The Chinese store manager selling counterfeits reaches for a pair of fake Nike slippers in the window.
PHILIPSBURG--Brand protection agency for Latin America and the Caribbean Disosa has been busy seizing counterfeit luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton bags and Nike footwear on St. Maarten. On Tuesday morning, the tenth raid on a retail store in a month resulted in a carload of counterfeit apparel and accessories, hundreds of items in total.
The Cannegieter Street store, run by a Chinese manager who stressed that he is not the owner, displayed an extensive collection of counterfeit Luis Vuitton handbags, wallets and scarfs, Nike and PUMA slippers, Air Jordan shoes, Converse sneakers, Lacoste, Christian Dior and Fendi sunglasses until 10:30am Tuesday, when Disosa’s trademark experts came in with the bailiff and the counterfeit goods were pulled from the shelves and the window one by one.
An hour and a half later, the bailiff counted at least 270 items on his list of seized goods. In total, several thousand fake designer products have been withdrawn from the local market since February 3, when the first raid of this year on St. Maarten took place.
The import of counterfeit goods in St. Maarten and other tourist destinations in the region is a major issue for luxury fashion brands that try to protect their reputational value and the multi-million-dollar investments these companies made to build their brands. “These brands would never allow third-party sales,” said the bailiff who oversaw the seizure on the instructions of a judge in St. Maarten.
Attorney Wiek Herben from Curaçao, an expert in counterfeits, is leading the search for counterfeits on St. Maarten that, in his opinion, “not only damage the reputation of his clients, seven major brands, but are also detrimental to the image of St. Maarten as a luxury shopping destination for tourists.” Not all counterfeit jewellery and accessories are sold cheap, he said. “Several fake designer watches are sold for hundreds of dollars, having some customers believe these are real.”
United States law states that it is illegal to purchase counterfeit goods. For visitors who (unknowingly) buy fake designer jewellery, bringing these items into the US may result in civil or criminal penalties.
There are also consequences for store-owners on St. Maarten who offer counterfeit goods for sale. Not only do they run the risk that the goods will be seized, they will also have to negotiate with Disosa’s lawyer about compensation for his clients, seven major brands, to avoid a civil lawsuit.
“These illegal practices have financial consequences for those who venture into them anyway,” Herben said. “My clients have every interest in keeping counterfeit goods off the market. However, it is not the intention to destroy local entrepreneurs. But if it turns out that entrepreneurs are ill-intentioned, do not want to reach a settlement, and again offer counterfeits for sale, then this will certainly lead to a lawsuit. And that will have serious consequences.”
The Cannegieter Street store is a first-offender, he said. “I don’t think the seller understands how serious this trademark infringement is.”
The man behind the counter repeatedly tried to persuade the trademark experts to put seized items back on the shelf. “Look, this looks really different from a Nike running shoe,” he said of a fake Air Jordan. The lawyer’s assistant then presented the seller with the accompanying shoe box, pointing out to him: “It says Nike in big letters on the box! The shoe looks like Nike, and is even named Nike!”
Two members of Customs St. Maarten witnessed the seizure of products, and were given a quick lesson in detecting counterfeit Nike running shoes. The most important way to prevent the further spread of counterfeit goods on the local market, officials and trademark experts agree, is to curb their importation. The faster Customs officers are able to recognize what is fake and what is genuine, and seize the shipments on arrival, the less likely shoppers in St. Maarten are to come into contact with counterfeit goods.
