Dive Summary:
- A Canadian Trader Joe's bootlegger—fittingly called "Pirate Joe's"—is being sued by the real deal on charges including trademark infringement, unfair competition and deceptive business practices.
- Trader Joe's has no locations in Canada, and Pirate Joe's owner Michael Hallatt stocks the Vancouver store with weekly $4,000-$5,000 shopping trips across the border, selling the bootleg goods at a mark-up.
- Trader Joe's stores in the Pacific Northwest have Hallatt's picture and instructions not to let him enter, and since the lawsuit was filed, Hallatt has changed his store's name to "Irate Joe's."
From the article:
... In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Hallatt said, "Trader Joe's thinks Canadians are too ignorant not to tell the difference between the empire and my little shop on Fourth Avenue." A sign outside the store reads "Unauthorized. Unaffiliated. Unafraid." ...
