia has forbidden me to prostitute myself in anyway unless it was to accrue considerable revenues, enabling us not to have to visit Aldi anymore for cheap gin et al… So pretty safe ground there .