Dubai: Lacoste’s signature crocodile should always have its mouth agape to the right and every authentic Louis Vuitton product is packaged in dark brown. These were some of the key revelations to help identify the counterfeit from the original that were highlighted by representatives from a number of French companies, who gathered in Ajman’s Chamber of Commerce in an anti-counterfeiting awareness and training seminar.
The seminar was organised by the French Embassy, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy and the Chamber of Commerce in Ajman.
“The global counterfeiting trade runs into billions of dollar a year,” Michel Miraillet, French Ambassador to the UAE, said at the opening session of the seminar. Counterfeit products are of global concern and France and UAE are determined to fight against this phenomenon and are in favour of strengthening international cooperation to stop fakes.”
Six major French companies — Sanofi, Legrand, Bic, Michelin, Lacoste and LVMH — participated in the seminar to share their experiences in fighting the counterfeiting phenomenon in each of their respective sectors.
Malek Hanouf, head of Louis Vuitton’s anti-counterfeiting team in the Middle East, said the brand name has been fighting counterfeiting operations for over a century.
“All our products in the region come from Paris through Jebel Ali,” he said, “if you ever hear about discounts or special offers on Louis Vuitton goods, know that they are fakes. We also never sell to outlets. Louis Vuitton products are only sold by official Louis Vuitton boutiques. There are a number of ways to verify the authenticity of our prodcuts.”
One way is to ensure the pattern of its florets or monograms are always centralised and symmetrical.
“There are always tags inside the bag that inform the consumer about the type of leather or canvas used. These should always be present inside the product and not outside. Shirts are an exception. Furthermore, the famous patterns we use on our handbags should always be symmetrical when two sides are compared. Our stitching is very meticulous; a double stitching line is a sure sign of the product being a fake. Also, we never print the LV monogram on the edges.”
Hanouf said that in the coloured patterns, the colours always follow a mathematical sequence.
“For example, if the yellow comes after the navy blue then that should be the case throughout the bag. There is always a sequence. We also frequently come across hiking boots or Nike sneakers with LV patterns. It is important to note that Louis Vuitton never engages in co-branding.”
Dalia Fouad, Head of Regulatory Affairs of the multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi, said that 50 per cent of the medications procured online are counterfeit.
“It takes 15 years to approve one molecule of a medication by the governing bodies. Every particle of the drug must be ensured it is safe for human consumption. It goes through rigorous trials and tests before it hits the market. This is not true for counterfeit drugs. In a best case scenario, a counterfeit drug might produce no effects on its users. A worst case scenario is that it kills.”
Fouad said most times a counterfeit drug would be missing its affecting agent.
“Counterfeit medicines may include products with the correct ingredients or the wrong ingredients. It could contain insufficient levels of one ingredient or an excess of another. It could also be missing the active ingredient altogether. Needless to say, without the proper quality control, these medications are extremely dangerous. Research shows that out of the various segments of the counterfeiting trade, the most lucrative and profitable is the counterfeit of medicine. We know that it is a highly organised trade, with its own business plan.”
One of Sanofi’s preventive strategies is to label its boxes with a holographic sticker.
“Holographic stickers cannot be counterfeited. We also put a QR barcode on some of the boxes so consumers can further assess its authenticity.”
Fouad said Sanofi’s strategies include a routine inspection of their factories.
“Sanofi has a tight anti-counterfeiting network. We conduct routine inspections on our sites, where we gather medication to be sent to our labs for analysis. If an inconsistency has been found then our entire network is notified.”
Mehdi Bib Khairan, Head of Logistics of Legrand, a world leader in electrical installation products, said: “We often hear of fires ravaging industrial areas. You’d be surprised to know how many of them are caused because of counterfeit electrical products.”
Khairan said that it is often a rule of thumb to assume a suspiciously cheap version of a product is a fake and of a flimsy, frail build.
“There are sometimes subtle differences in the logo of the brand. We use lasers to engrave our logo on products, while counterfeiters use heat-stamps or prints that can be smudged. Consumers must do their part to thoroughly examine a product before purchasing it. All Legrand products come with a serial number that can be verified online.”
Daoud Helmi, Trade Manager of Michelin in the UAE and Oman, warned consumers to be weary of counterfeit tyres as it could cost them their lives.
“When buying new tyres for a car, a consumer needs to inspect each and every tyre thoroughly. Ask to see the date of manufacture. No tyre should be sold as new if the date of manufacture is more than two years old. Also, no tyre should be used if it exceeds five years of age.”
Helmi said although some tyres may look externally unused, some revealing signs could be present inside - such as marks of wear and tear.
Lacoste’s consultant for combating counterfeiting and protecting intellectual property, Paula Bicoli, said one way to call the counterfiet bluff on their polo shirts is to ensure only the outline of the brand stitching should be visible on the other side. “Counterfeit products usually fail to achieve this and you have some of the details of the logo visible on the other side.”
Bicoli said most of the UAE’s counterfeit Lacoste products were perfumes.
“The same serial number should be present on both the box and the bottle. The most counterfeited perfume in the UAE is Lacoste’s Touch of Pink.”
