How Do Counterfeits Make Us Feel?
There is a problematic comparison between the consumer market and the professional market, when copying and counterfeits are in question. Every individual has heard stories of clothing factories in Asia, that are producing branded products on one production line and non-branded from the same components on the next line. Branded T-shirt is worth tens of euros in a flagship store and the same T-shirt with unknown brand is sold with less than 10 euros in a supermarket. This kind of reality is somewhat misleading in technical professional products.
Most established global brands have encountered copying, counterfeit products and abuse of their brand. Now this kind of phenomena is real life for even smaller companies like KATKO from Finland. What do we think and feel about this?
Feelings are not regarded as part of successful business life. At the same time, we all know, that feelings are attached to everything we do and effecting to all decisions at work and in personal life. So, why wouldn’t we talk about feelings, when it comes to strategic issues or plans on business development or competitor analysis.
One normal reaction is anger. How come can someone think they can do business with ideas and material totally copied from someone else? Normally people want to be creative, show their talent and develop something new. Second possible first reaction would be targeted towards the customers of these counterfeits. They get something typically 25-50% cheaper than the normal price, and from a different source. What do they think? Do they see that there must be air in prices of branded products based on experiences from consumer products? You can only wonder; how can they think it is the same product.
Third possible feeling towards counterfeits is pride. It is pride about your own brand being so important that someone has taken the effort to copy the product and use it as a base for their business. Your brand has been recognized and notified.
Next feeling could be determination. We all – at least in professional market – should be determined to remove the possibilities for anyone to make business successfully with copied products. We should report, showcase and make fuzz about every single case – no matter if it’s you or your competitor as a victim, because that is the way to teach everyone in the business to look for the right channels and products. That is the only way to stay secure. In electrical products, there are even human lives at stake.
–SK
There is a problematic comparison between the consumer market and the professional market, when copying and counterfeits are in question. Every individual has heard stories of clothing factories in Asia, that are producing branded products on one production line and non-branded from the same components on the next line. Branded T-shirt is worth tens of euros in a flagship store and the same T-shirt with unknown brand is sold with less than 10 euros in a supermarket. This kind of reality is somewhat misleading in technical professional products.
Most established global brands have encountered copying, counterfeit products and abuse of their brand. Now this kind of phenomena is real life for even smaller companies like KATKO from Finland. What do we think and feel about this?
Feelings are not regarded as part of successful business life. At the same time, we all know, that feelings are attached to everything we do and effecting to all decisions at work and in personal life. So, why wouldn’t we talk about feelings, when it comes to strategic issues or plans on business development or competitor analysis.
One normal reaction is anger. How come can someone think they can do business with ideas and material totally copied from someone else? Normally people want to be creative, show their talent and develop something new. Second possible first reaction would be targeted towards the customers of these counterfeits. They get something typically 25-50% cheaper than the normal price, and from a different source. What do they think? Do they see that there must be air in prices of branded products based on experiences from consumer products? You can only wonder; how can they think it is the same product.
Third possible feeling towards counterfeits is pride. It is pride about your own brand being so important that someone has taken the effort to copy the product and use it as a base for their business. Your brand has been recognized and notified.
Next feeling could be determination. We all – at least in professional market – should be determined to remove the possibilities for anyone to make business successfully with copied products. We should report, showcase and make fuzz about every single case – no matter if it’s you or your competitor as a victim, because that is the way to teach everyone in the business to look for the right channels and products. That is the only way to stay secure. In electrical products, there are even human lives at stake.
–SK