Associated Press article from today's online Miami Herald (9.16.05). Some interesting stuff!
SHENZHEN, China - Fancy a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy in vampire outfit with fangs? How about a matching set of black-and-white Mickey Mouse bra and underpants?
They're among the more glaring knockoffs of Disney products on sale in the myriad small shops in the southern China boomtown of Shenzhen, just an hour away from Hong Kong -- home to the newest Disneyland.
With the opening of the theme park Sept. 12, counterfeit Disney products manufactured in mainland China have flooded the markets in Hong Kong as licensed retailers struggle to keep up with demand.
The sheer variety of fake Disney products on display in Shenzhen's bustling Dongmen (East Gate) market is astounding: Mickey Mouse steel wristwatches, Winnie the Pooh clocks, Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys, T-shirts, silver and orange-colored Mickey handbags, wallets and bed sheets.
Despite the products' inferior quality, customers say they are drawn by the bargain prices.
''My children love Disney cartoon characters. The genuine clothes are too expensive. I don't mind if they are fake as long as they are wearable,'' said housewife Xiong Feng, whose 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were donning pirated Mickey Mouse outfits.
For 75 Chinese yuan (U.S. $9), shoppers can get a fake Disney wristwatch -- about one-third the price of a genuine one. The cape-clad Mickey vampire toy is on sale for 30 yuan ($3.70), while a set of Mickey underwear costs just 20 yuan (U.S. $2.50).
A SERIOUS CONCERN
Disney executives acknowledge that piracy is a serious concern for them.
''It's broad. It's everywhere, from our DVD business to our packaged goods, our consumer products, and everything in between,'' said Douglas Miller, executive vice president and managing director of The Walt Disney Co. (Asia Pacific).
''It's a multiple hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-notjust-Disney issue. It's very significant in all areas,'' he said.
To combat counterfeiting, Miller said Disney works with Hong Kong Customs and mainland Chinese authorities for market sweeps and keeps close contact with retailers. He declined to give details.
In August, the company introduced a new security tag -- a three-dimensional holographic label -- to identify genuine Hong Kong Disneyland merchandise, sold at two retail outlets at the Hong Kong airport. It is also on sale at the park.
CUSTOM CRACKDOWNS
In recent weeks, Hong Kong custom officials also stepped up measures to crack down on counterfeit goods featuring Disney as well as Japanese cartoon characters, including raids on several local markets. In one raid, officers seized about 37,500 pirated toys, stationery, handbags and electric appliances worth about 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars (about U.S. $193,100).
Officials said the sellers usually mixed genuine products with fake ones in order to evade customs inspection.
Both licensed mainland Chinese and Hong Kong manufacturers of Disney products complain that rampant piracy hurts their business.
Alice Cheng, marketing manager of Grand Smart International Development, a Disney licensee in Hong Kong, said her company would conduct frequent inspections of local markets and report sightings of counterfeit products to Disney.
But across the border, Disney is facing a tougher war in the clampdown on piracy as local media reported that some mainland factories authorized to produce genuine products sometimes make fake goods on the side.
''We are very angry,'' said Zhang Fan, who is in charge of the Shenzhen operations of Youngjun Leather International Co., a Disney licensee of leather products with about 500 stores on the mainland.
''The counterfeiters would copy our new designs just days after they were launched,'' Zhang said. ``They are really fast and sell the fake goods near our own stores at much cheaper prices.''
Zhang said his company has notified Disney about the fakes, but they haven't directly contacted mainland authorities because he says their contract with Disney does not authorize them to do this.
He said business is affected but declined to give an estimate.
Disney executives expect the Hong Kong theme park -- a joint venture between the company and the Hong Kong government -- to draw throngs of mainland visitors, but whether the company can successfully tackle the piracy issue remains to be seen.
SHENZHEN, China - Fancy a Mickey Mouse stuffed toy in vampire outfit with fangs? How about a matching set of black-and-white Mickey Mouse bra and underpants?
They're among the more glaring knockoffs of Disney products on sale in the myriad small shops in the southern China boomtown of Shenzhen, just an hour away from Hong Kong -- home to the newest Disneyland.
With the opening of the theme park Sept. 12, counterfeit Disney products manufactured in mainland China have flooded the markets in Hong Kong as licensed retailers struggle to keep up with demand.
The sheer variety of fake Disney products on display in Shenzhen's bustling Dongmen (East Gate) market is astounding: Mickey Mouse steel wristwatches, Winnie the Pooh clocks, Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys, T-shirts, silver and orange-colored Mickey handbags, wallets and bed sheets.
Despite the products' inferior quality, customers say they are drawn by the bargain prices.
''My children love Disney cartoon characters. The genuine clothes are too expensive. I don't mind if they are fake as long as they are wearable,'' said housewife Xiong Feng, whose 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were donning pirated Mickey Mouse outfits.
For 75 Chinese yuan (U.S. $9), shoppers can get a fake Disney wristwatch -- about one-third the price of a genuine one. The cape-clad Mickey vampire toy is on sale for 30 yuan ($3.70), while a set of Mickey underwear costs just 20 yuan (U.S. $2.50).
A SERIOUS CONCERN
Disney executives acknowledge that piracy is a serious concern for them.
''It's broad. It's everywhere, from our DVD business to our packaged goods, our consumer products, and everything in between,'' said Douglas Miller, executive vice president and managing director of The Walt Disney Co. (Asia Pacific).
''It's a multiple hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-notjust-Disney issue. It's very significant in all areas,'' he said.
To combat counterfeiting, Miller said Disney works with Hong Kong Customs and mainland Chinese authorities for market sweeps and keeps close contact with retailers. He declined to give details.
In August, the company introduced a new security tag -- a three-dimensional holographic label -- to identify genuine Hong Kong Disneyland merchandise, sold at two retail outlets at the Hong Kong airport. It is also on sale at the park.
CUSTOM CRACKDOWNS
In recent weeks, Hong Kong custom officials also stepped up measures to crack down on counterfeit goods featuring Disney as well as Japanese cartoon characters, including raids on several local markets. In one raid, officers seized about 37,500 pirated toys, stationery, handbags and electric appliances worth about 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars (about U.S. $193,100).
Officials said the sellers usually mixed genuine products with fake ones in order to evade customs inspection.
Both licensed mainland Chinese and Hong Kong manufacturers of Disney products complain that rampant piracy hurts their business.
Alice Cheng, marketing manager of Grand Smart International Development, a Disney licensee in Hong Kong, said her company would conduct frequent inspections of local markets and report sightings of counterfeit products to Disney.
But across the border, Disney is facing a tougher war in the clampdown on piracy as local media reported that some mainland factories authorized to produce genuine products sometimes make fake goods on the side.
''We are very angry,'' said Zhang Fan, who is in charge of the Shenzhen operations of Youngjun Leather International Co., a Disney licensee of leather products with about 500 stores on the mainland.
''The counterfeiters would copy our new designs just days after they were launched,'' Zhang said. ``They are really fast and sell the fake goods near our own stores at much cheaper prices.''
Zhang said his company has notified Disney about the fakes, but they haven't directly contacted mainland authorities because he says their contract with Disney does not authorize them to do this.
He said business is affected but declined to give an estimate.
Disney executives expect the Hong Kong theme park -- a joint venture between the company and the Hong Kong government -- to draw throngs of mainland visitors, but whether the company can successfully tackle the piracy issue remains to be seen.
