KIWI FRAUD
May 1st, 2004
BY MONICA DOBIE
SARA LEE Corp., the USA-based maker of Kiwi shoe polish, is suing Pell Inc., a group of supermarket shoe-repair stands in the American mid-west, for importing counterfeit polish from China and selling it under the Kiwi label. Sara Lee suspected a problem and sent private investigators to Pell outlets to buy polish and also purchased some from Pell's website; it was found to be fake. Sara Lee is seeking more than US$1 million in damages. Pell denies knowing the polish was not genuine Kiwi.
SARA LEE Corp., the USA-based maker of Kiwi shoe polish, is suing Pell Inc., a group of supermarket shoe-repair stands in the American mid-west, for importing counterfeit polish from China and selling it under the Kiwi label. Sara Lee suspected a problem and sent private investigators to Pell outlets to buy polish and also purchased some from Pell's website; it was found to be fake. Sara Lee is seeking more than US$1 million in damages. Pell denies knowing the polish was not genuine Kiwi.
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