The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
SHANGHAI, China — Chinese police have arrested 32 members of a group they said made and sold up to 100 million yuan ($14.9 million) worth of counterfeit luxury goods from brands such as Louis Vuitton and Loewe, state news agency Xinhua said.
The case highlights the challenge faced by brands in China, whose products, such as cosmetics, and even automobiles, run the risk of being copied.
Police in the commercial capital of Shanghai also closed two assembly lines used to make the counterfeits and seized more than 4,000 bags, clothes and accessories, each of which they said cost the group 200 yuan to make.
Authorities launched the investigation last year, following a tip that knock-off luxury handbags were being sold on Chinese mobile messaging app WeChat, which is operated by Tencent Holdings.
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They also made some arrests in January in the southern province of Guangdong and eastern Jiangsu, Xinhua said.
By Brenda Goh; editor: Clarence Fernandez.
The group’s flagship Prada brand grew more slowly but remained resilient in the face of a sector-wide slowdown, with retail sales up 7 percent.
The guidance was issued as the French group released first-quarter sales that confirmed forecasts for a slowdown. Weak demand in China and poor performance at flagship Gucci are weighing on the group.
Consumers face less, not more, choice if handbag brands can't scale up to compete with LVMH, argues Andrea Felsted.
As the French luxury group attempts to get back on track, investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned, reports Bloomberg.