E-tailing suffers as fake brands flood the market

While e-tailing may have take off in India, import of fakes

and replicas of well known brands being sold in the grey market has taken a toll. Look alike of brands like Lacoste, Puma, Benetton, Canon and Nikon among others are being sold openly in grey markets. Having realized the problem, these labels are now putting efforts to stop such illegal imports by negotiating with top online platforms.

Some brands don’t engage in e-shopping at all yet their fakes are available online. For instance, Lacoste doesn't sell online but the label’s fakes like polo T-shirts are available anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 1,200 against the original ones priced around Rs 3,000 a piece in the stores. Even Reliance Brands has been getting a lot of complains about several international brands they retail in the country that include fake Diesel jeans or a Quiksilver shirt.

To stop fakes from eroding the online business, big names in the e-tailing are also putting in efforts. Indiatimes Shopping for example, has tied up with all known brands directly in the country and every product that has risk of fakes comes with a certificate of authentication from the brand. Some other big online shopping sites such as Flipkart, Myntra and Snapdeal, have started extensive screening of products sold as well as sellers using their platform, to ensure they are not illegal.