Following Birkenstock's lead, Patagonia fights to take back control over resellers on the Amazon Marketplace. They have since filed a lawsuit against Amazon seller Kimberly McHugh for carrying the brand's signature apparel, not necessarily for inauthentic or counterfeit goods, but for portraying her Amazon storefront "Our Little Corner", as being an authorized seller for the brand when she isn't. They allege that the sales acquired from these
unauthorized resellers cause actually authorized sellers to breach their contracts with the brand. This is all a part of Patagonia's plan to hinder the gray market, where consumers can purchase authentic goods from brands from secondary sellers. Sellers are protected through the United State's first-sale doctrine, which confines intellectual property owners such as brands like Patatgonia, to possess control over their products once they have been purchased. Gaining control over one's brand proves to be difficult and requires strategic tactics that will help dilute the presence of these gray market storefronts on Amazon. At ZILGER Brands, we know the struggle and hard work it takes to actively regulate one's brand and work with our brand partners to tackle the same issues as Patagonia has faced. We actively work to remove violators, counterfeiters, and unauthorized resellers so our brands can flourish on the Amazon market. Patagonia is not the only brand to take action against third-party sellers. In 2016, Birkenstock fought against an unauthorized seller and threatened to pull the brand entirely from Amazon, not allowing authorized retailers to sell on the platform in an effort to stop these third-party sellers. They believe customer experience and information is compromised when purchased through unauthorized retailers and control over their customer database is essentially diminished. The market can prove to be extremely competitive and evolving, and staying ahead of other sellers, both authorized or not, is crucial to succeeding on e-Commerce platforms such as Amazon. Our experts at ZILGER Brands work hand-in-hand with our brand partners to emerge ahead despite these gray market sellers and keep their brand and Brick & Mortars happy.
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