Fendi claims Wal-Mart bags are fakes

updated 1:17 p.m. ET June 12, 2006

NEW YORK - LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, owner of the Fendi brand, sued Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in federal court in Manhattan on Friday, alleging counterfeit Fendi bags and wallets are being sold in Sam's Club stores for hundreds of dollars less than the actual items.

The lawsuit by the world's largest luxury-goods group alleges Sam's Club stores, including stores in the New York area, are selling handbags, shoulder bags, purses, wallets and key chains that "imitate the designs of the Fendi products and that bear reproductions, counterfeits, copies or colorable imitations of the Fendi trademarks."

The alleged counterfeit items are selling for as much as 68 percent less than the actual Fendi products, the lawsuit says.

For example, a Sam's Club in Las Vegas was selling a handbag for $295.03, compared with $925 for the actual Fendi product, according to the complaint.

A spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer wasn't immediately available to comment late Friday.

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