Businessman Jel Singh Nagra who called his local news agent’s ‘Singhsbury’s’, much to the joy of local British Punjabis in the area faced a legal case against him. The supermarket giant threatened to sue his corner shop on copyright grounds.
However, he has now changed the sign in front of the premises to an equally hilarious name. His store on North Tyneside is now called ‘Morrisinghs‘, a playful deviation from the leading supermarket chain Morrisons.
The fearless move seems to have paid off – as Morrisons has supported the re-naming.
Sainsbury’s threatened to sue Jel Singh Nagra if he did not take down original sign outside his local shop in West Allotment, North Tyneside.
Jel Singh Nagra had no choice but to remove his Singhsbury’s sign unless he wanted to face a lawsuit. That could have cost him thousands. However, the replacement stands to be equally as hilarious. Local residents and visitors of the shop had asked requested to replace the sign as the joke made them laugh.
Because of the legal threat, he had to come up with a new name for the establishment. He decided on Morrisinghs, and has the support of the main stream supermarket.
And the retail giant seemed to welcome the charming tribute, as a Morrisons spokesman stated: “Mr Nagra and his customers obviously have good taste so we wish him well.”
Mr Nagra said: “It’s just meant as banter. I know about 90% of our customers are local. There’s little passing trade. I wanted to put West Allotment on the map.”
Mr Nagra was pleased about Morrisons’ response to his choice of name.
“We are not in competition with them,” he said.
“I take my hat off to them – well done to them. This is all meant in jest.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson commented: “We were grateful to Mr Nagra for removing the sign.”
