Wellington  - Jimmy Choo, British shoemaker to the stars, has threatened to sue a New Zealand woman unless she changes the name of her oneline gift shop Kookychoo. com - which does not sell shoes - a newspaper reported on Saturday.

Looie James, a mother of seven who lives on a small farm about 50 kilometres north of Auckland and sells things like teddy bears, glass bracelets and bean bags, said she had received an aggressive letter from intellectual property lawyers acting for Jimmy Choo claiming the names were similar enough for customers to be confused.

Jimmy Choo New York was a favourite boutique of Sex and the City's shoe-aholic main character Carrie Bradshaw. The shoes sell for 700 to 1,000 New Zealand dollars
(406 to 580 US dollars) a pair.

"There is absolutely no comparison," James told the New Zealand Herald. "There's nothing remotely even similar in our branding, in the products that we sell."

She said lawyers had told her she might have a case, but it would cost upwards of 50,000 New Zealand dollars to fight it.

"I'm a mother of seven and I live out in Kaukapakapa on a little farm," she said. "There's no way I have those kind of funds." James said she was preparing to accede to the British company's demands. (dpa)