Many of our customers ask us about our new scent, Joe Lycett. What does it smell like? What does the name mean?
The answer to the first question is rather simple. It smells like Hugo Boss.
Why not just call it Hugo Boss or simply the Boss, you may wonder? But to answer that requires telling a story about one evil company and a man named Joe Lycett.
Joe Harry Lycett is a British comedian and television presenter who has appeared on TV shows such as Live at the Apollo, Taskmaster, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, 8 Out of 10 Cats, and QI.
So why did we name our scent after him? Joe Lycett, like many others, has noticed the bullying practises of Hugo Boss, one of the largest German clothing companies, with global sales of £2.4 billion in 2019 alone.
Through the years, Hugo Boss has sent cease and desist letters to several small businesses and charities who use the word “BOSS” in their company or product names. One of the high-profile cases was that of Swansea brewery company Boss Brewing back in 2019.
Hugo Boss took the brewery to court over two types of beer the Welsh brewery produced, named Boss Boss and Boss Black, forcing it to spend nearly £10000 defending itself in a four-month legal battle. After months of negotiations, the brewery was forced to change the names of its award-winning beers Boss Black and Boss Boss, and it is not allowed to sell clothing anymore either.
“Following the brewery’s application to register a trade mark, we approached them regarding the use of BOSS in relation to two beer names in the portfolio. This was to avoid conflict and potential misunderstanding regarding the brands BOSS and BOSS Black, which had been used by the brewery but are (longstanding) trademarks of our company,” reads the official statement of Hugo Boss.
But many, Joe Lycett included, recognised these bullying practises for what they really are. “I would like them to stop doing this, because no-one is confusing these two things,” said Lycett at the time. He did not stop at words and decided the whole situation required action.
And so, in March 2020, he legally changed his name to Hugo Boss, in a protest against the German fashion brand and its practices. In the second series of Joe Lycett's Got Your Back, the comedian launched a fake fashion show celebrating the release of a wrist brace under the name “Hugo Boss” outside the flagship store of the fashion company of the same name in Regent Street, London.
While he changed his name back to Joe Lycett in April 2020, his actions speak clearly on behalf of small businesses and illustrate some of the challenges they face.
As a smaller business ourselves, here at Palm Safe, we have decided to name our scent after him as a homage to his support for small businesses.
About Palm Safe Ltd: Palm Safe is a company producing high quality and skin-friendly hand sanitisers using isopropyl alcohol based in Aberdeen, Scotland. Founded in 2020 during the pandemic, Palm Safe has quickly become popular among tens of thousands of its customers across the UK, boasting a 5-star Trustpilot rating.