Kmart has again been accused of “misleading” Australian business owners by copying its successful product and lowering its price.
Two weeks ago, the founder of industrial design company Dreamfarm, Alex Gransbury, accused Kmart of copying his award-winning folding citrus juicer, the Fluicer.
And now the retail giant has been sued for allegedly manufacturing a lower-quality “copy” of pet products sold by a company created by business brothers.
Sandra Abade and her brother Luka Maric, from the southern Sydney suburb of Sans Souci, founded Dog Friendly Co to sell personalized dog harnesses six years ago.
It started as a sideline, but grew to become a million-dollar company with more than 300,000 harnesses sold.
But the brothers were horrified to discover this week that Kmart now sells similar harnesses and said the store is “ripping off an Australian brand”.
The Kmart harness requires owners to glue the letters of their pet’s name to the harness and costs between $12 and $15, less than the Dog Friendly Co harness, which can cost five times as much.
The retailer is “taking the easy way out” and making money from the hard work done by others, Ms. Abade told Daily Telegraph.
Sandra Abade (pictured with her dog Carlos) co-founded Dog Friendly Co with her brother Luka Maric

The brothers from the southern Sydney suburb of Sans Souci set up Dog Friendly Co to sell personalized dog harnesses (pictured) six years ago.
‘As a small business, especially in the early stages, you work day and night, you’re…doing the hard work, and then just when it gets to a point where you start to get attention, a bigger company comes along and copies you. . “she said.
His brother said the Kmart harness copies the shape of the Dog Friendly Co harness, which sits under the dog’s chest instead of around its paws.
He said it was “hoax” and “un-Australian”.
Maric said Kmart’s strategy in this case was “a family business that works hard over years to develop a product… and then you constantly wait and then make a cheaper version.”
The brother and sister duo are now worried that potential customers will confuse the “lower quality” Kmart harness with theirs.
Ms. Abade said it’s not just about quality, “we’re actually talking about safety, because there aren’t as many restrictions on what you can and can’t do when it comes to products like pet harnesses.”
In the previous accusation of “deception”, Dreamfarm’s Gransbury has spent the last 22 years redesigning household items to improve their functionality since he founded his Brisbane company in his garage in 2003.
Their most successful item, the Fluicer, is a reinvented version of the humble juicer that comes in three sizes (for limes, lemons, and oranges) and retails for between $19.95 and $29.95.

But now they say Kmart has “duped” their product with a “lower quality” copy (pictured).
It was instantly recognized for its innovative design and, in 2023, was named one of Time magazine’s best inventions and listed as one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite things.
But earlier this month, the small business owner discovered that a duplicate version of his product was being sold in Kmart stores across the country. The imitation, produced by Anko, was priced at only $5.
Gransbury also claimed that Kmart used photographs of its product, as the folding juicer’s packaging included an image showing anti-spray features similar to those of the Fluicer.
But he noted that the supposed Kmart copy does not actually include the same anti-spray features present in the Fluicer.
He said Kmart’s folding juicer was flawed because it was too small to juice lemons effectively, and had problems even with limes.
Gransbury said Fluicer had not been patented in Australia because the process was not economically viable because it required a lawyer and cost about $30,000, plus annual maintenance fees.
“I wish in Australia we supported each other, but when was it ever okay to rip each other off?” asked.
At the time, Kmart told Daily Mail Australia that its merchandise team carries out rigorous checks to ensure its products do not infringe the rights of others.
“Our merchandise team focuses on creating curated ranges that align with global trends, allowing us to offer our customers great products at the lowest possible price,” a spokesperson said.
“Our marketing process also ensures that we carry out extensive checks during the product selection and development process, to ensure that we are not infringing the rights of others.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart and Dog Friendly Co for comment.