Ralph Lauren looks to clean up counterfeit market before India entry

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Sep 27, 2017

US fashion house Ralph Lauren has embarked on a cleanup drive in an attempt to get rid of counterfeit goods sold in the country before its official India entry.
 

The company is apprehensive to enter the Indian market as there are many counterfeit products sold in the country mostly under its Polo brand which is a challenge as it could lead to losses, the Economic Times reports.
 
India is the fifth biggest exporter of fake goods globally, while China is on the top with a huge 63% share in the estimated half-a-trillion dollar worldwide imports of counterfeit and pirated goods from where most of the products enter the Indian market, as per a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union’s Intellectual Property Office.

The resolve this problem and protect their intellectual property rights Ralph Lauren is trying its best to clean the market in order to maintain their competitive advantage.
 
According to an Economic Times report, Ralph Lauren’s lawyers last week conducted raids on a Hyderabad-based company that operated half a dozen ‘Lauren Polo’ branded outlets and seized 6,000 shirts, T-shirts, jeans and other products with the Polo logo, said a lawyer representing the company.
 
“This was a big seizure and we seized more than 6,000 pieces of garments and their hoardings were removed,” S K Bansal, a lawyer representing Ralph Lauren told ET.
 
He said the company has filed around 60 cases in various courts over the years against companies and individuals that manufactured or sold counterfeit Polo Ralph Lauren products.
 
Jagdeep Kumar Sharma, a lawyer who was appointed a local commissioner by the District Court, Patiala House in New Delhi, said they “confiscated about 900 trousers, about 500 shirts and others” after the raids on Lauren Polo outlets. Sharma said he has already filed the report to the court.
 
Ralph Lauren is in talks with Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail for opening franchisee Ralph Lauren brick-and-mortar outlets in the country. The first Ralph Lauren store in India is expected to come up inside the Emporio mall at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi.
 
Ralph Lauren products are currently available online in India on leading ecommerce sites like Amazon, Myntra & Jabong.