Iceland
(the country ) is a leading exporter of frozen fish and seafood to several
countries in the EU. Recently, native companies like ‘Clean Iceland’ and
‘Iceland Gold’ have faced trouble in marketing their products due to confusion
over the name which clashes with ‘Iceland Foods’ – a renowned frozen food
supermarket chain that has subsisted since the 70’s.
‘Iceland
Foods’ for several years used to be under the control of Icelandic investors
and later Icelandic banks. As the spokesperson for the retailer said, “the
relationship came to an end with a £1.5bn buyout of the company in 2012, but
Iceland the company has continued to have a good relationship with Iceland ,the
country through the ownership of three Iceland stores there, export sales of
Iceland products to other retailers throughout the country, and sponsorship of
the Icelandic national team in this year’s European football championships.”
‘Iceland
Foods’ is currently a UK-based but South African owned supermarket chain.
The
Icelandic government has begun legal proceedings to ensure that the trademark
of ‘Iceland’- that is exclusively owned by the supermarket chain is cancelled.
These steps have been taken primarily to protect native companies that are
unable to promote themselves abroad in association with their place of origin,
as is their right, for it is a place that they are rightly proud of and which
enjoys a positive national branding.
The
supermarket’s founder and chief executive, Malcolm Walker, said: “A high-level
delegation from Iceland Foods is preparing to fly to Reykjavik this week to
begin negotiations, and we very much hope for a positive response and an early resolution
of this issue.”
The
negotiations are hoped by both sides to bring an end an issue that has the
potential to erupt into a long-term battle. According to Iceland Foods, they
have no desire to stand in the way of a country that is making use of their own
name to promote their goods as long as it does not conflict with the long
standing business that the supermarket chain had established over the years.
The Icelandic
government has also been clear on its stance and it does not intend to force
the supermarket to register a new name, it is only seeking to end the company’s
right to assert the Iceland trademark to block native companies from using
“Iceland.”
