mbreport 96
The unreal deal H
While legitimate retailing is on the rise, fake products are still found in Macau by customs offi cials
BY SOFIA JESUS
igh-end brands are betting on a future in Macau regardless of the cheap price tags on counter-
feit goods available across the border. It seems all the fakery going on next door sometimes may actually be play- ing in their favour, as consumers turn to Macau in search of the real deal. Senior Superintendent Ian Chan
Un, head of the enforcement division of the Macau Customs Service, sums it up, saying “violations of intellectual rights occur often in Asia but in Macau the situation is not serious”. As he explained to Macau Busi-
ness, counterfeit CDs are an endangered species but “there are still some shops that sell fake goods, such as sportswear, sports shoes, bags or mobile phones,” he said. Other counterfeit items commonly found by customs are computer games and other software. From January to August, customs
handled 527 cases involving counter- feit goods, of which 298 involved fake leather items. This fi gure is signifi cantly higher than the fi gure for all of last year, when there were only 27 cases. Also on the rise is counterfeiting of
cigarettes. There were no cases last year but this year there have already been 83. Most of the counterfeit goods found
in Macau come from the mainland. The authorities believe there are no counter- feiters in Macau.
Web of deceit Customs offi cials typically detect fakes either because counterfeit goods are in- tercepted at the border or through an in- vestigation that has been launched after acting on a complaint. There is an aver- age of 30 complaints every year. Customs then calls the brand own-
er, as long as the brand is registered in Macau, to confi rm whether there has been any piracy and, if so, the case is handed over to the courts. The penalties handed down vary from fi nes to prison sentences. Additional penalties, such as the
OCTOBER 2010
temporary closure of a shop, may also be imposed in some cases. If the courts consider the counterfeiting proven, the goods are destroyed. Mr Ian says the Internet “is the big-
gest challenge and the biggest diffi culty for Macau Customs”. Unless there is a complaint, customs inspectors can do little about piracy. Mr Ian fears that in the future there
will be more cases of people buying counterfeit goods on the Web. There have already been such cases, with most of the goods bought at websites located in mainland China or Hong Kong. Louis Vuitton is among the most in China.
counterfeited brands Jean-
Baptiste Debains, president of Louis Vuitton Asia-Pacifi c, considers piracy “a very serious” problem. “First of all, we are the only brand
that sells its products only in its stores. If you don’t buy it in a Louis Vuitton store, you need to be careful. They can still be second-hand products but you need to be careful,” Mr Debains tells Macau Business.
New mentality “Fighting against crime is a never- ending story but I think the mentality
is changing. The authorities are realis- ing it is a serious problem and that be- hind counterfeiting activities there are criminal organisations, there is money laundering and that it is often linked to other kinds of illegal activities,” says Mr Debains. “We work with the authorities to
make sure the laws are enforced.” Mr Debains says counterfeiting op-
erations may employ child labour, poor working conditions or materials that can be dangerous. But he believes people are becoming increasingly aware of the realities and he is optimistic things will change. The senior vice-president of Asian
retailing operations for Las Vegas Sands David Sylvester says he is not worried about counterfeit products. He stresses that customers who go to his company’s shopping malls know the goods they get are real. The manager for One Central’s
retail area, Hongkong Land’s head of retail and commercial property David Martin has a similar view, saying that brands which run their own stores re- assures customers their purchases are genuine.
Additional reporting by Emanuel Graça
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