Pernia’s Pop Up Shop-owner Purple Style Labs Ltd.’s proposed initial public offering has become embroiled in a fresh dispute over the use of the “Pernia” brand name, with fashion entrepreneur Pernia Qureshi and her consultancy firm issuing a legal notice to the company and lead bookrunner Axis Capital days before the issue opens for subscription.
At the centre of the disagreement is an august 26 investor communication circulated by Axis Capital in connection with the IPO. According to the note, Purple Style Labs had acquired perpetual, sole, exclusive and worldwide rights to use “Pernia’s”, “Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop”, “PPUS” and related derivatives following its acquisition of the business in 2018.
The dispute has surfaced just ahead of Purple Style Labs’ Rs 680 crore IPO, which is scheduled to open on Aug. 31.
Qureshi’s side has challenged that description, arguing that the underlying licence agreement granted only limited rights tied to the Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop brand and did not permit the standalone use of “Pernia” or “Pernia’s”. The notice alleges that the wording in the investor note overstated the scope of the rights conveyed under the agreements and differed from disclosures contained in the company’s offer documents.
The legal notice also questions whether adequate verification was conducted before the statement was circulated to investors. Besides Purple Style Labs and Axis Capital, the communication has been copied to IIFL Capital Services and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, according to the notice.
Qureshi and Pernia Qureshi Consultancy have sought withdrawal of the investor note, issuance of a corrective clarification and removal of Qureshi’s name and image from IPO-related promotional material.
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Following the notice, Axis Capital circulated a revised IPO note and asked recipients to disregard the earlier version. The amended document narrows the description of the acquired rights, stating that Purple Style Labs has the perpetual, sole, exclusive and worldwide right to use the word “Pernia’s” only as part of “perniaspopupshop”, “Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop”, “PPUS” and their derivatives. It no longer characterises the arrangement as a broader right to use the Pernia brand on a standalone basis.
Purple Style Labs said its use of the brand has always been consistent with the agreements. “As per the agreements and the licence arrangement, Purple Style Labs does not use ‘Pernia’ or ‘Pernia’s’ as a standalone name,” the company said in a statement. “The rights relate specifically to the use of ‘Pernia’s’ as part of ‘Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop’, ‘perniaspopupshop’ and PPUS, in accordance with the terms of the agreements.”
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