Counterfeiting is a whopping $600 billion problem! Losses amounting to almost $250 billion are attributed to the unchecked growth of counterfeits in the United States.

1. Tackling the problem of product counterfeiting
Counterfeiting is a whopping $600 billion problem!
Losses amounting to almost $250 billion are
attributed to the unchecked growth of counterfeits
in the United States. The counterfeit industry has the distinction of being seen as a business
that perhaps is larger and more lucrative then the narcotics trade. Asia is seen as the place
that produces more than 50% of all counterfeit products. China leads the pack, closely
followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan and Pakistan.
Product counterfeiting has affected plenty of industries, be it footwear, clothes, consumer
electronic items, handbags, luxury items like watches, pharmaceutical drugs, or even
automotive spare parts, chemicals, toiletries, etc. Of course all these fake products can be
extreme harmful, as has been found with fake pharmaceutical drugs which contain
unapproved ingredients but are sold under brand names of popular drugs.
From regular household items such as toothpaste to clothes, all popular brands can easily
become victims of counterfeiting. Brand counterfeiting is a reality that has invaded
international business, and countries are struggling to contain the situation. Brand equity of
a product can be degraded in the long run and eat away at the revenue of genuine
manufacturers. The impact of such brand erosion will be felt in the way your customer
reacts. Slowly but surely consumers will refrain from buying such products. Therefore brand
counterfeiting can effectively destroy a business.
Manufacturers need to be proactive when it comes to brand protection. The idea is to focus
on counterfeit goods right at the source and not let them tamper with your channels of
distribution. Engaging brand protection solutions that can easily identity and prioritize risks
and offer optimized brand protection would be a great idea. Such software should be able
to identify counterfeit sources, be equipped with built-in intuitive interfaces to review
online counterfeit sources efficiently and also be able to analyze the results to fully gauge
the counterfeit network. All this should be done in real-time to ensure effective monitoring
of all illegal activities connected to counterfeits. Furthermore, employing such protection
mechanisms can definitely help manufacturers tackle counterfeiting elements in an
effective manner.
Know more about: counterfeit detection and grey market