DODGEVILLE, WI: Shot down by Germany’s highest court for promoting its standard unlimited guarantee, Lands’ End has fired back with some PR salvos of its own.
DODGEVILLE, WI: Shot down by Germany’s highest court for promoting
its standard unlimited guarantee, Lands’ End has fired back with some PR
salvos of its own.
Lands’ End, a highly successful catalog retailer, expanded overseas from
its dairyland base to the UK in 1993, Japan in 1994 and Germany in
1996.
But only in the last country has it encountered opposition to its
’Guaranteed.
Period’ trademark which states: ’If you’re not satisfied with any item,
return it to us at any time for an exchange or a refund of its purchase
price.’
While other U.S. catalog merchants (such as L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer)
offer similar guarantees, few German ones do. Several years ago, a
private trade agency - perhaps spurred on by native retailers -
challenged the Lands’ End guarantee as being ’unfair’ and therefore in
violation of German regulations.
Ordered to stop mentioning its traditional guarantee in advertising or
catalogs distributed in the country, Lands’ End appealed. The matter
went all the way up to Germany’s highest court, which ruled in August
that the company’s guarantee was ’economically unfeasible’ and thus
’unfair.’
The company responded by running ads in Germany showing a fly with
’one-day guarantee’ and a washing machine ’guaranteed six months’ along
with the Lands’ End logo and the words ’advertisement forbidden in
Germany.’ This, according to spokeswoman Lisa Mullen, was designed to
mock German companies for both lousy guarantees and backing the suit
against feisty American competition. In England, Lands’ End ran ads
stating: ’A guarantee so good the Germans banned it.’
American marketing know-how and German obstinacy have clashed over
product guarantees before. In the past, Tupperware and Zippo Lighters
were both forced to back off from their usual ’unlimited’
guarantees.
Lands’ End is considering appealing the German court decision to the
European Union.
