Europe's Primark to go legal on 'fake'

European budget retailer Primark is gearing up to take legal action on its “fake” outlet that has set shop on Bank Street a week ago. When 'Emirates24|7' contacted the UK office of Primark, their spokesperson said: “We are aware that there is a store in Dubai that purports to be part of our group. Primark does not operate any stores there and this is not therefore a legitimate Primark store.The company is considering its legal options.” Although the Dubai shop features the European chain’s branding in the name board, it doesn’t stock any of items from the UK store. Even its shopping bag isn’t identical. In fact, most of the items that are sold, in the two-storeyed store, appeared to be sourced from Thailand. While no Primark merchandise was found in the store, it did stash bags that appeared like fake Louis Vuittons, but on closer introspection, it had motifs that were similar to LV but not identical.   When the staff was quizzed about their shop’s UK connection, they strongly denied any association. “No, we are not linked to the UK  shop,” retorted the lady behind the counter. While some staffers were more forthcoming than the others, some refused to comment with an apologetic; “I don’t know the details because I am new here”. Yakub Hatami, a partner of the shop, claimed he was unaware that there was another shop titled the same. “I have not heard of this name before,” he said, adding, “We don’t sell anything from that store.”   When asked what steps would be taken if they were stamped with a legal notice, he said it will be discussed and decided after holding “a meeting with the local owners”. The store was put in the spotlight after the expat community expressed eagerness over the UK chain’s UAE “launch”.