Mother accuses retail giant of stealing her baby carrier design
The struggle to find a perfect baby carrier that is not only suitable for the baby but comfortable for the mother as well was what inspired Shannon McLaughlin to design one – which took four years to launch.
The mother was shocked to the core when a friend sent a screen shot of the exact design being sold at retail giant Woolworths’s online shop in December 2018.
McLaughlin‚ who is accusing the retailer of stealing her design and concept‚ described Woolies’s conduct as “completely unethical”.
“Woolworths has shamelessly copied my design and pattern. Not only have they copied my ‘Stage 1’ and ‘Stage 2’ names‚ they used my colours [and] designated Google Ad keywords to divert potential customers‚” she said.
Woolworths‚ meanwhile‚ has said it takes the issue “incredibly seriously” but will only be in a position to issue a response after company representatives have met with the Ubuntu Baba founder.
The company said in the meantime‚ it was recalling the product from its online shop.
McLaughlin said the carrier‚ which is manufactured by her company Ubuntu Baba in Cape Town‚ was priced between R1‚300 and R1‚590. Woolies sold them for R450.
Speaking about measures taken to check if indeed Woolies had copied the design‚ “one of the ladies on my team suggested searching our online order receipts to see if anyone from Woolworths head office has ever purchased one of our carriers‚ and‚ surprise‚ we find that an Ubuntu Baba Stage 2 carrier was purchased and delivered to Woolworths head office in June 2017‚” she said.
McLaughlin said the team then discovered their Stage 1 carrier had also been purchased and delivered at the same head office in September 2017.
Ubuntu Baba’s customers have questioned them about the product.
“We’ve been asked whether we are now stocking our baby carriers in Woolworths and how Woolworths are able to sell them for so cheap compared to ours.
“The answer to that is: manufactured in China + made with polyester vs manufactured in SA + made with organic hemp‚” McLaughlin said.
Following several failed attempts to contact Woolies via e-mail‚ McLaughlin has taken to social media.
“This is bigger than my business. It’s not about theft, but morals‚” she said.
McLaughlin said she was advised by an intellectual property attorney against suing the retailer due to the high costs involved.
“I would need to do a marketing survey which would cost about R150‚000 and to head to the high court I would need R250‚000 before the case is even heard‚” she said.
The entrepreneur said she was battling to understand why the retailer would do this.
“I am not trying to boycott Woolworths‚ my aim is to challenge them to step up and do business better‚” she added.
She wants Woolworths to remove the baby carriers from sale‚ provide an explanation of how it happened‚ and an assurance to the public it will never happen again.
Following McLaughlin’s blog post and tweet‚ consumers lambasted the retailer on social media.
One parked their luxury SUV outside a branch of Woolworths with the words “Stop Killing SMEs” on the back window.
And for a while on Tuesday morning, massive traffic to her blog saw the site collapse.
Seven years ago‚ Woolworths faced a similar social media backlash over its alleged copying of KwaZulu-Natal-based Frankie’s range of retro cooldrinks.
Woolworths finally responded directly to McLaughlin on Tuesday‚ inviting her to meet for coffee and a chat.
The meeting is scheduled to take place at her Westlake shop on Wednesday.