Some time ago I had written about the case where Diageo, the company which owns Pimm's, had initiated legal action against supermaket giant Sainsbury. Today we have more news about the issue...at the time I had asked who will win the game, will it be the supplier or the distributor. The answer is that an amicable deal was reached as probably the threat was too large for Diageo.
Diageo who started legal proceedings against Sainsbury's in August over Pitcher's, was resolved last week. Sainsbury's can continue to sell the Pitcher's brand, but will add its name to the label and change the colouring from gold to orange. Sainsburys' own brand Pitcher's is cheaper than Pimm's and is currently priced at £10.79 for a single 70cl bottle on the Sainsbury's website.
In a joint statement the two companies said that Diageo and Sainsbury's are pleased to confirm that the dispute regarding Diageo's Pimm's brand and Sainsbury's Pitchers brand has been amicably settled and the legal proceedings withdrawn. Both companies are very pleased with the outcome and look forward to continuing our strong trading relationship
Before this amicable deal, things did not look good at all as Diageo had issues a statement in August saying that they can confirm that they had initiated legal proceedings against Sainsbury's in relation to an intellectual property matter. However Sainsbury dug its heels in and replied back with its own statement saying that they intended to vigorously defend themselves against these allegations. They claimed that customers are savvy enough to know exactly what they're buying.
The saga has come to an end but there could be other companies who try to go down this route to defend their brands...there will always be a power struggle however in these cases an amicable deal is always worth it for both brands!
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