Skip to main content

If you can’t spell ‘Birkenstock,’ the sandal company wants you to skip Amazon

A German court has ruled that Amazon may not lure customers to its site when they misspell “Birkenstock,” Reuters reports. The German shoemaker’s relationship with Amazon has been rocky lately, and the recent court ruling is not likely to help matters. Birkenstock told a court in Dusseldorf that Amazon used Google Adwords to draw customers by booking variations on “Birkenstock.”

Any of the brand name’s several misspellings could draw customers to Amazon’s storefront, the court stated. Birkenstock requested an injunction due to fears that customers would unknowingly buy cheaply-made Birkenstock knockoffs, which could damage the company’s reputation.

Recommended Videos

In December, Birkenstock said that it would stop selling its shoes through Amazon’s European site because the online retailer “failed to proactively prevent” the sale of knock-off Birkenstock shoes. The German company cut ties with Amazon’s American site last year.

The story was first reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel, which reported that Birkenstock’s Oliver Reichert said that Amazon was “complicit.”

For its part, Amazon said that the company always worked to ensure that fraudulent products were not sold on its website.

“We work diligently with vendors, sellers and rights owners to detect and prevent fraudulent products reaching our marketplace,” said an Amazon spokesperson.

Amazon’s disagreement with Birkenstock reflects one of the company’s few defeats in 2017. For the most part, Amazon has had a good year with the purchase of Whole Foods giving it a foothold in the physical grocery market. On the digital front, Amazon Prime membership is on the upswing. Additionally, the company’s hardware division has done well with its line of affordable Fire tablets and Amazon Echo.

As a whole, the fashion world has been one area in which Amazon has struggled, as many peoples simply prefer to see their clothes in person before they buy them. However, the company did recently reach a deal with Nike which would see the company sell its products directly on Amazon’s site. Part of Nike’s motivation for the deal was to help Amazon deal with knock-offs and copycats.

For now, however, it appears shoppers will have to look elsewhere for their Birkenstocks.

Eric Brackett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
The insane Samsung Odyssey Ark gaming monitor is $900 off today
A person playing a video game on the Samsung Odyssey Ark 2nd Gen Gaming Monitor.

For a gaming monitor that's going to supercharge your gaming setup, you should check out the 55-inch Samsung Odyssey Ark 2nd Gen. This amazing screen is originally priced at $3,100, but you can currently get it with a $900 discount from Samsung itself. Its lowered price of $2,200 is still pretty expensive, but it's going to be worth every single penny. You're going to have to be quick with your purchase though, as with all monitor deals with high demand, the savings may disappear sooner than you expect.

Why you should buy the 55-inch Samsung Odyssey Ark 2nd Gen curved gaming monitor

Read more
SpaceX Starlink rivalry grows as next Kuiper deployment nears
A ULA rocket launching Amazon's first Project Kuiper satellites in April 2025.

Amazon is about to send another batch of Project Kuiper internet satellites to orbit as it seeks to take on SpaceX’s Starlink service to provide broadband internet to customers around the world.

The tech giant has a long way to go before it has any hope of effectively challenging Starlink, but with its second launch set for next week, progress is being made toward its goal.

Read more
Buy a Samsung G6 or G9 gaming monitor and get a free JBL gaming headset
Kena Bridge of Spirits on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9.

If your gaming PC setup needs a screen upgrade, we highly recommend taking a look at Samsung monitor deals. There are always some huge savings available for the brand's gaming monitors, and we've picked out two of them for you to consider. The 27-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 gaming monitor is on sale for $700 following a $200 discount on its original price of $900, while the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 gaming monitor is down to $1,000 for savings of $800 on its sticker price of $1,800.

No matter which of these two displays you choose, you'll get the JBL Quantum One gaming headset -- featuring active noise cancellation, head-tracking 3D audio, epic audio quality, and an ergonomic design with a regular price of $200 -- for absolutely free. You're going to have to hurry with your purchase though, as there's no telling how much time is remaining until the price cuts and the offer for the free gaming headset expire.

Read more