Fake Body Shop in Fujian, China

However on my walk of I came across this little beauty. It’s clearly an unlicensed Body Shop store. The products within appeared genuine and from Hong Kong but all signage and interior design was a cheap and poor imitation mock up of the real thing.

The service staff were all happy to tell me the products came from Hong Kong and in my opinion they looked like they did. While that should be enough to convince me I was about to buy the real thing, I’ve been in China too long to take it at face value. The simple fact of the matter is, if it is not being sold in a licensed store, there is simply no way to be sure.

Mainland China is certainly no stranger to fake stores and products. We have the now infamous fake Apple Stores in Kunming, the fake Toni & Guy Store in Beijing, and believe me I’ve inadvertently cut myself shaving on my fair share of fake Gillette razor blades bought in local shops! Our own customers at Enter the Panda have come to us with real concerns about the IPR of their China-made products.

The Body Shop is unfortunately not yet officially selling in China, due to a claim by late founder Dame Anita Roddick that “cosmetics sold there have to be tested on animals“.  As a result, like other unavailable overseas products, when you live here you have to resort to travelling to somewhere nearby like Seoul or Hong Kong, or wait for friends who are visiting home to bring them back for you (incidentally, we’re almost out of Berocca if anyone’s in the UK)!

Real Body Shop, Hong Kong

I have a lot of friends that buy Hong Kong imported Body Shop goods for sale on virtual stores such as Taobao and various other e-commerce websites. These stores claim to be selling the real deal. It could just be me (I’ll admit I’m not the most seasoned of online cosmetics shoppers), but I still don’t feel comfortable with this as I am always scared of putting something fake on my already over-sensitive skin! Ebay also lists Body Shop items from ‘Gold/Top rated’ sellers and I personally wouldn’t consider purchasing from there either.

The Body Shop has some absolutely wonderful organic, cruelty free, fair trade products and I can understand a market like China’s having a growing demand for these. However, I think the longer this kind of unlicensed trading goes on, especially in cosmetics, the more damage this does for the brand in this country. Or does it?

Will the exclusivity drive the brand to be more desirable as an ‘exotic’ item? Either way, I think some better authentication from the brand or owners, L’Oreal, will surely help.

What do you think? Leave a comment below or email us.

Check out the links to popular sites selling ‘genuine’ Body Shop items:
Taobao.com
360buy.com

And how about this not so authentic website selling Body Shop goods in China:
bodyshop-china.com

There are no strong legal frameworks as yet in China to protect your brand from being picked up by others and produced by the factory for sale in other territories and markets. We have all heard stories of similar SME produced products being sold under a different brand in another country unbeknownst to the original purchaser/customer. It is your brand, your design and it should remain in your hands which territories your designs and products go to. You need to stay in control of all relevant production documentation in order to prevent this.

A good working relationship with the production facility can help build trust and confidence. However there is still nothing stopping your product from ‘falling off the back of a truck’ or leaving through the back door. In this case, the saying ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’ is untrue. You want to be in control of your product and brand development and it’s no-one else’s place to take your designs.

As mentioned in previous articles there is no strong legal framework yet in China to protect you from copyright infringement, especially if it is a new market product. Getting components made in several different places and assembled in another is a solution many adopt but this can get very expensive.

An NDA doesn’t hold strong between an International client and a Chinese supplier but having one certainly doesn’t hurt. Having a 3rd party representing you on the ground in China looking out for your product and brand, applying pressure on the manufacturer and supplier to keep your product trade secrets under wraps can help eliminate and reduce the chances of copyright infringement.

For more information on protecting your brand and products, visit our official website for a free sourcing and IPR protection quote.