Rip-offs of global brands ‘widely available’
By timebandit •
Rip-offs of global brands ‘widely available’ |
| A wide range of consumer goods - wrist watches, garments, electronic appliances, opticals, sportswear and jewellery – bearing the imprint of internationally known brands but which are total imitations and fakes are being sold in the local markets with or without the knowledge of the authorised dealers of those brands, says an investigative report in the local Arabic daily Arrayah. Many stores in malls and hypermarkets are displaying and selling such fake goods. The public is lured into buying because of the low prices. They don’t mind going for something which looks very similar to the original branded product as long it is cheap despite the fact that it may wear out very soon. However many among the public – Qatari nationals and expatriates – besides authorised dealers deplore this situation and have pleaded to the authorities especially the consumer protection department at the Ministry of Business and Trade to take deterrent measures against such fake products. The most affected sector in fake goods seems to be in garments. Sales persons in this sector told the daily that the imitation items are so good and genuine to look at that customers get carried away by the outward appearance. “But a discerning buyer is always careful and prefers to buy the original product irrespective of the high price. He is not tempted by the publicity and promotional onslaught surrounding fake goods.” It is also common to see imitation products selling at fairly high prices. According to sources, optical frames carrying the names of popular brands but without the country of origin are sold at high prices. Though they are of a good quality it is often not clear whether they are genuine or not. |
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i dont understand this brand hood... sure we go for quality but brand maniacs make it sound its special.... sadly theres a brand called brands... lol
these things are not so strange from where i come from. there are even classifications of fakehood for some stuff like designer bags, watches, etc. the ones that look almost like the real thing are called class a and are sometimes more expensive than lesser known brands that are of similar quality.
its okay... in Qatar.. lol.. u cud buy diesel jeans for 45 riyals in sofitel.
there's a shop in Bin Mahmoud,,which solely operates on selling the FAKE brands!
..& he's running a very good business!so, is that shop excluded from baladiya auiditing just coz its owned by some influencial national ?!
Made in China
“sold in the local markets with or without the knowledge of the authorised dealers of those brands”
Why would authorised dealers knowingly allow this trade to continue ?
And who lets the objects into Qatar? - The customs. And who do the customs represent? - The government. So, who is guilty?