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More and more counterfeit products are arriving in Switzerland. Customs confiscates over 8,000 suspicious packages every year.
Tens of thousands of parcels from abroad arrive at the Mülligen parcel post center near Zurich every day. Most come from Asia, by plane. A lot of things are cheap, but not all of them are fakes.
Tracking down such things is the job of customs experts. They hunt for counterfeits in the huge post office building. You have to limit yourself to random samples, explains Tanja Brunner, head of Zurich Customs: “A large proportion goes past us. But we do our best to sort out the right packages.”
The customs experts do not decide whether it is actually a counterfeit. This is done by the company that owns the trademark rights. Customs detains the goods and informs the brand owners. The number of retained goods has more than doubled within a few years: from 2,905 in 2019 to 7,964 in 2022.
Louis Vuitton and Co. ask you to pay
If the brand owner considers the confiscated product to be a counterfeit, those who order the fake may end up at the checkout. Those affected repeatedly report to the editorial team of “Kassenrutsch/Espresso” who have received claims for damages from lawyers for Louis Vuitton and Co.
However, these expenses for brand protection are often set too high. Anyone who imports counterfeits not just for their own use but for resale is committing a criminal offense. Depending on the amount of the offense, you can face a prison sentence or a fine in the millions.
Big business with counterfeits
Sneakers, handbags, garden shears or car spare parts: everything that makes money is copied. The billion-dollar business of counterfeit products is booming. Most counterfeits come from China. In terms of quality, for example, fake sneakers are often just as good as the originals, reveals an insider who has visited Chinese factories.
They produce tens of thousands of fake shoes every day. The insider emphasizes: “Many employees are real specialists who used to work for the original manufacturers. They are using their knowledge and are now producing the counterfeits.”
But it is not the case, as some suspect, that the fakes come from the original factories and are secretly produced there. The amount of counterfeit shoes produced, which are sent to customers around the world every day, is far too large.
Swiss SMEs are also affected by counterfeits
Not only international luxury brands but also Swiss SMEs suffer from Chinese fakes. Like the Neuchâtel company Felco. It has been producing secateurs for customers in over 120 countries worldwide for almost 80 years. She is also a victim of Chinese counterfeiting.
But the counterfeits also damage our image and, more importantly, people are being cheated here.
Managing director Nabil Francis reveals that the damage runs into the millions: “We are simply missing out on sales revenue. But the counterfeits also damage our image and, more importantly, people are being cheated here. They think they have bought an original, but in reality they are dealing with a clumsy, poor-quality counterfeit.”
Counterfeits endanger thousands of Swiss jobs
The counterfeit secateurs are offered on online platforms such as eBay or Amazon. When used, plagiarism is quickly discovered. The deceived people then report to Felco. Only then does the company even get wind of the counterfeits. Together with Amazon, the Neuchâtel company is taking action against the criminals.
It’s also about jobs in Switzerland. The Institute for Intellectual Property (IPI) estimates that 11,000 Swiss jobs will have fallen victim to cheap, foreign fakes in 2023. According to IPI, illegal competition also means tax losses of around 188 million francs (estimate for 2023).
Life-threatening fakes
Plagiarism can also be dangerous. Mercedes-Benz, for example, warns online buyers about fake brake documents. The test bench shows that the counterfeits overheat under high load and brake significantly worse than the original brake pads.
Cycling can also be dangerous. On a Chinese internet platform, a counterfeit bicycle helmet from the “Abus” brand costs around 30 francs. The original is over six times more expensive. Visually, the two helmets hardly differ. But the stress test in the laboratory shows that the counterfeit product practically does not protect the head in the event of a fall.