ON A TRIP to an Asian country sometime ago, we joined a tour of the city’s sights. One of the stops was at a nameless shop selling top quality leather bags. They were really handcrafted well, and sported brand names from Gucci to Louis Vuitton.
“Hay naku, kung may orig ka, maiinis ka,” (If you have an original, you’d be pissed) said one of those on the tour with me. And I can see why. Those bold and beautiful bags were selling for just a fraction of the price of the real thing. And with the craftsmanship, who can tell the real from the fake?
Well that’s exactly why unscrupulous business people have raked in the cash from the sale of fake leather goods over the decades. It’s hard for the untrained eye to distinguish the fake from the genuine article.
But as the saying goes, you reap what you sow. Just a few days ago, a businesswoman at 168 shopping mall in Manila got in trouble for selling fake LVs. Louis Vuitton is pressing charges. Apparently, the luxury goods maker scrutinizes the world market for sellers of fake goods, Manila included.
And if you think the Internet is safe to sell off those knock-offs, it isn’t. The auction website e-Bay has just been fined $63 million for facilitating the sale of fake LVs.
True, the makers of Louis Vuitton can afford to go to court anywhere in the world and make counterfeiters accountable for the unfair business practice. Other companies don’t even bother, so tiangge vendors are very bold in selling fake stuff at places like Greenhills and St. Francis Square, peddling “Vans” shoes for P400 and “Nike” shorts for P150.
But why copy when you can make your own brand? The creative and innovative entrepreneur who can come up with something original will be amply rewarded. You reap what you sow.
July 9th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I believe if your product is really good, meets a market need, is priced right and made known to your target market, your product will be noticed and will sell. A lot of good products or services (restaurants, for instance) got known first through word of mouth.
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pm
the problem, i think with having to make your own brand is the “hard-to-sell” factor.
Filipinos are going ga-ga over “branded” items like Nike, Adidas, etc., so if you are making your own brand, one of your first considerations is how you can advertise your product and let it be a common name for the consumers.