Victoria Secret Allegedly Selling Knockoffs?

Victoria's Secret Stores, Inc. and its parent company Limited Brands, Inc. have been accused of breaching a 2001 agreement, and deliberately selling cheaper "knockoffs" to unsuspecting consumers, in a fifteen million dollar lawsuit filed by one of the retail chain's former major hosiery suppliers. New Jersey-based hosiery designer Zephyrs alleges that Victoria's Secret is misleading customers by selling less expensive, Canadian-made stockings while intentionally using photographs of Zephyrs-designed Italian-made stockings on packaging and in store displays. The less expensive copies are missing key design features, Zephyrs claims. The Complaint also alleges that, facing stagant profits and mounting debt, in order to unlawfully reduce its expenses, the retailer has contacted Zephyrs' suppliers directly with the intent to copy their designs, in violation of its written contracts from 2001.