Branded fakes strip originals of `image'

new delhi: he began over a decade ago by selling low-priced counterfeit t-shirts of well known international brands on a pavement in front of a shop in sarojini nagar. today, he has two shops in the same market and has started his own brand of clothes. thanks to a surfeit of counterfeit clothes on the streets of the capital, foreign brands are well within the reach of the common delhiite.and the illegal trader is laughing his way to the bank, leaving the original brand owners out in the cold. ``it's a loss of image for us. if rickshawpullers are spotted wearing counterfeit lacoste t-shirts, then a person who has bought the real one for rs 1,300 will feel bad,'' said lacoste's marketing and communication manager gurpreet. she said loss of image was the only loss incurred by lacoste as ``the people buying t-shirts for rs 35 are not going to buy our clothes, anyway''. counterfeit clothes, however, mean big money for hundreds of illegal manufacturers and there is a complete production system in place. it all begins in gandhi nagar, tank road and several areas in east and northeast delhi like jaffarabad, seelampur, welcome and maujpur, where the counterfeits are manufactured, a crime branch official reveals. ``gandhi nagar and tank road are the wholesale markets for the fake readymade garments and accessories. from there they reach retail outlets in places like palika bazaar, gaffar market, mohan singh place and sarojini nagar,'' the official said. the abundance of cheap labour in these places makes it easy for any person to enter this trade. ``to begin manufacturing t-shirts sold on pavements, one has to invest as little as rs 70,000. five to six sewing machines (costing between rs rs 2,000 and 2,500), cutting table, scissors and cutting and overlocking machines are all that is required,'' a trader in gandhi nagar said on condition of anonymity. ``the manufacturers sell these t-shirts to wholesale dealers for about rs 25 a piece. they, in turn, sell it to retailers for about rs 26 to rs 27. and you buy it for rs 35,'' he said, adding that the volume is so large that even a rupee's profit translates into lakhs. the low quality counterfeit products have a big market in the former soviet union. in fact, many shops in gandhi nagar have signboards in russian. to improve the ``quality'' of counterfeits, the trader said, an investment of about rs 8 lakh is required. ``about five imported sewing and collar attaching machines are needed. accessories like fake buttons, zips, rivets, labels are available in tailoring shops in places like sadar bazaar and gandhi nagar,'' he revealed. ``one can sell the best quality counterfeit in gaffar market where the buyers are told these jeans have been imported from southeast asia,'' he said. but mncs have decided to put up a fight. about 50 raids have been conducted in delhi since 1995 in places like gandhi nagar, mohan singh place, palika bazaar and tank road. thousands of counterfeit jeans, t-shirts and other clothes have been seized. ``we have formed a special team to crack down on this illegal trade. raids will be conducted regularly,'' said allen solly's retail manager (delhi) jeevan shetty. k k balli, member of gandhi nagar's association of wholesale readymade garments makers, said: ``the association has advised all its members not to make counterfeit products. while the profit margin is not very high, the troubles inherent in the illegal trade are. big companies have become vigilant.'' on allegations of selling counterfeits, he said: ``even the big shops mix the better quality counterfeit products with original ones. here at least you know you are buying a counterfeit, but there you are paying the price of an original for a fake.''