Counterfeit luxury goods are big business in China. Together, China and Hong Kong are estimated to be the source of 86% of the world’s counterfeit goods—an amount that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates is worth about $397 billion. Fake merchandise accounted for 12.5% of China’s exports in 2016, according to the same report. But China also has a huge domestic market for fake goods: many consumers who buy counterfeits do so deliberately, because they want to pay a lower price for goods that look expensive.
8 Ways Brands Can Fight Counterfeits in China
How to stay one step ahead of the copycats.
May 10, 2018
Summary.
Counterfeit luxury goods are big business in China, and cracking down on copycats can be difficult for brands. Yes, you should do the obvious things like registering your trademark before you enter the Chinese market, and hire a good, local lawyer. But you can also take more aggressive steps, like opening your own Chinese ecommerce site to cut out middle men, and use technology like RFID tags to track your products as they move from factory to consumer. Updating your products regularly — even monthly — can also keep counterfeiters off guard, as can advertising goods that are actually slightly different from your real products.