Despite spending a fortune on legal fees and distribution controls, luxury goods companies struggle to combat counterfeiting. But the success of counterfeiting is rooted in strategic decisions made by luxury firms to outsource manufacturing, emphasize the logo, and raise prices.

The sale of counterfeit goods is a multi-billion dollar industry that can have negative impacts on consumers and fuel criminal organizations. In 2020, U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized over 26,000 counterfeit goods shipments.

Seizures of counterfeit products at U.S. borders have increased 10-fold over the past two decades as e-commerce sales have boomed. The total value of seized goods – if they had been real – reached nearly $1.4 billion in 2018. Most are coming from mainland China or Hong Kong.

A new study has found that counterfeiters are increasingly targeting small and medium sized businesses (SMBs), which tend to be more vulnerable than large companies.
(Securing Industry)

Customs and Border Protection in the US seized more than 150,000 fake water filters or related parts in dozens of cases nationwide.
(FairWarning)

The online retail giant says it blocked 10bn listings it suspected of peddling fake goods, before they could be put on sale, and seized and destroyed more than 2m products at its fulfilment centres before they were delivered to consumers.

The initiative, a first of its kind for both Gucci and Facebook, is the latest example of an Internet giant joining forces with a luxury label to fight the proliferation of counterfeit goods being sold via social media.