EXCLUSIVE: Carry Om fires back: ‘SM’s statement does not answer the issue we raised’

Brand presses SM on how alleged copies reached store shelves.

Carry Om is pushing back against SM Retail’s response to its plagiarism accusations, saying the retailer has yet to answer how allegedly similar bag designs ended up on its shelves, in an exclusive statement to radar Business.

“SM’s statement does not answer the issue we raised. We never claimed that SM employees physically manufactured these bags,” the brand said.

The response follows a statement issued by SM Retail in response to plagiarism accusations lodged by Carry Om founders Viktoria Salazar and Dhanvan Saulo. In a now-viral video posted on September 24, the local bag brand alleged that copies of its designs were spotted at several SM Stores.

Salazar and Saulo said the alleged copycat bags were sold under the generic brand Grab at SM Stores. The couple then raised several questions for the company to answer about how the products were designed, sourced, and selected for sale.

“The particular bags we documented did not identify an independent third-party brand or supplier on the product itself. So rather than simply describing itself as a marketplace, we are asking SM to clarify (…) whether existing Carry Om products or designs were used as references anywhere in that process?” the statement read.

While the brand did not say if any legal action was underway, the founders said they were prepared to provide the timeline and development history of their products in response to other claims circulating online.

The Carry Om founders also received reports that the alleged copycat bags had already been pulled from shelves, while other small businesses had also accused SM of product plagiarism.

“When a much cheaper product that we believe bears striking similarities to that work appears inside one of the country’s largest retailers, saying ‘we don’t manufacture products’ doesn’t answer the fundamental question of how that product got there,” Carry Om said.

SM Retail initially told radar Business that it did not design or manufacture the products sold at its stores.

“We are a platform for many suppliers to reach our customers. We scout the market to choose the latest products and items that are current and trendy at a price range that’s accessible and attractive to our customers,” the retail giant said in a statement.

SM also highlighted its support for smaller businesses through retail partnerships.

“Through our retail network, we have been supporting social enterprises and MSMEs to scale their business, by offering them opportunities to offer their products within the SM Retail network,” it said.

The dispute now centers on how the products entered SM Stores, with Carry Om pressing the retailer for more details on its design and procurement process.

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