Tesco Plc’s logo for its Clubcard Prices loyalty program is deceptively similar to competitor Lidl’s trademark, according to a UK court ruling that comes as the two supermarkets compete for cost-conscious customers hit by the nation’s stubbornly high inflation.
(Bloomberg) — Tesco Plc’s logo for its Clubcard Prices loyalty program is deceptively similar to competitor Lidl’s trademark, according to a UK court ruling that comes as the two supermarkets compete for cost-conscious customers hit by the nation’s stubbornly high inflation.
“Lidl has suffered damage” from “Tesco’s misrepresentation,” according to the judgment. inflation“Substantial proportion of customers will be deceived,” by the similar logos, the court said.
The loyalty program is central to Tesco’s attempts to keep costs low as soaring prices have pushed it to protect its about 27% share in groceries market against discount grocers such as Aldi and Lidl, which have 10% and 7% market share respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Read More: Tesco Says Efforts on Prices Will Keep Profit Steady
Tesco will appeal the ruling, according to its spokesperson. The judgment won’t affect discounts offered at the stores and the court “concluded that there was no deliberate intent on Tesco’s part to copy Lidl’s trademark,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Tesco and the German supermarkets operator have locked horns in the UK’s court since 2020 over their similar logos with a blue square bearing a yellow circle with a red line border. Lidl accused Tesco of copying the logo to give impression of discounted prices. Tesco said the accusation was “absurd.”
Tesco used the Clubcard logo to deceive customers for the past three years, Lidl’s spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “This infringement allowed Tesco to take unfair advantage of our longstanding reputation for great value, misleading their customers at a time when they should have been supporting them.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.