Target accused of selling counterfeit makeup
Clothing retailer Target is being accused of selling counterfeit M•A•C Cosmetics in its store.
A statement on the M•A•C Cosmetics website says that the cosmetic brand ‘conducted extensive testing in our US laboratories and found that M•A•C marked products that were, until recently, being sold at Target Australia are counterfeit’.
‘Target Australia is not an authorized retailer of M•A•C Cosmetics and we did not supply any M•A•C products to Target Australia.’
Target is has been forced to remove all products from their shelves and websites. They have also reportedly confirmed that Estee Lauder, the owner of M•A•C, is taking them to court.
M·A·C urges their customers to shop at their authorised retailers.
"In Australia, our authorized retailers are M·A·C freestanding stores, www.maccosmetics.com.au, M·A·C Pro stores, MYER and David Jones or call our customer care line on toll free at 1800 613 828."
It’s believed the ACCC is also investigating the claims.
This afternoon, Target responded to claims on their Facebook page. They said they believed the products were sourced lawfully by a domestic supplier from the MAC wholesaler overseas.
Their statement said: "Sourcing genuine product in this way, a process known as parallel importing, is not illegal in Australia and can result in significant savings for our customers. As a result, we can offer customers MAC products for 40% less than other Australian retailers."
They also said their product was tested by their supplier who assured it was genuine. They said they removed they removed their products as a gesture of good faith until future testing can be completed.
It follows a challenging month for the Australian retailer. Last month they had to defend their range of children’s
clothes after a mother accused them of selling provocative clothing to young girls.
A customer wrote a post on Target's Facebook page stating that clothes from Target made young girls “look like tramps”.
Since the post, there was a flurry of criticism from parents and wide ranging media coverage about their clothing styles.
