Omni claims Earth as Esus shuts up shop
The dispute between the two brands arose after comments made by Esus general manager Stuart Mitchell - that appeared in Ragtrader January 12 edition - in which he claimed Esus had acquired the license for the US label.
However Omni shoes - which has held the distribution license for the US-based footwear brand across both Australia and New Zealand for the past six years - has slammed the claims as inaccurate.
It is understood Esus was forced into liquidation shortly before the story appeared.
Renowned for their trademarked Negative Heel technology, Earth shoes - which retail for between $179 and $199 - are designed to position the heels below the toes, encouraging the pelvis and spine to align and thereby improving posture.
Earth was accurately touted by Mitchell as a worthy rival for other wellbeing footwear brands including Birkenstock and MBT, but that, however, was where the accuracy ended.
Omni owner John Page - who also holds the license for women's fashion footwear label Chinese Laundry, value brand Planet Shoes and youth fashion brand Na Na Shoes - slammed Mitchell's claim to the Earth license as "untrue and misleading".
Far from acquiring the license, Esus had simply purchased Earth stock to re-sell to sports footwear retailers, in a move that would complement Omni's strong relationship with the fashion retail sector, he said.
Page described the misinformation as unfortunate.
"We would like to assure all our customers that Omni continues to hold the license [to Earth]. Nothing has changed whatsoever and it is business as usual."
Both the Esus landline and Mitchell's mobile appear to have been disconnected while the company's website has been temporarily suspended.
While details of Esus' liquidation remain sketchy, the company's former public relations firm revealed it had also been misled.
A representative of the firm, who declined to be named, said she had no inkling Esus had gone into liquidation until it unexpectedly stopped paying its account.