Aussie Inventors Outraged: How Kmart Allegedly Hijacked Their Brilliant Creation

In the land down under, where innovation and the 'fair go' ethos are deeply cherished, a recent controversy has emerged that has left Australian entrepreneurs feeling betrayed. Kmart, a household name and retail giant, stands accused of what some are calling an 'un-Australian' act – the alleged replication of popular products created by local inventors, selling them at a fraction of the price.


The latest in a string of such allegations involves a pair of sibling entrepreneurs from the southern Sydney suburb of Sans Souci. Sandra Abade and her brother Luka Maric, who founded Dog Friendly Co six years ago, have built a successful business selling personalised dog harnesses. Their venture, which began as a side hustle, has blossomed into a million-dollar enterprise with over 300,000 harnesses sold. However, their success story took an unexpected turn when they discovered that Kmart had begun selling strikingly similar harnesses.


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Owners of Dog Friendly Co slammed Kmart for copying their dog harnesses. Image Credits: Dog Friendly Co, Kmart


The Kmart harnesses, which allow pet owners to stick the letters of their pet's name onto the product, are priced between $12 to $15. This significantly undercuts the Dog Friendly Co harnesses, which can cost up to five times as much. The siblings argue that Kmart's version not only mimics the design of their harness, which is strategically shaped to strap underneath a dog's chest rather than around its legs, but also potentially compromises safety due to lower quality.


'As a small business, especially in the early stages, you're working day and night... and then just when it gets to a point where you start getting noticed, a bigger company comes in and copies you,' Sandra Abade lamented. Her brother Luka Maric echoed her sentiments, labelling the act as 'duping' and 'un-Australian'.

This isn't the first time Kmart has been accused of such practices. Just weeks prior, Alex Gransbury, founder of the industrial design company Dreamfarm, called out Kmart for allegedly copying his award-winning fold-flat citrus juicer, the Fluicer. The Fluicer, which has been recognised by Time Magazine as one of the best inventions and featured on Oprah Winfrey's list of favourite things, retails for between $19.95 and $29.95. Kmart's version, produced by Anko and priced at a mere $5, was claimed to be a 'lower quality' copy that lacked the same anti-spray features and struggled with effectively juicing even small limes.

Gransbury pointed out that patenting the Fluicer in Australia was not economically viable, costing around $30,000 plus yearly maintenance fees, a sum too steep for many small businesses to afford. 'I wish, in Australia, we supported each other, but when did it become OK to rip each other off?' he questioned.


In response to these allegations, Kmart has maintained that its merchandise team conducts rigorous checks to ensure that its products do not infringe on the rights of others. 'Our merchandise process also ensures we conduct thorough checks during the product ranging and development process, to ensure we are not infringing the rights of others,' a spokesperson stated.

The situation raises important questions about the protection of intellectual property and the ethics of large corporations potentially capitalising on the innovations of smaller businesses. It also highlights the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in safeguarding their creations against replication by major players in the market.

For our readers, particularly those who are budding inventors or small business owners, this story serves as a cautionary tale. It underscores the importance of understanding intellectual property rights and considering the potential costs and benefits of patenting your products. It also reminds us to support local businesses and the spirit of Australian ingenuity.


Key Takeaways

  • Kmart has been accused of copying products from Australian entrepreneurs and selling them at significantly lower prices.
  • Sandra Abade and Luka Maric, founders of Dog Friendly Co, claim that Kmart is selling a similar dog harness to their personalised product, potentially affecting their business and confusing customers.
  • Alex Gransbury, founder of Dreamfarm, has accused Kmart of producing a cheaper version of his award-winning Fluicer, with concerns over quality and intellectual property rights.
  • Both small business owners express dismay over the lack of support for local businesses and the practice of larger companies allegedly duplicating their products without adequate recognition or compensation.
We invite you to share your thoughts and experiences. Have you ever felt that your ideas or products were unfairly copied by a larger company? How did you handle the situation? Let's discuss the importance of innovation and fair competition in our comments section below.
 
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Good on you, Kmart!
Those who find it hard to make ends meet would find no reason to complain about items "copied" by Kmart, and the Temus of this world, from the big boys, at a lower cost, but certainly not of inferior quality.
But don't worry, make no mistake, the cry-babies' bottom line won't in the least be affected.
 
Well, SDC has been very good at promoting K-Mart 'dupes' of expensive products at a fraction of the price. That TOO, is what Aussies enjoy. Bottom line... if you failed to patent it for Australia, even after making a $M+ in sales, making copies is fair game and not 'un-Australian' at all. . . 'Un-Australian' is manufacturing products that are relatively low cost to produce and then selling them at ludicrously high prices. Obviously, somebody is going to jump into the wide gap between cost and profit when you take that approach.
 
A formal / bridal store I worked in for 2 years sold designer dresses eg Sherri Hill, Tony Bowls, Giovanni. She knew the factories in China where these were made and actually went to visit three factories in China.
They told her if she purchased 10 of the same dresses at a time they would sell and send to her for $20 each. These dresses were done at the same time they cut and made the designers dresses , the only difference was they left of tge designers label and put my bosses label on

As she already had a big following for these designer dresses she would show this new range and tell people it was out of the same same factory but instead of paying $1200 up these were $250 up
 

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