Walgreens Sues Wegmans Over Logo

MARK HAMSTRA

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Walgreen Co. has filed a federal trade dress suit here against Wegmans Food Markets alleging that the Rochester, N.Y.-based supermarket chain's stylized "W" logos are too similar to those of Walgreens.

Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens claims in the suit that Wegmans' logo could cause confusion among consumers and dilute the Walgreens identity. It cites both the use of a stylized "W" in the full Wegmans name in the stores and also the use of the stylized "W" in a circle on certain store-brand products.

Walgreens said both companies it worked with the same design firm — Toronto-based Watt International — to develop their logos.

The suit seeks for Wegmans to stop using the logos and to destroy all packaging containing the logo. It also seeks financial compensation for profits made on the products and for damages. Wegmans officials declined to comment, and referred SN to a collection of historical logos on the company’s website.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle quoted Jeanne Colleluori, a Wegmans spokeswoman, as saying Wegmans had not been contacted by Walgreens prior to the suit being filed.

"Our script design has been in use since 2008, and was crafted to look like the logos our company used in the 1930s and 1940s," she told the newspaper. "We don't think that there is any real risk of customer confusion between the two companies."