Samsung calls off collaboration with knock-off Supreme brand in China

By

Robin Driver

Published
Feb 5, 2019

South Korean electronics company Samsung has announced that it is canceling its partnership in China with Supreme Italia, a brand based in Barletta, Italy which trades off its likeness to cult NYC streetwear label Supreme.
 

The announcement was made on Chinese social media website Weibo with a post which has been translated by Engadget as saying, “Samsung Electronics had previously mentioned a collaboration with Supreme Italia at the Galaxy A8s China launch event on December 10th, Samsung Electronics has now decided to terminate this collaboration.”
 
The news follows a statement made by Supreme in December seeking to clear up the confusion created when Samsung and the Italian label launched by International Brand Firm (IBF) announced a partnership that included the opening of a Beijing flagship and a runway show at the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center in Shanghai.

“Supreme is not working with Samsung, opening a flagship location in Beijing or participating in a Mercedes-Benz runway show," the New York-based brand stated categorically in an Instagram story. "These claims are blatantly false and propagated by a counterfeit organization.”
 
Samsung had previously tried to clear up confusion around its controversial collaboration itself with a since-deleted post on Weibo where it pointed out that it was working with Supreme Italia and not Supreme NYC, but the company has now clearly had a strategic change of heart.
 
Supreme has already tried to take legal action the Italian interloper in the past but the knock-off brand was considered legal under intellectual property law and has been allowed to continue operating.
 
Its parent company IBF also legally operates a brand called Supreme Spain.