The process has been going on for a year but may now be on its way to a conclusion. On Tuesday, the negotiations will begin in the Patent and Market Court in Stockholm.
I really hope we will get a guilty verdict. It is important for us but also for the entire industry that one does not let this pass, says CEO Helena Karlinder-Östlundh when TT meets her in Nelly's store in central Stockholm.
Customers tipped off
At lunchtime on a Friday, it is clear in the store who the clothing company's main target group is, younger girls.
It was also through tips from their customers that Nelly became aware of the image thefts. On Shein's website, there were a number of fashion images of various clothing items. The images and items were however identical to those that Nelly herself had on her website.
We have found a total of over 50 images, so it feels very systematic from their side. They have taken pictures of the products that have been our bestsellers, says Helena Karlinder-Östlundh.
When Shein was made aware of the image thefts, they chose, according to Helena Karlinder-Östlundh, to remove the images, but at the same time, none of the clothing giant's three companies have wanted to take any responsibility.
A gray area
The lawsuit only concerns the theft of the images themselves, not that Shein has plagiarized Nelly's various products.
It is difficult in the fashion industry because you are inspired by each other and different trends. It is a gray area, but for me, it was so obvious that an infringement had occurred, she says.
Shein has become synonymous with what has come to be called "ultra-fast fashion" when you post thousands of new items on your website daily, often at very low prices. The company has, however, been strongly questioned, not only from an environmental perspective but also from a labor law perspective. A BBC documentary that was broadcast earlier this year showed how people work 75 hours a week and only have one day off a month. The company has at the same time been rumored to be on its way to the stock market with a valuation of staggering 66 billion dollars.
In comparison, Nelly, which is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, is an extremely small player. Despite this, they are now choosing to take the costs to drive the case forward. How much this costs the company, Helena Karlinder-Östlundh does not want to reveal, but admits:
We know what we have spent on this and it is a lot, I can say that it is more than I thought when we entered the process.
