Who's Running A Big Counterfeit Ring For Hermes Bags? Apparently Hermes Employees

from the is-that-still-counterfeiting? dept

There are significant reasons to question the actual impact of any counterfeiting that goes on, as multiple studies have shown that (a) it's not nearly as big as various reports claim and (b) most people buying fake products know they're buying fake products, and they often later buy the real ones. However, there's no doubt that counterfeiting exists, and it's understandable that there are efforts to crack down on pure counterfeiting: cases where someone is selling a knockoff good, claiming to be the original.

Still, it's a bit of a surprise to find out that, as part of an effort by French law enforcement to break up a ring that was counterfeiting Hermes bags, they discovered the whole thing may have been run by Hermes employees -- at least two of whom have been arrested (and fired). Of course, perhaps it's not so strange. When it comes to copyright infringement, it's pretty common to find out that early leaks are "inside jobs." Still, it does raise questions about whether those "knockoffs" were really of lesser quality... It reminds me of the story of a firm that created its own "counterfeit" line to compete, but that was "authorized." This just sounds like some rogue employees, trying to cash in.

Filed Under: counterfeit, france, knockoffs, luxury goods
Companies: hermes