Fashion house Karen Millen has succeeded in its anti-counterfeit campaign preventing over £2.6m worth of fake garments being traded illegally using the brand‘s name.
The initiative, which was launched in 2012 involves the fashion retailer working with a number of online market places including Amazon, eBay, Alibaba and Taobao among other fashion companies. The brand has also implemented measures to combat other parts of the supply chain such as targeting trade site sellers, retail operations and factories who manufacture imitations.
The success of the campaign is evident in the support Karen Millen has achieved from its clients and fans of the brand and has dedicated a campaign page on its website called ‘Join our Fight‘ which encourages consumers to make the brand aware of counterfeit products they come across or suspicions that they have regarding the illegal activity.
At present, the British retailer‘s campaign has removed 38,000 infinging URLs from results pages on search engines, 23,000 products listings on online marketplaces and over half a million pounds worth of counterfeit products have been delisted from eBay alone.
Gemma Metheringham, Chief creative officer of Karen Millen, said: “Every piece in our collections is created by our highly talented designers and Karen Millen is defined by our signature look, craftsmanship and attention to detail. Therefore, we will do everything we can to protect not only our profits but our brand equity as a premium fashion retailer. Our clients are looking for unique pieces that they won‘t see anywhere else, so we have a zero tolerance policy towards counterfeit.”
James Corlett, legal counsel at Karen Millen, said: “As a leading global fashion brand, Karen Millen has inevitably attracted the attention of those wanting to profit through producing cheap imitations. Over the last three years we have invested heavily in brand protection strategies and worked with partners to safeguard the craftsmanship and look associated with the fashion house. To date we have shut down over 2,200 counterfeit sites selling fake products and we are currently in the process of delisting a further 200.”
Talya Misiri
