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Saks, owned by Hudson's Bay Co, sent a cease and desist
letter to the website late last month demanding that it change
its name by the end of Wednesday, according to its proprietor,
Carrie Sarabella. It claims the moniker infringes on the Saks
Fifth Avenue brand.
But Sarabella said its business as usual for Snaks 5th Avenchew
- name and all. "As of now, I'm standing my ground," said the
32-year-old New York native who lives in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Sarabella said she hadn't heard back from representatives of
Saks about whether they would pursue legal action against her
for keeping her company name.
Saks declined to comment on its name-change demands, and a
spokeswoman for the law firm representing Saks in the case did
not immediately respond to calls for comment on Thursday.
Sarabella launched her online store in April to market a line of
treats that she first created for her own pooch, an American
Cocker Spaniel named "Pinero," who suffers from food allergies.
The snacks, packaged as human foods including cupcakes, donut
holes and potato chips, use high-end hypoallergenic ingredients
for dogs with sensitivities, Sarabella said.
Sarabella, who grew up shopping at Saks, said using a parody
name, as others had done with pet-oriented brands like Chewy
Vuitton and Bloomingtails, seemed fitting for her company.
"I knew that Saks was able to offer me the best of what I was
looking for, and I wanted to do the same thing with pets," she
said. "It was almost as if I was honoring and complimenting what
they always gave to me, but unfortunately they don't feel the
same way."
(Reporting by Laila Kearney; editing by Andrew Hay)
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Saks
barks legal threat at pet firm Snaks 5th Avenchew
