Pennywise to retail ZO Skin Health range

Pennywise Cosmetics Ltd employee Khadija Martin, left, recommends a product to a customer at the company's Arima branch. - File photo

PENNYWISE Cosmetics, one of the Caribbean’s largest health and beauty retail chains, will be Trinidad and Tobago’s exclusive authorised commercial retailer of the ZO Skin Health line of medical-grade skincare products.

The announcement follows a settlement between Pennywise Cosmetics Ltd and the Maraval-based Skin Health Institute (SHI), led by dermatologist Dr Rachel Eckel, who has used the US-manufactured ZO Skin Health brand at her clinic for the past seven years.

In April 2024, Pennywise was barred from selling the ZO Skin Health line in its ten local outlets after SHI and Eckel obtained an injunction from the High Court. The dermatology clinic argued that the products were physician-dispensed and should only be sold under medical supervision.

In a media release, Pennywise said, “Over one year ago, in a court matter, an injunction was granted against Pennywise Cosmetics Ltd., the terms of which prevented us from selling ZO Skin Health, a brand of medical-grade skincare. At all times, our position was that we had legally imported genuine, authentic products and offered them to customers at the best possible prices.”

The company said it challenged the injunction and later entered into settlement negotiations with the claimants. “After months of negotiations, we have achieved a compromise to the mutual benefit of both parties,” Pennywise said. “We are pleased and excited to announce that Pennywise Cosmetics Ltd. will be the nation’s exclusive authorised commercial retailer of the ZO Skin Health brand.”

Eckel and SHI were allowed to withdraw their claim by the judge, who was presented with the notice that the parties had resolved the issues by agreement.

Justice Joan Charles granted the injunction to SHI on April 12, 2024, agreeing that the evidence showed Pennywise’s employees relied on SHI’s reputation and goodwill to market the products. She ruled that Pennywise’s advertisements and signage created a false impression that it was the exclusive distributor in partnership with SHI.

“The advertisements, signage and statements combined to create a false impression to the public and were likely to deceive customers into believing that Pennywise had collaborated with the claimants in providing the products for sale,” Charles said in her ruling. “I, therefore, hold that there is evidence of an intention to deceive the public.”

During the case, SHI, Eckel and Barbados-based Dermedica Medical Ltd., the exclusive distributor of ZO products in the Caribbean, alleged Pennywise engaged in unfair competition and “passing off” the products as authorised. Pennywise denied any wrongdoing, maintaining it had always conducted honest business practices and imported genuine goods from legitimate sources abroad.

Pennywise was represented by Senior Counsel Larry Lalla, Vivek Lakhan-Joseph, and Taruna Mangroo. Eckel and SHI were represented by Senior Counsel Terrence Bharath, Shiv Sharma, and Daniella Bharath.

ZO Skin Health products were developed by Dr Zein Obagi, a US pathologist and dermatologist with more than 40 years of clinical experience.