Counterfeit goods business remains good amid crisis

Counterfeit goods business remains good amid crisis

Text and photos by P.J. Leo

SIDOARJO, East Java (JP): Aby, 50, is no ordinary leather
goods shop owner. One of his main tasks is to spy on upmarket
shops that sell imported products in major cities, such as
Surabaya.

He and his wife, who run a shop in the industrial estate of
Tanggulangin, 24 kilometers south of Surabaya, counterfeit famous
foreign brands and sell them at lower prices.

"We cater to demand," says Aby, a father of three. "Women want
to be stylish and have elegant bags such as the famous Aigner
brand which has become a symbol of quality. So we imitate the
products."

Businesspeople like Aby and the public alike do not seem to
know or care much about copyrights. The business remains robust
despite the crisis and many job seekers can earn a living in this
field.

In Tanggulangin industrial estate alone, dozens of
entrepreneurs counterfeit such products. Some use genuine leather
and others use synthetic materials. The estate is also well-known
for its embroidery products.

Aby employs 35 workers, 10 of whom attend to customers in his
shop and the rest make bags, suitcases, wallets, name card
holders and belts. Steel and iron plates with the logos of famous
international brand names are imported from Jakarta, Bandung and
Surabaya.

"Most of the leather products made in Tanggulangin use world
famous brand names, such as Gucci, Aigner, Louis Vuitton," he
says.

Prices range from Rp 5,000 (about 50 U.S. cents) for a small
item like a wallet to several hundred thousand rupiah for a large
briefcase.

Although business is not as robust as it was before the
economic crisis, the counterfeit goods business remains fairly
good, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. Other shop owners say
that orders from major cities remain steady.

Competition is getting tight, prompting entrepreneurs to
innovate or causing them to go bankrupt.

Aby recalled the day when the Latin American soap opera
starlet Ariadna "Thalia" Sodi Miranda who plays Maria Mercedes in
the soap opera of the same name visited Indonesia and met her
local fans last year. He observed her handbag on TV and copied
it.

"It was a big success. Women flocked to my shop for the
handbag," says Aby, who used to work with a leather craftsman in
Jakarta.