How
about a brand new pair of Nike shoes for just RO 5? Super sleek,
gold-tinted
Ray Ban sunglasses, all yours for RO3! Or a Gucci perfume
for just RO 2... a Louis Vuitton handbag for RO 5... a Rolex watch for
RO 4! This and much, much, more is available all over Oman, for those
who'd like to sport a popular brand without having to spend for it.
But,
don't think these gimmicks are common only in stores that cater to
downmarket buyers. If you shop at an elite mall, you still could be
taken for a ride, even though you have shelled out a fortune for your
dream purchase! Consumer authorities caution, even if you've paid a
heavy price, the product need not be genuine; you could be the nth
victim of a common practice that goes unnoticed in Oman because buyers
fail to report being duped.
Look carefully at the logo of the
brand you are about to buy (an alphabet or colour scheme could be
different from the original), look whether the dealer has a certified
authorisation for selling the product pasted on his shop wall (he could
be a perpetrator of the grey market), check whether you are given a
genuine warranty/purchase voucher (issued by original manufacturer) that
guarantees after sales service/redressal of grievances. A sizeable
contraband market exists side by side for a range of genuine products
available in Muscat, from perfumes to cell-phones. And, while authorised
dealers and retailers have been crying foul about this menace, that has
been taking a heavy toll on their clientele, shoppers are happily
straying towards the counterfeit products because it goes easy on their
pockets!
A recent report by the Public Authority for Consumer
Protection (PACP) indicated it had confiscated more than 2.5million
items that violated consumer protection laws across the Sultanate
governorates. The violations were across almost all consumer sectors,
including food items, car tyres and spare parts, medicines, watches,
jewellery, clothes, cell phones, electronic devices and building
materials.
"There are fake versions in the market for almost
every commodity, because of the huge demand. Sometimes the products are
damaged and the consumers might suffer injuries and even death due to
accidents," said an official of the Public Authority for Consumer
Protection (PACP). Statistics issued by PACP show more than 2000
percent increase in the number of counterfeit goods confiscated by the
body in a single year, rising from 34,461 in 2012 to 814,276 by 2013.
Two
forms of piracy existed in the market according to Mohammed Ghoulam, a
sun-glass and spectacles retailer at the Ruwi Street. "One is where the
product is imitated and sold under the original brand name itself,
which is very common in products like goggles, mobile phones, and
watches.
The other form is where a product is emulated and sold
under a very similar name- quite often just changing an alphabet or two
of the original brand name, deceiving the less informed customers," said
Ghoulam, adding apparel, perfumes, and shoes were the most common goods
where the name-switch method of piracy existed.
"The selling
of fake products hurts the healthy functioning of the market, adversely
affecting the fair pricing and competition in the market. The sales of
genuine brands also suffer to a great extent due to this, with a loss in
sales volume and as well as the brand value," said Rohit Shah, Head of
the Luxury & Lifestyle division at Khimji Ramdas, one of the oldest
and most prominent retailers in the country.
Lifestyle products
and accessories is the category worst hit by the counterfeit phenomena,
with almost every product being copied and sold in the market by
different methods. Hi lists a few frequently faked items for the
information of its readers.
WatchesNearly all premium
watch brands are being imitated and sold in market areas like Ruwi and
Qurum. Perfect replicas of brands like Rado, Longines, Chopard, Tag
Heuer, and Rolex etc, were easily available in the market and being sold
openly, according to a watch-seller in Qurum speaking on terms of
anonymity.
The replicas were more in demand than the original
ones, he said adding that customers more often insist on having the fake
versions, as they looked exactly like the original and were
substantially cheaper. "We do not fool our customers. We sell the fake
versions separately and give them to the customers only when they ask
for it. The original watches are very expensive, and not many could
afford them," he revealed.
An RO 250 Tag Heuer sports-watch model
could be owned for as low as RO 20, all thanks to the under the table
counterfeit options. "Although the colour, durability, and performance
differ by leaps and bounds between the original and fake versions, this
get revealed only later on, in the long run," added the watch-seller.
Perfumes & deodorants
Claimed
by many to be the most faked product in the market, perfumes are
imitated almost to perfection and are hard to detect. Different to
watches in that the customer is often unaware about the authenticity of
the product, fake versions of the many popular brands like Hugo Boss,
Calvin Klein, Gucci, etc, were being sold by many spurious sellers on
the pretext of original, maintained Rohit, stressing that the customers
should buy such products only from trusted and authorised retailers.
A
strikingly low price could also be a strong indicator of the product
being fake. "?It is important to know that retail price of most of the
?branded products are recommended? by the principal?s, and will be at
par with ?the neighboring countries. ?If the customer finds any retailer
selling a branded product at a substantially lower price, they must
verify about the product's genuineness.
Other indicators of fake
perfumes are skin irritation or allergy on wearing it, and the fragrance
lasting for very short durations, but they are visible only in the long
run, noted Rohit.
Sunglasses
Sunglasses are another
product in which more often than not, the customer is fooled into buying
the fake versions! Nearly all the prominent brands like Ray Ban,
Police, Carrera, Oakley etc were being imitated and the replicas sold
openly on a large scale in the market. According to Rohit, products like
watches and goggles were quite hard to catch, as the level of precision
in imitation is quite high with the two.
"Only an expert could
tell whether the lens or the rim is original or not. To the common eye
it is exactly just the same and feels just the same, although prolonged
use of fakes could harm the eyes," he said.
According to Rohit,
the ability to differentiate between the original and fake versions
varies among products according to their functionality and appearance.
There are other clues like font size, colour, and appearance of the logo
that might help in establishing whether the product was genuine or not.
"The size or colour of the brand logo on the packing box could
be slightly different, or the product description might be in a
different and often blurred font," adding however it required a lot of
attention to detail, which most people didn't have, resulting in their
failure to catch it and ending up being fooled.
Apparel & footwear
Although
direct piracy is not there in the clothing and shoes section, the
customers are deceived by selling the imitated versions under a
different but very similar to the original brand name and logo, which
often go unnoticed by the customer.
Prominent brands like Reebok,
Nike, Levis, Lee were being imitated and sold at unauthorised outlets
across the city. "The customers need to be cautious while buying. They
should try and ensure that they buy only from authorised outlets. There
are instances where the fake products are sold even under the original
brand name as well," said Mustafa Mohammed, merchandise manager at Lulu
Hypermarket, adding the customers should alertly check that the brand
name is spelled correctly and the logo is original, while making a
purchase.
Like in most of the other categories, a striking
difference in the price tag also could most probably mean the product is
not original. "An original Lee jeans might cost anywhere between RO 20
to 50, but the fake version is available for as low as RO3 to 5.
Likewise for the shoes; any branded shoe would cost in excess of RO
10-15, whereas the imitations are available for as low as RO 5,"
revealed Mustafa adding Thailand, China, and Vietnam were the countries
from where most of the fake versions of clothing and footwear
merchandise emerge.
The PACP official however clarified that
products sold with a slightly different name were not to be labeled as
fakes, although it was wrong to sell the product like this, tricking the
customers.
Mobile Phones
The mobile phone market-
another important segment was also laden with fake versions of reputed
brands like Apple, Sony, and Samsung etc. However the mode of selling
the fake versions was quite different in the segment, with bogus sellers
roaming on the busy streets calling on prospective customers
individually.
"The customers of such phones are mostly from the
low rung, especially labourers, who don't have much to do with the
quality part, and price is the only factor which matters to them. Also
not having much knowledge, they are fooled very easily," said Pradeep
Tripathi, CEO, Oman Phone, a leading mobile phone retailer in the city.
According
to Pradeep, Apple i-phone, and Samsung mobile phones were the ones
imitated the most, and it was quite easy to differentiate between the
original and fake, as the fake ones would be having a quite different
and slow interface to that of the original, along with a poor camera and
different word fonts.
Accepted alternative
In many
cases, the customers willingly opted for the fake variants over genuine
ones. Especially in the expensive product categories like watches, and
clothes, fakes were an accepted alternative. Mohammed Yousuf, a
cafeteria owner in Ruwi pointed the fake versions provided the lower
income people with an option to own a product which originally was quite
expensive and unaffordable for them. "Although it needs to be stopped
in some categories like medicines, and auto spare parts, but not
entirely.
In some segments like watches and goggles it should be
allowed where the customers buy the fake versions knowingly and
willingly." he maintained.
According to Karim Manssour Dahbi,
CEO Extra, the biggest factor that should influence the purchase
decision was the genuinity of the product. "Genuine products, though
they might appear slightly expensive, pay off better in the long run,
with optimal performance, and proper technical support. Consumers should
adopt a far-sighted approach when making a purchase. Their hard earned
money should fetch them the maximum value overall," he said.
 |
Omar Faisal Al Jahdamy
Deputy Director General of Consumer Services and Market Control, PACP
Customers
should keep themselves aware and make well informed decisions. They
should actively check and consider all the factors associated with a
particular product, while making a purchase, and not just the price. The
retailer is liable to answer all their queries. Customers should
refrain from buying from spurious and unauthorized dealers. Even if the
product being sold is original, it could not be endorsed by the
manufacturer as it was not procured from an authorised channel.
Customer
awareness and alertness is a must. Sometimes the differences are
minute, but if the customer acts wisely, they can avoid the trap. The
customer has the right to and should openly ask for proof of
authenticity, while purchasing any product. If anybody comes across any
incident of fake product selling, they should immediately report the
matter to the PACP, and we will take strict action against the seller. |
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