A positive story ran in today's Wall Street Journal about Chinese consumers desiring real products, not fakes. Retailers who had previously hesitated to open shop in China for fear of being ripped off are now expanding aggressively. One survey cited found that 95% of 28 to 35 year old women would be embarrassed to carry counterfeit handbags. This rings true to me, having been struck on a trip to China last summer that there were so many high end brand name stores, including Prada, Gucci, Coach - - even though they do get ripped off, the amount of legitimate business justifies a lot of retail space.
Having had untold amounts of Wild Apple artwork ripped off over the years, this is welcome news. Cultural shifts like this will take time, and it would be naive to think that the counterfeiting problem is under control. And we'll embrace any step in the right direction.
Comments