Rumors are rampant on TikTok alleging that prominent brands are stealthily crafting high-end products in China to profit from reduced cost sales. Despite the baseless nature of such ‘disclosures’, they often mask a smoother than smooth operation for distributing imitation commodities, a business that’s thriving amidst uncertainties over trade tariffs. These virtual narratives are usually spun by Chinese creators portraying themselves as participants in the luxury commodity industry, alleging that as a countermove to the dramatic jump in import tariffs decreed by President Trump in the US, China has relaxed confidentiality terms for domestic subcontractors. They contend that this adjustment in Chinese policy permits them to disclose the hitherto undercover world of luxury product manufacturing in the Chinese territory.
These TikTokers prompt Western consumers to directly purchase from websites that offer these commodities. The products on offer purportedly bear no particular identifier, but are claimed to match their extravagant counterparts in caliber and aesthetics. To entice the customers further, prices are offered at appealing rates with luxury handbags costing just $1,400, compared to their authentic counterparts priced at $38,000. Several of the targeted brands, such as Hermes, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton, which state production primarily from Europe and the US on their online portals, chose not to respond to these accusations presented in viral video format.
However, Jacques Carles, leading executive at the French Luxury and Design Centre, a managerial consultancy, holds the idea that luxury labels would resort to manufacturing in China as preposterous. Carles argues that such a move would lead to an ideological self-destruction of the brands. If any proof existed to substantiate the idea, which it doesn’t, he contends that it would spell doom for these brands which according to him, are intelligent enough to evade such trap.
TikTok creators, in their bid to present Chinese workers as the unsung manpower working away behind the luxury brands, often highlight these skillful workers. This presentation, Carles states, fails to account for various crucial manufacturing processes, glossing over the fact that these ‘counterfeit workshops’ often neglect these very stages of manufacturing.
Carles uses the meticulous creation of the Hermes’s Birkin bag as an example necessitating hundreds of working hours. He believes these content creators aim, through the seed of doubt sown in the minds of consumers, to exploit an emerging opportunity to offload their imitation stocks. Also, due to the viral nature spread via social media platforms, it’s a challenging task to counteract such an unpredictable online campaign.
Luxury brands have chosen a deliberate stance of non-engagement, despite these accusations, choosing to dismiss this phenomenon rather than get embroiled in it. Carles deems the insinuation that European luxury products, officially made in Europe, were actually secretly crafted in China as nonsensical. He refutes the theory of this being a retaliation strategy to the US trade tariffs. He is of the opinion that causing damage to European luxury brands will not affect the US administration as they have no affiliation to these brands.
Carles strongly negates online videos that promote the idea of luxury brands manufacturing their items in China and falsely tagging them as ‘Made in France’ prior to commercial selling. He characterizes this as an unlawful act and strongly contends that no brand would dare to get caught in such an act.
A statement released by the E-commerce department of China’s trade ministry instructed to ‘promptly refer any deceiving marketing, trademark infringement, or imitation activities’ carried out by entities posing as subcontractors for recognizable brands ‘to law enforcement agencies for scrutiny and necessary actions.’
China is frequently held responsible as the primary global producer of imitation products. It is estimated that 70-80% of all knock-off goods worldwide are manufactured in China. A lot of severe penalties are in place in the European Union states along with many other countries for buying counterfeits. In France, for instance, this could lead to a jail term of up to three years and a hefty fine of 300,000 euros, equivalent to approximately $340,600.
In addition, the customs authorities reserve the right to seize counterfeit goods, and the purchaser could be levied a fine equivalent to the genuine price of the imitation items. According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), counterfeiting causes a loss to the European industries amounting to 16 billion euros every year, with the hardest hit sectors being the clothes, cosmetics, and toy sectors.