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Man bites dog: Counterfeiters target Vietnamese apparel brands
Counterfeit goods, ubiquitous and unremarked in Vietnam’s market, are no longer just a problem for high-end foreign manufacturers. Lately, counterfeiters have also been making it hard for Vietnamese apparel makers to gain traction in the domestic market.
Imitation and counterfeit goods are the number one enemy of producers in any economy. Therefore, heavy punishment is traditionally the fate of those who sell counterfeit goods.
In Vietnam, however, counterfeit goods can be seen everywhere, from sidewalk stalls to luxury trade centres. A VietNamNet report suggests that’s because Vietnamese consumers have gotten used to co-existing with counterfeit goods.
A report released on September 16 by the A.C. Nielsen agency concluded that 83 percent of counterfeit goods available in Hanoi are sourced from China.
Counterfeit goods, an ‘indispensable part of life’?
A shopper strolling on any fashionable Hanoi street will see a lot of shops selling products bearing brand names like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Gucci, Marc Jacobs or Dolce & Gabbana. The products are not made in France or Italy, however, but in China’s Quangdong province.
That Hanoi shops are full of counterfeit goods is no surprise at all, neither to Vietnamese or expat residents of the capital. Such shops have existed almost from the beginning of the doi moi period. They are just as common in HCM City City and in fact can be found everywhere in the country. Further, anyone who needs foreign designer labels can buy them wholesale from little shops on Hang Be. The surprise, if any, is that in this sector as well, Vietnamese manufacturers are losing market share to over-the-border imports.
In truth, Vietnam’s garment and apparel manufacturers would prefer that such shops not exist. Now that a high percentage of Vietnamese are the customers of foreign counterfeiters, what chance does a domestic producer have of making money selling fashion goods under his own brand name?
If counterfeit goods centres did not exist, the total sales of domestically made apparel would be double the current level, guesses one businessman.
Vietnamese consumers do not feel ashamed when they purchase and consume counterfeit goods. The nation’s market management agencies pay such misbranding no attention. The society has accepted the fakes as part of daily life.
Even Big C, a foreign invested supermarket that prides itself on strictly obeying the intellectual property law, has first-floor stalls that sell counterfeit handbags and wallets emblazoned ‘Louis Vuitton,’ ‘Hermes,’ ‘Gucci’ and ‘Versace,’ or perhaps ‘Cnanel’ and ‘Raph Lauren.’ Similar fakes are found on sale in other big supermarkets and trade centres.
Vu Thi Ngoc Lan, a senior executive of Hanosimex, a local garment and fashion company, says that her company has suffered heavily because of counterfeit goods
Lan related that she has seen a lot of faked ‘Hanosimex’ products available on pavement stalls, but she cannot do anything to stop the sale of the copied goods. “They’re fearless,” she said.
“Previously, when we made only products for export, we just had to meet the expectations of our foreign partners. Since we began making products for domestic consumption, however, we have to deal with a lot of other things, from designing products to distributing them, and then we have to fight counterfeited goods.”
Who gives a hand to counterfeit goods?
Lan explained that Hanosimex has some products with ‘soft’ prices, just 25,000 dong per T-shirt, which the company believes will sell very well in rural areas. Hanosimex’s products have been favoured by Vietnamese consumers, especially after they heard about toxic China-made clothes.
However, Hanosimex has to share the fruits of its market development work with counterfeit goods. At Ninh Hiep market, an entrepot for counterpart goods in Bac Ninh province near Hanoi, it’s possible to buy fake Hanosimex wares for half the price of the real thing.
Asked why Hanosimex did not report the sale of counterfeit goods to government agencies, Lan replied “I did. I was told that the value of the counterfeit goods was small, not deserving investigation. Even if they agreed to investigate, we would still have follow a lot of time-consuming procedures.”
“Some officials showed me some anti-counterfeiting methods that famous brand names use. However, our tee-shirts are just worth 25,000 dong, but the anti-counterfeiting seals cost 350,000 dong each,” she added.
As a result, rather than bring lawsuits, Hanosimex and many other Vietnamese manufacturers have to learn to coexist with counterfeit goods.
Phan Hung
vietnamnet
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