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Piracy! It's the scourge of genuine brand manufacturers across the world. It's a multibillion dollar global criminal enterprise reported to be linked with drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorist fundraising. Nothing is safe from the copycats. Clothes, bags, watches, music, movies, software and even weapons and pharmaceuticals... Of course, the only reason the counterfeiters thrive is because there's a ready market for their goods. We decided to learn a little more about attitudes to brand piracy in various parts of the world by quizzing 1,600 people in the United States, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong. Rights and wrongs First we asked respondents whether they found anything wrong with buying fake branded products such as purses, jewelry, or electronic goods. Some interesting differences emerged in the four markets surveyed. In the USA, arguably the world's most sophisticated consumer market, 69% of those taking part didn't see anything wrong with buying counterfeits. However, in Hong Kong, a conduit for a significant percentage of pirated goods from Pearl River Delta factories, only 25% of people felt it was OK to buy bogus. In Serbia and UAE 41% and 53% respectively said there was nothing wrong with buying fakes. As good as the real thing? We asked respondents whether they thought different types of products were acceptable alternatives to the original. Overall, the majority of those questioned said they thought at least one of the types of products was a perfectly fine alternative to the original. This figure was particularly high in UAE (93%), but even in Hong Kong well over half (60%) thought at least one of the types of products was an acceptable alternative to the real thing. As the following table shows, counterfeit clothes and accessories were considered to be good alternatives more than other products. Once again there were differences by country. Most notably, 38% of respondents in the USA thought counterfeit fragrances were good alternatives to the real thing, compared to just 11% in Hong Kong and 16% in Serbia. Conversely, 37% of those interviewed in Hong Kong thought CDs and/or DVDs were good alternatives, compared to only 23% of the sample in the USA. Which of the following imitation products do you think are perfectly fine alternatives to the original? 
Cheaper, cheaper, cheaper One thing's for sure; the pirates have a bulldog grip on the value corner of the quadrant. When we asked respondents (without prompting them with possible reasons) why they thought there's such a demand for sham brands, 94% of respondents said lower cost. Around a third of those quizzed said the quality of the counterfeits is similar to the real thing. Genuine brand manufacturers might like to rethink their distribution models in Serbia and Hong Kong — 60% and 57% of respondents respectively in these markets spontaneously cited "better availability" as a reason for their high demand. The UAE has positioned itself as the shopping paradise of the Middle East. With some success as only 30% of UAE respondents felt there was a better availability of knock-off copies. Do shoddy shams shame shoppers? Real brand manufacturers need to put a bit of effort into giving fakes negative associations. The majority of our subjects said they wouldn't respect anyone less for sporting a fake. Although 4% of respondents in the UAE said they actually respect such people more, 16% of respondents there and in Hong Kong said they had less respect for copy shoppers. And the 64,000 counterfeit dollar question... "Have you ever personally bought an imitation name brand product?" Without dwelling too much on the implications, here's who replied "yes"... USA: 57% Serbia: 80% UAE: 81% Hong Kong: 42% Despite being the jurisdiction with the least tolerance for intellectual property transgressions, pirated brands have a pretty high penetration rate in the USA. Considering its recent turbulent history, brand awareness is probably low on the list of priorities in Serbia. Hong Kong and the UAE are both virtual city-states and shopping havens. Each is an important battleground for every major brand on the planet. Yet the attitude to fakery in these places is vastly different. The anti-piracy police around the world might profit by taking a close look at how Hong Kong educates its shopping savvy population about counterfeit brands. Then again, in such a brand-conscious city, rejecting counterfeits may be just a question of status. Or perhaps Hong Kongers have simply learned that a rip-off is often exactly that. 
Thank you for reading Synovate In:fact. This issue of In:fact was based on information gathered from a TeleNations Global telephone omnibus survey. These are regularly conducted in over 30 countries across the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. If you'd like more information about this study, please email infact@synovate.com. Click here to send a copy of this survey to a friend. If you'd prefer not to receive further issues, click here to unsubscribe from our mailing list. Click here if you're not a subscriber and wish to subscribe to future issues. As a subscriber to Synovate In:fact, you're encouraged to contact us with your comments, suggestions and inquiries. To do so, please email infact@synovate.com. We will reply as quickly as possible. We believe in our subscribers' privacy rights. The data you provide us will not be shared with third parties without your express permission. We aim to comply with email regulations worldwide. This is not always easy as email laws are still evolving in many locations. We appreciate your understanding. |