Kering accused of making luxury sunglasses in China

The lawsuit, filed in a New York federal court by designer eyewear retailer Selima Optique, alleged Kering’s “products, or substantially all parts of their products, are made in China, and (at best) shipped to Italy for final assbly and packaging, and then exported.” It also alleged that the practice was a “deceitful bait-and-switch sche.”However, a spokesperson for Kering denied the accusations and maintained that all of its luxury eyewear was made in Italy and labeled in compliance with the law.According to the spokesperson, the confusion stmed from 21 pairs of sunglasses that were mistakenly mislabelled as ‘Made in China’ – the stamp used for its Puma frames. The mislabelling supposedly occurred at a logistics warehouse in Veneto, Italy where glasses from all of Kering Eyewear’s brands are gathered before shipping worldwide and where most of the “made in” labelling takes place.The mislabelled products were then shipped to various clients, including Selima Optique. When the anomaly was discovered, Kering reportedly issued an apology and offered to replace the its, along with certificates to prove the sunglasses were actually made in Italy.All of the clients accepted the exchange offer except for Selima Optique, which according to Kering, only received a single pair of the mislabelled it. When asked for a statent regarding Kering’s denial of the allegations, legal counsel for Selima Optique said the company would prefer to litigate in court.