Number of consumers have flagged the issue of counterfeit products being sold on online marketplaces in the country, especially during the sales season. Delhi-based e-commerce start-up, Snapdeal and Chinese firm, Club Factory are the latest to have been hit by the fake products row even as the government has drafted new e-commerce rules, according to which the e-commerce companies have to make due diligence as well as take down the listings of products which are found to be counterfeit.
Snapdeal founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have been asked by the Delhi High Court to personally appear for the January 9 proceedings in connection to a compliant filed by the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), which alleged that the online marketplace sold fake Indulekha hair oil (HUL’s brand).
The HUL told the court that the sellers who sold the hair oil and cleaner resurfaced on the platform even after Snapdeal has been informed about the concern.
Snapdeal said it is compliant with the concerned law and is working in coordination with authorities, international associations to strengthen the mechanism of intellectual property rights and those of buyers and sellers.
Club Factory’s tryst with selling fake products of some of the renowned beauty and apparel brands is not new. However, the Chinese online firm is facing wrath from consumers this time for selling fake leading watches, cosmetics, fragrance and beauty brands, offering 70-80 per cent discounts.
The consumers in India have complained that a majority of the luxury brands being sold on the marketplace are not real and that there are inordinate delays in the delivery of the products. Club Factory said that it does have an internal mechanism in place for all products that are listed on its website and they are verified.
The e-commerce start-up said that in case the counterfeit issues are flagged over products, it does take down such products from the marketplace. The rising cases of fake products on online marketplaces has prompted a few among them to launch anti-counterfeit initiatives such as Amazon India’s Project Zero and Snapdeal’s Brand Shield whereby brands can complaint about the suspected cases of fake products being sold online.
Club Factory faces wrath from consumers
Club Factory’s tryst with selling fake products of some of the renowned beauty and apparel brands is not new. However, the Chinese online firm is facing wrath from a lot of consumers this time for selling fake leading watches, cosmetics, fragrance and beauty brands