Luois Vuitton's Fendi brand takes on Wal-Mart

Fendi, the upscale handbag brand owned by Louis Vuitton of France, has taken issue with Wal-Mart over what it claims is the chain's selling of counterfeit Fendi items in its Sam's Club stores. Fendi actually filed a lawsuit in Manhattan this past Friday with this claim as the leader.

Fendi claims that the bags, purses and wallets are infringing on Fendi's trademarks and designs, while being very close replicas of actual Fendi products -- and these knock-offs are selling for hundreds of dollars less than actual Fendi items. While knock-off products are nothing new in the retail trade, the fashionable Fendi brand and the reach of Sam's Club stores all across the U.S. do not make for a friendly and cuddly situation.

While Wal-Mart stocks knock-off items in droves in many of its stores, this is the first time in recent memory that it has allowed a vendor
to bring in product with a price point that would only light the fire of a well-known upper-crust brand land Fendi. Imagine if Elizabeth Taylor's "White Diamonds" perfume was bing sold for $15 per two-ounce bottle at your local Sam's Club. She'd be in a tizzy about that.