NEWS Fake products costing IT trade ‘significantly’
‘There’s clearly an issue here and it appears to be growing,’ warns Tech Data print supplies manager Mark Porter by Dominic Sacco
SALES of counterfeit printer cartridges and labelling cassettes are harming the tech trade – and the problem is only getting worse, vendors and distributors have told PCR. Printer specialist Brother
urged resellers to source stock from authorised distributors late last year, following a legal case with Aster Technology, which was manufacturing and supplying YT-cassettes that infringed Brother’s intellectual property rights. The products were intended for use in Brother’s P-Touch label machines. In addition, distributor
Tech Data UK recently encouraged resellers to use HP’s QR identification system in order to avoid being duped into buying fake HP laser cartridges.
Mike Kelly, head of labelling for Brother UK, told PCR: “Imitation cassettes have become a more pressing issue in the last 12 months and we would estimate that current
“It’s important that both resellers and customers are alert to the many fakes and counterfeits on the market.”
monthly sales of imitation cassettes are equivalent of up to three per cent of our total sales, which is costing the IT trade significantly. “Brother has successfully taken legal action in both
Mark Porter, Tech Data UK
Europe and the USA to protect intellectual property rights and we will continue to pursue this course of action to protect both resellers and end users from imitation products.” Mark Porter, print and supplies manager at Tech Data UK, added: “Vendors have identified that there seems to be shrinkage in terms of their through-put on supplies, so there’s clearly an issue here and it appears to be growing. The problem has been increasing for a number of years. “It’s important that both
Mike Kelly, head of labelling for Brother UK
resellers and their customers are alert to the many fake or counterfeit cartridges that are now being openly offered on the market. It’s important to know it is a genuine HP cartridge – and not to discover it is a fake after it is too late.”
League of Legends retail Westcoast eyes non-specialists
cards heading to UK? ONE OF THE world’s most popular online-only free- to-play PC games could soon be letting UK retailers in on the action. Pre-paid
physical retail cards for League of Legends are already
being sold in the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and now developer Riot Games has told PCR it is considering bringing them to the UK and Europe. The cards allow players to top-up their in-game account with Riot Points, which can
8 | PCR January 2014
be used to purchase new characters and skins. “We are exploring a
range of different options in Europe,” a Riot Games spokesperson told PCR. “With
regards to pre-paid cards, we do actually use PaySafe at the moment, where players can top-up in
a variety of stores, but we are looking into alternative methods to mirror other territories.” League of Legends was
released in 2009 on PC. It was later made available on Mac.
DISTRIBUTOR Westcoast wants to help non-tech retailers like department stores take advantage of the booming tablet market. The firm says its new free- standing display units (FSDUs) for tablets have been a “tremendous success” so far in stores such as Fenwicks, House of Fraser and Debenhams. “Department stores don’t want an enormous IT department generally in their stores, but they also don’t want to miss out on tablets,” Westcoast sales and marketing director Alex Tatham told PCR. “The opportunity has
been to get an unassisted sale in place for retailers that don’t want to invest in tons of IT, by showing off tablets in a place that isn’t
necessarily in the sound or vision department – it’s in the gift section for example. This allows customers to pick up a tablet and the accessories that go along with it.” Several stores are using the FSDUs to display Apple, Samsung, Microsoft and other Android tablets. “It’s been a tremendous success [so far],” added
Tatham. “Perhaps the one that’s working best at the moment is in the Fenwicks Colchester store. “We’re delighted that
Fenwicks is selling tablets and the store manager is delighted too. It’s a good start but there’s probably plenty of learning for us to do. We’re excited by the opportunities that it presents.” Westcoast: 0118 912 6000
www.pcr-online.biz
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