Alan S. Wachs Direct Tel: (904) 598-6110 Direct Fax: (904) 598-6210
[email protected] October 12, 2018 VIA WEB PORTAL: HTTPS://FTCPUBLIC.COMMENTWORKS.COM/FTC/SANDPIPERCONSENT Federal Trade Commission Office of the Secretary 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Suite CC-5610 (Annex D) Washington, DC 20580 Re: Sandpiper of California and PiperGear USA; File No. 1823095 Dear Commissioners: This comment responds to the Commission’s proposed Agreement Containing Consent Order (“Consent Order”) with Sandpiper of California, Inc. and PiperGear USA, Inc. (collectively, “Sandpiper”) regarding Sandpiper’s false “Made in the USA” claims on a wide variety of its products. I am writing on behalf Advantus, Corp. (“Advantus”). Advantus is a diverse consumer products company that manufactures or distributes over 5,500 active SKUs across its five operating divisions. Advantus is an American manufacturer with its primary United States operations in Jacksonville, Florida, Petersburg, Virginia, and Mequon, Wisconsin. Advantus also manufactures many of its products overseas. Advantus only markets a product as “Made in the USA” or Berry Amendment compliant when in fact the product at issue either complies with the FTC’s made in the United States standard or with the Berry Amendment. One of Advantus’s divisions, Mercury Luggage, is a direct competitor of Sandpiper. Like Sandpiper, Mercury Luggage manufactures backpacks, deployment bags, bug out bags, wallets, tactical gear, and similar products. Both companies market these products to, inter alia, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, Navy Exchange Service Command, Marine Corps Exchange, and Coast Guard Exchange for resale to active and retired military servicemembers. For the reasons set forth more particularly below, in addition to the very real harm that Sandpiper’s false “Made in the USA” claims made in influencing the consumer buying decision of servicemembers, Sandpiper caused confusion to at least one organizational buyer at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service looking for “Made in the USA” products.