As you'll no doubt remember from the school playground, fights over who wore what first are the worst types of fight you can have. The fight currently brewing between Primark and Matalan is a case in point.
Both like to think of themselves as the leaders of the gang in the playground that is the "cheap as chips" end of the fashion high street. Primark sell shockingly cheap clothes, Matalan sell shockingly cheap clothes. Primark rip off the top designer looks every season and sell them for less than a tenner, Matalan have started doing likewise. Primark launch a kids range using the slogan "Rebel", Matalan launch a range for teenage boys with the slogan, er, "Rebel". Oops. They took it too far, didn't they? Primark certainly think so - and they're taking Matalan to court to prove it.
In what's reported to be the first battle of its kind between two of the lower-end labels, Primark are determined to protect their brand, proving that it's not just the big-name design houses who get tetchy over copyright. It's a bit of a pot-kettle-black moment for Primark, who have themselves suffered "copycat" jibes from the bigger girls and boys in the fashion playground - most notably Monsoon, who tried to sue them last year for allegedly copying their designs.
So, Primark versus Matalan - who wins? Who's your favourite cheap store? And, more importantly, does anyone know if Matalan's mustard-yellow 60s-style coat is in stores yet?
