Tag: counterfeit products

As technology accelerates and sustainability gains global attention, supply chain management is becoming a crucial driver of business success. In South Africa, unique challenges such as rising costs and resource constraints are inspiring innovation through digitisation and sustainability.

As the festive season approaches, the excitement of Christmas shopping is in the air. However, amidst the holiday rush, it is crucial to stay vigilant to avoid a nasty surprise of unexpectedly purchasing counterfeit products, which invariably flood the on and offline markets during this time.

The South African retail industry operates in a complex and challenging environment. Economic uncertainty, rising costs, and unpredictable consumer demands have created conditions in which retailers must constantly adapt to survive.

Online shopping is prevalent due to the ease and convenience with which consumers can purchase goods or services. Consumer decisions to purchase branded goods or services range from the repute of the brand and whether there is an event taking place which is endorsed by or associated with the brand for example a major sporting event, to customer reviews.

Smoke, fire, and flames claim numerous lives in South Africa, ranking among the top causes of death. In addition, the Fire Protection Association of Southern Africa has reported that almost one-tenth of all fires stem from electrical sources. However, many South Africans are unaware that counterfeit electrical products play a major role in fuelling these incidents.

There are many legal solutions for enforcing your Intellectual Property (IP) rights once you have created an invention.

Influencers have become one of the best ways to get your products sold online, and many brands invest millions into 'top-tier' influencers to promote their products. Unfortunately, this has created a situation where some influencers, knowingly or unknowingly, promote counterfeit goods.

The considerable diversion of consumers from shopping malls to online trading platforms, further driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, presents huge challenges to authorities in stopping unlawful goods from being distributed. Amazon took welcome initiative last year when they filed two separate joint US law suits with Valentino and KF Beauty against 4 companies and 16 individuals for selling counterfeit versions of the last mentioned copied products on Amazon’s market place website.

During the global COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world implemented national lockdowns to contain the spread of the virus. As a result, borders were closed to passengers but specified cargo and retail goods for certain essential products and supplies were permitted.

What are your rights when an online transaction goes wrong? The worldwide pandemic, and associated lockdown, have brought about many changes in consumer behaviour. One of which is the surge in online shopping. As South African consumers adapt to the new normal, where traditional ways of shopping are largely discouraged in favour of online shopping (in an effort to promote social distancing), the number of card-not-present transactions (card transactions that occur while the buyer and seller are not in the same place) has increased exponentially.