The newspaper ad ran with the line: ‘Dermalogica has 7,000 authorised stockists in the UK & Ireland. Boots isn’t one’.
The up-scale skin care provider distributes its products mainly to spas and beauty salons throughout the UK, but when its products started to be stocked in larger Boots stores throughout the country, it decided to take action.
According to Dermalogica its products are available at the retailer’s flagship stores throughout the UK and through its website.
Boots does not match brand appeal
The company says that its stockists have been carefully chosen to match its brand appeal and market positioning, and says that Boots does not match this criteria.
Dermalogica UK general manager Glenn Poy stated in an article by Marketing Magazine that he believed Boots had sourced its Dermalogica products from a third party, which is not authorized to distribute the products.
Poy also stated that he would offer a £500 reward to anyone that could help the company identify who that source was.
Threat of legal action
Meanwhile Boots has said that it is taking legal advise because it considers Dermalogica’s claims to be defamatory, while the skin care company also said it was considering legal action over the spat.
This is the second time this year that Boots has been involved in a dispute over allegedly stocking products without authorisation.
In February of this year hair care provider Paul Mitchell claimed that its products were being illegally supplied to Boots, but the retailer refused to cease sales, even though Paul Mitchell’s UK distributor agreed the supplies were not authorised.