A luxury florist hired by celebrities including Victoria Beckham has won a High Court battle against a rival who set up a business with an almost identical name.
Formerly high-flying fashionista Whitney Bromberg Hawkings launched her florist service Flowerbx Ltd in 2015, having previously worked at Gucci and as a senior vice president at Tom Ford.
The company specialises in high-end floral displays, and counts the former Spice Girl, actress Julianne Moore and brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Jimmy Choo among its customers.
By 2025, it was turning over more than £4million a year, but ended up embroiled in a trademark row with London-based rival Lukasz Gajewski’s similarly named company, Flowers Box London Ltd.
Ms Bromberg Hawkings and Flowerbx Ltd took Mr Gajewski to the High Court, arguing his firm had breached her company’s trademark by marketing itself as Flowers Box or Flowers Box London.
She registered the trademark for Flowerbx in July 2017, claiming that her business had acquired a reputation for ‘luxury and stylish floral design of the highest quality’.Â
But Mr Gajewski’s business, founded two years later, led to mistakes by customers who inadvertently gave his firm five-star reviews intended for Ms Bromberg Hawkings.
She also claimed she had lost business to the other company, as customers bought flowers from Mr Gajewski’s outlet believing it to be the fashionista’s brand.Â
Formerly high-flying fashionista Whitney Bromberg Hawkings launched her florist service Flowerbx Ltd in 2015 and trademarked it two years later
London-based rival Lukasz Gajewski set up his own firm in 2019, with the similar name of Flowers Box London Ltd
Ms Bromberg Hawkings became aware of the issue after a bus driver told her in 2023 he had bought flowers from her – only for her to discover he had actually purchased them from her rival.Â
A judge has now ruled in her favour, that Mr Gajewski’s business had in fact breached her trademark, confusing customers and allowing his company to unfairly benefit from Flowerbx’s hard-won reputation for quality.
Giving judgment, Recorder Amanda Michaels said that having breached the trademark by the use of ‘signs’ comprising of the words ‘Flowers Box’ or ‘Flowers Box London’, Mr Gajewski’s business gained an ‘unfair advantage’ as it enabled it to ‘profit’ from the reputation achieved by Ms Bromberg Hawkings’ hard work.
The court heard during the trial that Ms Bromberg Hawkings founded Flowerbx after becoming frustrated at the lack of an online source of the sort of ‘elegant and modern flowers’ generally used in the high-end fashion business.
‘She decided to open a business to fulfil that perceived need,’ said the judge in her ruling. ‘She said that she conceived the FLOWERBX name, which she felt would “sound modern, disruptive and fashion-forward.”
‘Initially, she intended to create a direct-to-consumer business, but some of her contacts in the fashion business asked if the claimant could provide flowers for events such as fashion shows, or for shops or restaurants, and so the company developed a business-to-business model.
‘One of the claimant’s specialities is, or was, the delivery of bouquets or arrangements of single stem varieties. Ms Bromberg Hawkings also said that unlike many other UK florists, the claimant’s flowers are cut only after a customer places an order, minimising waste and improving freshness and quality.
‘Ms Bromberg Hawkings’ evidence was that high-end fashion and luxury brands used FLOWERBX “for a supreme luxury experience and…for events, gifting and large-scale installations.”‘
Among its collaborations, Flowerbx worked with high-end fashion designer Emilia Wickstead for a display outside Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair and in 2019 produced a large floral display for the famous London club, Annabel’s.
Ms Bromberg Hawkins’ firm provided lavish floral arrangements for both Victoria and David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebrations (Pictured: Ms Beckham’s 50th birthday)
Ms Bromberg Hawkins only found out about the rival firm when a bus driver told her he had bought some of her flowers – but had actually purchased them from Mr Gajewski (Pictured: The logo of Ms Bromberg Hawkins’ florist company)
A judge has now ruled that Ms Gajewski’s firm (logo pictured) has breached copyright law
It also collaborated with Victoria Beckham for a pop-up boutique at her flagship London store, and provided lavish floral arrangements for both Victoria and David Beckham’s 50th birthday celebrations.
Flowers Box London Ltd was not incorporated until April 2019, although Mr Gajewski said he had begun trading in 2017, following in the footsteps of his florist mother.
Initially selling flowers via eBay, his company began to supply flowers, bouquets and plants online, targeting the luxury end of the market after it was incorporated.
The judge said Mr Gajewski’s company ‘must have become aware of the potential for confusion’ almost immediately after incorporation, as from July 2019 it received a series of messages, congratulating it for five-star online reviews actually intended for Flowerbx.
Ms Bromberg Hawkings herself became aware of the potential for confusion in late 2023 when a school bus driver told her he had bought some of her flowers, when in fact they had come from Mr Gajewski’s company.
The dispute then went to the High Court, with lawyers for Flowerbx claiming that its rival had breached the trademark in its name and taken unfair advantage of its standing in the industry.
Giving her judgment, Recorder Michaels said Flowerbx had established a reputation for ‘luxury and stylish floral design of the highest quality’ before its rival was even incorporated.
‘The claimant alleged that the defendant took unfair advantage of the reputation of the mark by riding on its coat tails,’ she continued.
‘It did not plead that the defendant had a subjective intent to take unfair advantage, so that the only possible basis for a finding of unfair advantage would be that the objective effect of the defendant’s acts is to take advantage of the mark.
‘The name may have been adopted innocently, although the mark was in use and registered by the time Mr Gajewski started to use it in late 2017, and the defendant may not have intended to take unfair advantage of its reputation.
‘Nevertheless, it traded with knowledge of the claimant and its business, at the latest from July 2019 when the defendant first received a Trustpilot review intended for the claimant.
‘That was reinforced by Mr Gajewski’s periodic visits to the claimant’s website and his subscription to the claimant’s marketing emails.
‘I am satisfied that the defendant took unfair advantage of the distinctive character or repute of the mark, as it gave the defendant an advantage which was unfair because it enabled the defendant to profit from the reputation achieved by the claimant’s hard work and marketing efforts.’
The question of how much in damages Flowers Box London Ltd has to pay Ms Bromberg Hawkings’ company will be decided at another court hearing at a later date.
