Perfume brand Zu Malone unexpectedly sold watches across the line?
On various online platforms, a store called JO MALONE has entered the consumer's field of vision. The merchant's product has a similar appearance to the Rolex Logbook watch, which is often sold for 100000 yuan, but it was only sold for 398 yuan during the JO MALONE store live broadcast.
The name JO MALONE is similar to the Jo Malone London brand, which is a brand under the Est é e Lauder Group and one of the pillars of Est é e Lauder Group's performance. Zu Malone is a high-end salon fragrance. A 30ml bottle of perfume can cost 670 yuan.
I don't need to say much about the Zu Malong brand. It's a big brand, high-end goods, and has been seen at counters in first tier cities, second tier cities such as Intime, Wanda, and Taikoo Li. Zu Malong started out as a fragrance brand, and it's very famous. Every bottle costs over a thousand yuan, but our 'Zu Malong' watches are also very famous. "In a live broadcast on the night of November 21st, the anchor was vigorously promoting them.
JO MALONE watch Tiktok e-commerce screenshot
In this way, a bottle of Zu Malone perfume can be bought at a discount of 60%. Is it really so cost-effective? The reporter also noticed that JO MALONE has been promoting the brand "Zuma Long Watch" in its cooperation with several e-commerce bloggers.
But upon closer inspection, this Zulu Malong is not the same Zulu Malong. The JO MALONE e-commerce platform store stated that the company's watch and jewelry brand is authorized by "Ms. Zumalon" and is a different link from Est é e Lauder Group's Zumalon fragrance. Is it authorized by my lord? Or was Est é e Lauder hit by a scandal? Est é e Lauder advised consumers to purchase their favorite products through the official sales channels of Est é e Lauder Group, according to a reporter from the Daily Economic News.
According to a reporter's inquiry, Est é e Lauder Group completed the trademark registration for the jewelry and watch category of "Zuma Long" in 2024. The company has noticed many infringements and has been working hard to protect its rights.
JO MALONE store sells watches and jewelry on multiple platforms
Recently, a store named JO MALONE launched watches and jewelry on many online shopping platforms, such as Tiktok, Xiaohongshu, Taobao, etc. From the store name, JO MALONE is similar to the English trademark name Jo Malone London of the well-known fragrance brand Zu Malone, and the style design of the trademark does not look much different at first glance.
And this watch jewelry store, whose name is similar to that of perfume merchant Jo Malone London, has repeatedly "bumped" its products with classic models of Rolex, Van Cleef Abbott, Patek Philippe and other brands. For example, JO MALONE's hot selling product "Tropical Rainforest Series" has entered the live broadcast rooms of multiple hosts. Experts in the luxury industry have confirmed that the exterior design is a direct copy of Rolex's "Diary Series".
Consumers familiar with Cartier's "TANK" and "Blue Balloon" series watches, Tiffany's "Key" series pendants, and other high-end styles can also find similar looking products on the shelves of JO MALONE. In terms of price, these products can be considered as "substitutes". For example, Rolex's log watch, which costs 100000 yuan per unit and is often not available, and the "JO MALONE genuine" watch with a similar appearance, which sells for about 300 yuan.
And the name JO MALONE reminds people of the internationally renowned beauty brand Zu Malone.
It can't help wondering that Zu Malone sells not only perfume, but also jewelry and watches?
The staff of the "JO MALONE Flagship Store" on Tmall stated that the watches and other categories sold are authorized solely by Ms. "Zuma Long". The staff member said: "Zu Malone is a brand founded by designer Jo Malone. In 1999, the fragrance was sold to Estee Lauder Group, which is the perfume we see now. Then our category is' Ms. ZuMalone '(Editor's note: it is not sure who is referred to here, so the quotation marks are added), which is separately authorized to do, just like scented candles. And Hong Kong ZuMalone Trading is also a company controlled by' Ms. ZuMalone '. Our link is' Ms. ZuMalone' - Hong Kong Trading - our company."
The reporter found from the relevant qualification information of Taobao online store operators that the enterprise name of "JO MALONE Flagship Store" on Taobao is Yiwu Palu Jewelry Co., Ltd., which was established in January 2024. According to Tianyancha, the company has not yet provided a public phone number. The registration information of JO MALONE watch brand flagship store on Xiaohongshu shows that the physical company behind it is Zuma Long (Hangzhou) Trading Co., Ltd. The Daily Economic News called the company's public phone number to inquire about brand authorization matters, but the other party hung up the phone after hearing the journalist's identity.
On November 20th, a reporter from the Daily Economic News sent an email to Ms. Zu Malong's personal social media account homepage email to inquire, but as of the time of writing, no response has been received.
Est é e Lauder: Always striving to protect its rights
Jo Malone London is a British lifestyle brand with low-key and elegant characteristics acquired by Estee Lauder Group in 1999. It has the reputation of "Queen of the World of perfume" in the West.
"Zu Malone has developed into a synonym for coveted perfume and luxurious bath, body and household products," Estee Lauder Group said on its official website. The official website also shows that this brand is available for sale in 82 countries and regions worldwide.
For Chinese consumers, the brand Zu Malong is not unfamiliar, with over 80 offline stores in China and an official flagship store on e-commerce platforms. This year marks the tenth year that Zu Malone has entered the Chinese market, and it is also the first salon fragrance brand introduced by Est é e Lauder Group to China.
In addition to its significance in the Chinese market, Zu Malone also has an important strategic position in the perfume brand matrix of Estee Lauder Group. During the financial reports and conference calls for fiscal year 2024 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Zu Marlon was frequently mentioned along with another fragrance brand, Le Labo, which entered the Chinese market last year.
The financial report shows that the growth of net sales of perfume category of Estee Lauder Group in fiscal year 2024 is mainly driven by Zu Malone and Lelyber, and the two brands achieve a total net sales of 96 million dollars. By the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, Estee Lauder Group will become the first perfume company in Japan by virtue of the new stores of Zu Malone and LeLeber.
Weibo screenshot
How does Est é e Lauder Group, which has invested a lot of marketing expenses and energy in the Zu Ma Long brand, view "Zu Ma Long"? Regarding this, Est é e Lauder told reporters that it is recommended that consumers purchase their favorite products through the official sales channels of Est é e Lauder Group.
Wang Guohua, a partner lawyer at Zhongwen Law Firm, told the Daily Economic News reporter that when a trademark is a combination of letters and Chinese, if the letters or Chinese are completely identical or similar, and the corresponding product category is the same or similar to the registered product category, it will constitute trademark infringement.
He emphasized that trademark protection usually applies to the same or similar categories of goods. If this trademark is not registered in other categories, even if others use it, they have no right to intervene, unless such use constitutes confusion or misidentification, and cross class protection can be achieved through the use of well-known trademarks.
The reporter of the Daily Economic News found from the China National Intellectual Property Administration that the jewelry and watch trademarks of "Zumalong" and "JO MalONE" have been registered by JO Malone INC. JO MALONE INC. is the company name mentioned on the official website of Zu Malon, and the address of the trademark applicant is also the company address disclosed on the official website of Est é e Lauder Group. That is to say, Est é e Lauder Group has completed the registration of jewelry and watch category trademarks for Zuma Long and JO MAlONE.
In recent years, Est é e Lauder Group has encountered many trademark infringement cases, and reporters have also learned that the company has been paying attention to many infringement behaviors and has been working hard to protect its rights. For example, this year, the results of the infringement cases against two major brands under Est é e Lauder Group, Est é e Lauder and Yuemuzhiyuan, were announced, and the company received a total compensation of 13.25 million yuan.
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