Row erupts over woolly tactics

Legal sparring between Specsavers Opticians and Glasses Direct has garnered more publicity for the online Wiltshire spectacles business, this time in the national press.

The Financial Times and Daily Mail both picked up on the story, first run on our website, following an exchange of lawyers' letters regarding the latest Glasses Direct publicity stunt.

Glasses Direct's promotional activities in Newcastle last month urged consumers not to 'get fleeced' at 'specspensive' high street opticians, and led to the simmering legal confrontation with the Guernsey multiple.

Specsavers' solicitors wrote a three-page letter to the Malmsbury-based online spectacle supplier, complaining of Glasses Direct's marketing tactics on March 24 on Tyneside. These included Glasses Direct representatives dressed as sheep entering Specsavers practices and having their photos taken with practice staff.

Specsavers also raised numerous objections to price comparisons made on Glasses Direct's web site.

Glasses Direct responded with a legal letter which accused Specsavers of bullying tactics and attempting to stifle competition.

The legal correspondence between the two has been published in full on the Glasses Direct web site, with the headline 'Will Specsavers take glassesdirect.co.uk to court? Or are they too sheepish'.

The site includes a number of Specsavers' logos and price comparisons, and asserts that: 'Specsavers have tried to stop us offering low prices on glasses by starting the mother and father of all legal battles.

'They are picking on Glasses Direct because we undercut their prices. We stand up for our customers' right to have affordable glasses, and we promise we won't be intimidated by this kind of bullying.'

Specsavers said that it 'notes that Glasses Direct is one of many internet sellers of optical products, but doesn't have any comment to make on any of them'.