Trader Joe’s Suing Man Who Resells Their Products

The Trader Joe’s chain of grocery stores is suing a man who buys their products in Washington state and resells them in Canada.

KOMO-TV reports the grocery chain isn’t flattered by “Pirate Joe’s” of Vancouver, British Columbia.

They’d like to see their Canadian customers continue to drive down Interstate 5 and stop at one of the real Trader Joe’s stores in Western Washington. The company doesn’t have any stores in Canada.

Trader Joe’s is suing Mike Hallatt for false advertising, copyright infringement and injury to reputation.

Hallatt says he doesn’t know what law he’s breaking. He says he saw an opportunity to make some money and Trader Joe’s is making profiting as well, since he buys the food products right in their Bellingham store. He compares his operation to a music store that resells CDs.