14 DAY TRIAL // China's biggest e-commerce company seems determined to shake off the reputation of selling counterfeit goods on the site and achieve its goal of going global.
After announcing the launch of dotless visual codes which would help combat the commercialization of fake merchandise, the company has come up with yet another innovative method to sort things out and prove that they are not siding with counterfeiters, as some were quick to judge.
With a pending lawsuit from a French company accusing the online retailer of listing fake luxury goods and the alleged unwillingness to tackle the illicit practices, Alibaba is intent to prove its commitment and keep its customers.
Their latest artifice consists in working with local manufacturers and convince them to manufacture original goods rather than concentrate their efforts on producing fakes.
People are a tad reluctant to this new scheme
Despite Alibaba’s good intentions, not everyone believes that this initiative will have the anticipated results.
Even if the method pays off, China is still a long way from cleaning its reputation on a global scale. And, at this rate, Alibaba is not bound to put an end on and for all to illicit online trading, no matter how much pressure international brands might put on the company.
Although the government has expressed its intention to clear the country’s name worldwide, the counterfeit industry seems to have flourished in recent years, as the demand for fake goods continues to grow.
Take Putian, for instance, a small city in Fujian Province which is particularly famous for its increasingly large number of scammers who take advantage of the less moneyed, yet eager to compete with the more fortunate. They buy the so-called brand products for a considerably smaller price compared to what they would pay for the original product, and it's really hard to tell the difference between the two.
Since their businesses are quite profitable, it is yet unclear how Alibaba will manage to convince the merchants to jump on the other side of the barricade and give up their fruitful occupation.
Although the company removed millions of products from the site it its attempt to show its determination in the fight against fakes, the fact that it will start endorsing local manufacturers is not very likely to convince them to give up on a highly lucrative revenue stream.