Smell-a-likes In The Netherlands

Chanel and Coty have successfully acted against several Dutch companies trading under the name Bargello Perfumes. Bargello offered smell-a-like perfumes claiming the same or even a better quality than the perfumes of the well-known brands and for that purpose used comparative lists with Bargello numbers directly linked to the trade marks of Chanel and Coty.

At first the comparative lists were used publicly on the counter in each of Bargello's stores. Later – after a complaint by Chanel and Coty – Bargello changed its strategy and only let its employees use the comparative list behind the counter and not visible to customers. Bargello also used slogans like "400 well-known perfumes", "you will not notice the difference" and "over 400 well-known perfumes for only € 16,99!".