Material Boy
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2004
- Messages
- 272
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I am really annoyed when designer houses (i.e. LV, Prada, Zegna.....) claim lost of billions of dollars in revenue from the makers of counterfeit designer merchandise. What are the bases for these claims?
I believe the designer houses and the makers of counterfeit products are catering to two mutually exclusive markets. I doubt the buyer of a knock-off LV bag on the street of Manhattan would really make any purchase at the LV boutique across the street. Majority (over 90% perhaps) of these buyers are consciously aware of what they are buying are fakes. In conclusion, the assumption of increased revenue by ridding all the counterfeiters is untenable.
There is another issue in the counterfeit fiasco, erosion of brand image. People who can really afford these luxury products might be turned off by the abundance of knockoff. For these individuals, their disgust would divert their purchases from one brand to another one that are not easily knocked off. Such an action would account for lost of revenue by some designers, but gain for other makers, whose product are not easily knock off.
Where are all the losses coming from?
I believe the designer houses and the makers of counterfeit products are catering to two mutually exclusive markets. I doubt the buyer of a knock-off LV bag on the street of Manhattan would really make any purchase at the LV boutique across the street. Majority (over 90% perhaps) of these buyers are consciously aware of what they are buying are fakes. In conclusion, the assumption of increased revenue by ridding all the counterfeiters is untenable.
There is another issue in the counterfeit fiasco, erosion of brand image. People who can really afford these luxury products might be turned off by the abundance of knockoff. For these individuals, their disgust would divert their purchases from one brand to another one that are not easily knocked off. Such an action would account for lost of revenue by some designers, but gain for other makers, whose product are not easily knock off.
Where are all the losses coming from?