Have you ever visited the U.S. and been confused to see Target, Wendy’s and Kmart stores, but not as you know them?
All three well-known Australian brands have strikingly similar versions in the U.S., some with exactly the same logo, but are unrelated companies.
American tourists have documented similar double-takes, particularly with Target which could be mistaken for an overseas expansion by the U.S. giant.
Surprisingly, only one popular Australian brand is a blatant knockoff of an American giant – Woolworths, which was named on a dare a century ago.
The baffling similarities are not even prohibited by law as companies must be registered country by country.
Woolworths
Woolworths is now Australia’s second-biggest supermarket chain, with its name a blatant rip off of a similar American empire
The Australian Woolworths was modeled on successful American chain FW Woolworth which opened in upstate New York in 1879
Australia’s second-biggest supermarket chain began as a clothing shop owned by Harold Percival Christmas and his business partners.
They decided to open a variety store modeled on successful American chain FW Woolworth which opened in upstate New York in 1879.
The shop was originally to be called Chatterton’s after Mr Christmas’ business partner, but they didn’t think the name had the right ring to it.
Wallworths Bazaar Ltd, as a homage to Woolworth, was chosen but seemed to cumbersome for the name of a shop.
So Mr Christmas dared company accountant Cecil Waine to register the company as Woolworths, as FW Woolworth never bothered to register itself in Australia.
Shoppers mill around an Australian Woolworths store in Fremantle, Perth, in 1956
The first Woolworths as we know it – a food-only store – opened in Dee Why on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1957 (left) and on the right a local pipe band heralds opening of the first supermarket at Warrawong, NSW, in 1960
The grand opening of its first store, underground opposite the Queen Victoria Building on Sydney’s George Street, was talked up into a huge event.
‘Really cheap. The cheapest possible. Come and see. You’ll want to live at Woolworths. From 9 in the morning till 9 at night, Woolworths will sell what you want and sell it cheap,’ a full page newspaper ad read.
A massive crowd of people showed up with shoppers getting into brawls over bargains and the staff room being converted into a makeshift ER.
Australia wasn’t the only country where Woolworths’ lack of trademark was used to spawn a local version without paying a cent.
Unrelated entities exist in Germany and South Africa – the latter becoming a multinational corporation that now owns David Jones.
Woolworths’ first ‘Self-service’ store, Beverley Hills, NSW on opening day in 1955. It was a revolution at the time as items were previously kept behind the counter instead of being out on the floor to browse
What is left of the American FW Woolworth survives as shoe chain Foot Locker – which has an outlet next door to Woolworths’ well-known Sydney Town Hall store (pictured)
Woolworths outlived its American namesake, which declined from the 1980s and was overtaken by competitors – the last U.S. store closing in 1997.
What is left of the company survives as shoe chain Foot Locker – which has an outlet next door to Woolworths’ well-known Sydney Town Hall store.
Target
Now struggling and closing dozens of stores, Target’s relationship to its giant American namesake is shrouded in mystery.
George Lindsay and Alex McKenzie opened a drapery store in Geelong in 1926 with a ‘half the profit, twice the turnover’ strategy.
By 1968 the company had 14 stores around Victoria and was bought out by Myer, which renamed it Lindsay’s Target.
The American Target opened its first store in St Paul, Minnesota, in 1962 and became a powerhouse to this day
The two companies have identical logos, but since the bullseye is an obvious design given the name it is not clear if it was coincidental (an early U.S. add pictured)
American tourists have documented similar double-takes, particularly with Target which could be mistaken for an overseas expansion by the U.S. giant (a Target in California pictured)
About the same time, the American Target was establishing itself after opening its first store in St Paul, Minnesota, in 1962.
The company registered its trademark in 1966 and the famous bullseye logo in 1967, and by the end of 1968 had 11 stores and US$130 million in sales.
The two companies have identical logos, but since the bullseye is an obvious design given the name it is not clear if it was coincidental.
U.S. Target spokesman Eric Hausman told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2013 that the two founders ‘had a conversation’ at the time, but didn’t reveal what was said.
Legal experts told the newspaper that the two companies likely made an ‘informal handshake agreement’ with no expectation they would ever be in competition.
Target is today owned by Wesfarmers and, before its recent restructure announcement, employs 13,000 people
The floor of a Target in Australia in the 1980s, soon before it merged with Coles
No licencing agreement or cross-ownership of the two chains exists and neither was ever registered in each other’s territory.
Myer dropped the founder’s name from the chain in 1973 and in 1985 merged with Coles before Myer was spun off in 2006.
Target is today owned by Wesfarmers and, before its recent restructure announcement, employs 13,000 people.
Wendy’s
Every Australian’s favourite childhood ice cream chain was founded in 1979 in Adelaide by Geoff Davis and Phil Rogers.
The far bigger U.S. Wendy’s is a fast food chain with more than 6,700 outlets across North America and a handful overseas, well-known for its square burger patties.
Wendy’s was founded in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, far earlier than its Australian namesake, and named after founder Dave Thomas’ fourth daughter.
The far bigger U.S. Wendy’s is a fast food chain with more than 6,700 outlets across North America and a handful overseas
Wendy’s was founded in 1969 in Columbus, Ohio, far earlier than its Australian namesake, and named after founder Dave Thomas’ fourth daughter (pictured as she appears in the logo)
The two companies are completely unrelated and largely sell different products with different logos – the U.S. version using a picture of Wendy herself.
Now with 120 shops in Australia, the company has been dogged by ugly disputes with franchisees who were abruptly locked out of their stores.
One ended up homeless after his house was repossessed and another died of a heart attack.
In 2014 the struggling company was sold for just $10 million to Singaporean businessman Stanley Tan – after which more franchisees were forced into bankruptcy.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon in 2016 used parliamentary privilege to launch a stinging attack on Mr Tan, whom he called a ‘corporate cannibal’.
‘Mr Tan promised better support, better returns and a better future for the franchisees – but it seems the only thing Mr Tan had in mind was better profits for his companies,’ he said.
Every Australian’s favourite childhood ice cream chain was founded in 1979 in Adelaide by Geoff Davis and Phil Rogers
Wendy’s in the U.S. is well-known for its square burger patties that make them appear bigger
‘That came at the expense of the franchisees, who trusted him to keep their businesses going.
‘This trust would soon be betrayed by a series of cold, calculating moves that would destroy the livelihoods of so many small family businesses.
‘I believe that this man has caused enormous damage to many family businesses around the country.
‘He has left in his wake a trail of financial devastation of many battlers.’
Kmart
Unlike other namesakes of American corporations, powerhouse discount department store Kmart was actually founded by the book.
S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart store in San Fernando, California, in 1962 after decades of running variety stores around the U.S.
In 1968 the company launched the brand in Australia as a joint venture with Coles to prevent a similar copying of its brand as Target.
S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart store in San Fernando, California, in 1962 after decades of running variety stores around the U.S (a Norridge, Illinois, store pictured in 2005)
Kmart now has 209 stores in Australia and 25 in New Zealand, with more about to open from converted Target stores
Coles owned 49 per cent of the venture and S.S. Kresge 51 per cent with the first store opening in Melbourne on April 30, 1969.
It racked up $97,000 ($1.7 million today) in sales on its first day and now has 209 stores in Australia and 25 in New Zealand.
Coles now owns the business outright – S.S. Kresge exchanged its shares for 20 per cent of Coles in 1978 and Coles bought it out in 1994.
Wesfarmers after buying Kmart in 2007 licenced the name from Sears, which had merged with the U.S. Kmart, until it bought the name for use in Australia and New Zealand outright for $100 million in 2017.
In 1968 S.S. Kresge launched the brand in Australia as a joint venture with Coles to prevent a similar copying of its brand as Target
Coles owned 49 per cent of the venture and S.S. Kresge 51 per cent with the first store opening in Melbourne on April 30, 1969
The first Kmart store racked up $97,000 ($1.7 million today) in sales on its first day
Target in the U.S. has not fared so well, entering a steep decline in the 1990s and collapsing in 2002 before it merged with Sears.
The combined company continued to decline and by 2019 there were just 202 stores left with more than half of them closing in the past year.
Lowes
There are two unrelated companies sharing the name – the Australian menswear brand founded in 1898 by William Lowe, and Lowe’s hardware in the U.S.
The hardware brand began in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1921 and is now the second-biggest in the U.S.
Both companies peacefully coexisted with similar names until 2011 when Lowe’s opened in Australia – but couldn’t use its own name.
The hardware brand Lowe’s began in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1921 and is now the second-biggest in the U.S.
A Lowe’s hardware store in the U.S. back in the 1960s. It opened Masters in Australia in 2011 as a joint venture with Woolworths to take on Bunnings but failed in five years
The Australian menswear brand Lowes founded in 1898 by William Lowe (original store pictured)
Instead it was a joint venture with Woolworths named Masters to compete with Bunnings, opening its first store in Melbourne in 2011.
Masters Home Improvement crashed and burned in 2016 and all its stores were closed.
Lowes menswear now has more than 200 stores around Australia after a big postwar expansion by Hans Mueller, who bought the business in 1948 and whose children now run it.
Vegemite
Australia’s favourite spread isn’t just a rip off of the British Marmite, it was designed to be one.
Marmite, created in England in 1902 from re-purposed brewer’s yeast, was a popular import to Australia until supply was cut off during World War I.
Without supplies coming in, Fred Walker & Co developed a similar product from yeast thrown out by Carlton and United Breweries.
Vegemite was created as a rip off of the British-made Marmite when imports from the UK were interrupted during World War I
Marmite, created in England in 1902 from re-purposed brewer’s yeast, was a popular import to Australia before Vegemite
Vegemite was chosen from competition entries by Fred Walker’s daughter Sheilah as the name and production began.
But with imports restored from Britain after the war, Vegemite had to compete with the original Marmite and wasn’t doing very well.
A new marketing campaign was launched in 1928, renaming it Parwill with the slogan ‘Marmite but Parwill’.
This was an obscure play on words to Marmite meaning ‘If Ma might… then Pa will’, and failed spectacularly. Vegemite was reinstated in 1935.
Australia might be a very different place had American company Kraft not come to the rescue in a joint venture.
A new marketing campaign was launched in 1928, renaming it Parwill with the slogan ‘Marmite but Parwill’. It failed spectacularly and Vegemite was reinstated in 1935
Fred Walker and Kraft established the Kraft Walker Cheese Co to sell American processed cheese and for two years gave away a jar of Vegemite with every purchase.
The strategy was a massive success and in 1939 it was recommended by the British Medical Association as a good source of Vitamin B.
During World War II it was in every soldier’s ration pack and in the fridges and cupboards of 90 per cent of Australian households by the late 1940s.
The billionth jar of Vegemite was produced in 2008 and it now far outsells Marmite around Australia.