According to a recent study by industry body Assocham, the fake luxury market in India is growing at a 40-45 percent rate annually and is likely to more than double to INR5,600 crore (INR56 billion, USD910.1 million) from the current level of about INR2,500 crore. The body has further said that several web shopping portals account for over 25 percent of the fake luxury goods market in India.
"Over 80 percent of the entire imitation luxury products in India come from China and majority of these products comprise handbags, watches, clothes, perfumes and cosmetics," said D S Rawat, secretary general of Assocham. There is an urgent need to educate customers on brand heritage and create awareness about original products as they cannot be substituted, he added.
Certification of authenticity and quality of products by luxury goods makers, digital serialisation, authentication, multi-channel protection programme and inclusion of appropriate technologies into product or label are certain effective tools which can be employed by luxury goods’ manufacturers to combat counterfeits, the study said.
(Source: The Hindu Business Line )