Counterfeit Vuitton bags &#8212; distorted status symbol

The streets of Seoul are filled with women of all ages carrying easily recognizable Louis Vuitton canvas handbags on their arms. One may initially assume these handbags are all real, but this is Korea, where the highest quality counterfeit luxury goods are easily available to buy in the streets or on websites.

Fake Louis Vuitton tote bag

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia

The streets of Seoul are filled with women of all ages carrying easily recognizable Louis Vuitton canvas handbags on their arms. One may initially assume these handbags are all real, but this is Korea, where the highest quality counterfeit luxury goods are easily available to buy in the streets or on websites.

Louis Vuitton, in fact, holds the ignominious honor of being the most popular counterfeited luxury goods brand in Korea.

Based on data from the Korea Intellectual Property Office submitted to Parliament, there were a total of 21,454 counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags, accessories and other products seized this year. This was significantly more than the number of counterfeited items from other popular brands like Nike (9,118), Pokemon (5,722), MCM (4,771) and Chanel (3,418).

Louis Vuitton bags and jewelry were the most popular counterfeited items, which is not quite surprising because it is quite a common sight to see these fakes being sold openly in popular shopping districts.

Well-heeled shoppers might form a queue in front of the Louis Vuitton boutiques at Lotte Avenuel and Shinsegae Main Store, but across the street in Myeongdong, street hawkers boldly sell counterfeit Louis Vuitton bags, wallets, key chains and scarves at night. Business is brisk among tourists, with scarves starting at 10,000 won and bags starting at 80,000 won.

Tourists, especially those from Japan, seem to be particularly interested in the so-called ``super fake’’ designer products that Korea is famous for. These super fakes, widely available in Itaewon and Dongdaemun, are said to be hardly distinguishable from the original lines.

Original vs. fake

Counterfeit goods are now widely available not just from the street stalls or back alleys of Itaewon, but also online and through informal networks.

Korean society in general seems to have a high tolerance for counterfeit luxury goods, perhaps because the ``super fakes’’ are such high quality.

Kim, who recently bought a ``super fake’’ Louis Vuitton bag, said that she does not feel very self-conscious when carrying it every day.

``In general I dress quite well, so people tend to think my bag is real. If I dress poorly and use a Louis Vuitton bag, then some might think my bag is a fake. I’ve seen so many people, poorly dressed ajummas, carrying Louis Vuitton bags and I always think their bags must be fake,’’ Kim said.

One of the common misconceptions about counterfeiting is that it is good publicity for a luxury brand. However, these fake Louis Vuitton products are slowly eroding its brand value.

The abundance of counterfeit Louis Vuitton products is making some luxury consumers turn away from the French brand.

``I don’t buy Louis Vuitton anymore because it seems like everyone has one, real or fake. I have a real Louis Vuitton bag, but I rarely use it at all. Sometimes I feel like some people think it is fake,’’ Ahn, a 32-year-old office worker who lives in Apgujeong, said.

Instead of Louis Vuitton, Ahn said she prefers buying bags from less counterfeited brands like Mulberry and Prada.

Many other wealthy shoppers are shunning ``masstige’’ (prestige for masses) brands, and switching to higher-end, cult luxury brands, the prices of which are out of reach for ordinary people.

More fakes abound

Aside from the ``super fakes’’ made in Korea, there are many counterfeit luxury goods being imported to Korea.

According to the Korea Customs Service, 500 cases involving counterfeit goods worth 711 billion won from overseas were recorded in the first eight months of 2010. In 2009, there were a total of 763 cases involving counterfeit goods worth 1.25 trillion won.

China is still a major source of counterfeit goods. In the first eight months of 2010, 415 cases of counterfeit goods worth 364 billion won from China were intercepted by the customs authorities.

Intellectual property rights protection in Korea is still lagging behind other developed countries. The International Institute for Management Development ranked Korea as 34th in terms of intellectual property rights protection among 55 nations.

Louis Vuitton, which is owned by luxury goods giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, is considered the world’s most powerful luxury brand in the world. Yet it does not seem to enforce much of an anti-counterfeiting campaign.

If you type in the key words ``Louis Vuitton, counterfeit’’ on Google, the top results will lead you to the official Louis Vuitton website. A message on the page reads: ``Counterfeiting is a serious crime. The law punishes counterfeiters and those who purchase counterfeit goods (with fines and legal actions).’’

The message also urges consumers to buy Louis Vuitton products only in its exclusive network of 442 wholly owned stores in 62 countries, and on www.louisvuitton.com.

``Many counterfeit products (fake luggage for example) are sold on the black-market. Only by fighting counterfeiting together can significant progress be made. Louis Vuitton has a zero tolerance policy to counterfeiting,’’ it said.

But aside from this stern, but basically toothless, message, it seems there is not much Louis Vuitton or other luxury brands can do to stop the spread of counterfeit goods around the world, especially here in Korea.