Fake trade flourishing, brands hold on

So your monthly paycheck has come in and you are all hyped up about buying that pair of Adidas sneakers you have had your eye on. A walk through Port-of-Spain to the shoe store comes to a halt when you see a sign that shouts in bold lettering, “SALE - NIKE, ADIDAS $150.”

Now you wonder, is this for real? Sneakers that would originally cost you $400 for $150? There has to be something wrong. And there is. Imitation or “knock-off”  footwear and clothing is fast becoming a booming industry.  The Global trade in these imitation goods is estimated at US $400 to US $450 billion a year. Hardest hit are high-profile consumer brand names like Nike, Levis and even Gillette razors. These knock-off artists are masters at making a cheap product look like the real thing, sometimes choosing a similar name to sell against a famous brand in a price sensitive market. They have even been known to simply copy the appearance of a well-known brand to the tiniest detail, masquerading the counterfeit product off as the real thing. Asia has been fingered as the “knock-off epicentre”, specifically China.

Reports in Business Week Magazine estimates that approximately 30 percent of products from many foreign manufacturers in China are knock-offs or fakes. In Trinidad and Tobago, while the imitation industry is making a brisk trade, statistics to determine just how profitable it is were not readily available. However, sidewalk vendors and the various drag malls were named as the main culprits in marketing these goods. From these outlets you can acquire Timberland boots, which are usually priced at $799 to $900 for $499 or even as low as $399. Imitation Air Force Nikes which are normally sold for $750 upwards, can be found here for $475. A store in downtown POS carries a variety of brand name footwear and clothing items for reduced prices. In terms of footwear, Adidas sneakers are priced between $209 to $299, Timberland Boots at $399, Nike Air at $209 and even Perry Ellis Boots for between $139 and $164.

There were Phat Farm Tee-shirts marked down to $69 from $79 and some items from the Sean John collection were priced from $74 to $199. Fubu Jeans were going for $69 to $79. According to a floor manager at the Underground outlet of Francis Fashion and Shoe Locker, Frederick Street, the original items are priced according to style and particularly endorsements by various sporting personalities. For example, she stated, Nike Air Jordans tend to be more expensive than Nike Shocks since the former is endorsed by basketball star, Michael Jordan. This raises the bar on prices for these products which eventually trickles down to the consumers, who have to reach deep into their pockets if they want the real thing. However, some may ask, why pay $400 for something you can get elsewhere for $150, even though it may not be authentic?  Once it looks real, why all the fuss?

Members of the TT Bureau of Standards, specifically the Implementation Division, have condemned the fake trade, stressing that support of this trade will only lead to losses to the local industry, since local businessmen who spend millions annually to import these items are being hard hit by the knock-off peddlers. Consumers, they stressed further, are being ripped off and need to take a stand. There is no real way to tell these imitation items apart from the real thing. According to Jo-Anne Beharry, Head of the Garments, Textiles and Footwear Unit of the Implementation Division, very often these products are  manufactured by the same company, but sold at a lesser price to target a certain market. There are also some products which are of the same quality as the original items, but very often the manufacturer may be reluctant to pay for branding since this can be a lengthy process. Therefore, they generally choose the name of the original or close to the original to get their products onto the market. Sometimes, Beharry went on, they may even maintain the style of packaging to look like the original. This means that the colour of the package may be the same, the size, lettering and so on. “Very often,” she continued, “the genuine articles carry a specific price. Anything under that price is generally suspect. The knock-off is far cheaper than the genuine product.” “This is something that should give consumers pause before buying an item,” she asserted.

Beharry said that the majority of manufacturers had a number of  “tricks of the trade” to distinguish their products from others. “For instance,” she stated, “there may be a particular code that they put on the zipper or a particular number of stitches on the pockets. However, this is not information you get readily because they are trade secrets.” This was reinforced by Sharon Rodriguez-Rodney, Branch Manager at the Grand Bazaar outlet of Blue Grass, the local authorised dealer for Levi’s jeans. She revealed that authentic Levi’s jeans are marked with the trademark YKK USA 45 behind the zipper head, since YKK is responsible for manufacturing the zippers for Levi’s. While she admitted that she was aware of the knock-off trade, Rodriguez revealed that they had experienced no problems. “People,” she said, “are afraid to buy anywhere else since they know that Blue Grass is the authorised dealer for Levi’s in Trinidad and they guarantee that they are getting an original.” The price, she went on, is another indicator of the original, since Levi’s men are sold for $325 to $420, while Levi’s women are priced at $345 to $420. Blue Grass, Grand Bazaar, imports approximately 500,000 pairs of jeans per year from the US. A representative of a popular outlet for Brand name clothing and footwear in South Trinidad expressed her belief that the knock-off trade was killing the local market for originals, since the country was being flooded with these imitation items. Some customers, she stated, were opting for the imitation goods on account of the cheaper prices. However, she maintained, there were still those who were aware of the situation and preferred to shop on the safe side. The store carries a number of brands including Jordan, Echo, NYC, Pepe, Pele Pele, Rocawear and Sean John among others. The sales representative noted that in the case of Rocawear, authentic items were priced upwards from $350. A suit from Pele Pele would set a customer back almost $1,200 while Jordan suits cost anywhere from $800. 

President of the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association, Greg-ory Aboud, revealed that some reports of this trade were made during informal discussions with businessmen. Two members of the Association, he stated, brought to his attention the sale of imitation Nike, Levis and Tommy Hilfiger items. He could not pinpoint exact locations where these goods were being sold but noted that there was a need for legislation which provided for this type of action to be prohibited. “This problem can be solved,” he said. Aboud maintained that this trade makes it difficult for businesses which are obeying the rules to survive. Additionally, he continued, it destroys jobs and makes it impossible to compete against the persons practising this trade. He gave the example of the sale of counterfeit or pirated music, which he asserted, was causing the stores that sell original music to become extinct.