Little Rock-based Retailer Settles Suit with Cosmetic Giveaway

Little Rock, Ark.-based Dillard’s Inc. and other big retailers will begin giving away $175 million worth of free cosmetics nationwide on Jan. 20 as part of a settlement in a lawsuit that claimed the stores planned to fix prices.

None of the companies admitted wrongdoing in the class-action case, but agreed to give away certain cosmetics, including such brands as Estee Lauder and L’Oreal, for as long as supplies last or until Jan. 26 to settle claims that the stores violated antitrust laws.

Shoppers who bought the cosmetics between May 29, 1994, and July 16, 2003, will each be eligible for one free product. Dillard’s spokeswoman Julie Bull said Dillard’s customers don’t need a receipt from their previous purchase but will have to sign a form stating that they made the purchase. The products will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, which have no Arkansas stores, have said they will distribute 4 million product units.

At those stores, a receipt or other proof of purchase won’t be needed, but “every customer will be asked to sign a slip saying that they had purchased a cosmetic product from one of these manufacturers in one of these stores from 1994 to 2003,” Macy’s spokesman Jim Sluzewski said.

The give-away products range in value from $25 to $40 each and include Vera Wang Princess Body Polish, J’Adore Eau de Parfum and Clinique Moisture Surge.

Other stores participating in the settlement include: Bergdorf Goodman, Bergner’s, Bloomingdale’s, Boston Store, Carson Pirie Scott, Gottschalks, Herberger’s, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Parisian, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Younkers.

A complete list of products set for distribution week is available at www.cosmeticssettlement.com.

Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, www.arkansasonline.com