A local business owner is being forced to re-brand her business after her social media was shut down due to a trademark infringement complaint.
Gail Decker has been the owner of Next Clothing Company on Water Street in St. John’s for 24 years.
About three weeks ago, the business’ Facebook and Instagram accounts, along with their online store, had been shut down due to a trademark claim from U.K. clothing company “Next.”
She says she reached out to a trademark lawyer, but after further research, realized that a legal battle would be difficult to win, as Next has over 500 stores and 44,000 employees.
Decker says although she has no other choice than to rebrand as “Gail’s Clothing Company,” she’s choosing to look at it as a positive.
The business has new signage and the online store is going back up. Decker says she is trying to get the company’s Facebook page back, but if she can’t recover it, she will just start a new one.
On the heels of the pandemic, Decker calls it a “bump in the road. ” However, she says it’s not the “end of the road.”
While she has shed a few tears, she says it will be okay, and that she had a lot of support.