Increasing number of counterfeit luxury handbags and watches available via the Internet

Counterfeit luxury goods such as purses and watches are a growing problem for the brand-name producers affected – and for their bottom line. Now, tesa scribos has performed an online study that shows which brands are hardest hit.

Do counterfeit goods truly damage a brand’s image? How big a problem are counterfeit products for our brand, anyway? Is it worthwhile to invest in a brand protection concept? These are typical questions a company asks when faced with an increasing number of counterfeit products. A new study by tesa scribos entitled “Branded Counterfeit Luxury Products” provides the hard facts needed to answer just these questions.

The study uses current examples to show how serious the increase in brand piracy is for the luxury goods sector, and especially for manufacturers of exclusive handbags and watches. According to the study, the most frequently offered counterfeit brands of purses and handbags include Chanel, Coach, Prada, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton. The brands of watches most widely falsified are Breitling, Cartier, Omega, Patek Philippe, and TAG Heuer. Counterfeit brand-name products like these make up nine percent of all counterfeit goods produced worldwide. The International Chamber of Commerce estimates that product piracy involving counterfeit goods generates sales totaling 600 billion U.S. dollars worldwide.

One reason for this, as the study shows, is the growing number of online shops that offer high-quality copies of costly brand-name items. The servers for the shops are often based in countries such as China, India, Pakistan, or Russia, so it is extremely difficult to file legal claims against the operators. It is also practically impossible to control sales made via the Internet.

tesa scribos analyzed nearly 80 of these shops selling counterfeit purses and watches. Current data from the customs authorities in the United States and Europe were used for purposes of further classification and analysis. The study’s findings clearly show that counterfeit goods are available worldwide, and that it is relatively easy for them to find their way into local sales structures.

The study also covers which brands are affected in the first place, and the degree of impact. That makes it a valuable basis for decision makers who want a realistic idea of the current extent of product piracy for their own companies.

The study is available to trademark holders for a nominal fee of EUR 150. In addition, tesa scribos offers extensive advice and consulting on this topic, as well as brand protection concepts that have proven their value in practice. The quality of the counterfeit items on offer in the luxury goods segment is often high. In some cases, packaging, instructions, and warranty cards are reproduced in painstaking detail. This is where the patent pending multi-part tesa Holospot® Brand Protection Set, for example, can offer the highest possible level of protection. The set incorporates two to three corresponding, but individual, Holospots – one each for the product along with the packaging and/or warranty card – with the option of Internet authentication. This means that it is possible to achieve reliable security along the entire supply chain, from manufacturing right to the customer’s door.