On October 25, broadcaster and lawyer Serwaa Amihere told young women at a mentorship session to stop buying fake Louis Vuitton and Birkin bags to look wealthy.
Within days, Ghana’s timeline answered. Mona Gucci defended women who wear knock-offs they can afford, and Efia Odo blamed a culture that respects people by how they look.
One speech, two camps, and a question the market has long avoided. Savile Row Ghana CEO Nana Sarfo has claimed that 99.9% of international designer products sold in Ghana are counterfeit.
In a market like that, a handbag is never just a handbag. It is a verdict on the buyer, the seller, the influencer, and the brand it imitates. As someone in academia, this is my perspective.
Product counterfeiting is one of the fastest-growing segments for organisations whose original products are their most important assets. This segment persists and intensifies because of enormous demand for reliable, well-known products at a small percentage of the original cost.
Counterfeit products exist in every sector. Research shows that the fashion and beauty industry is the most prominent sector; it is a major manufacturer of counterfeit products, particularly luxury brands, and can be classified as both an industry and a strong competitor to legitimate businesses.
Counterfeit fashion products are meant to project a positive image because their prestige is tied to famous brand names, making counterfeiting a prominent and fearsome competitor in the marketplace. Some studies have found that the growth rate of counterfeiting has exceeded 10,000% worldwide over the past two decades (Chaudhry & Zimmerman, 2013).
Forms of Counterfeiting
Deceptive Counterfeiting: This involves imitating the packaging of products such as perfume, bags and shoes to give consumers the impression that they are genuine. In this case, consumers believe they are buying authentic products rather than counterfeit ones.
As a result, they are deceived and unknowingly purchase a counterfeit product. These products are usually sold at a similar price to, or close to, their branded (authentic) counterparts to deceive consumers.
Non-deceptive Counterfeiting: This type of counterfeiting occurs when consumers strongly believe the product or service they purchased is not the original after careful inspection and inference. Nevertheless, they buy the product or service.
In other words, non-deceptive counterfeiting occurs when a consumer can distinguish an imitation from a brand-name product at the time of purchase, meaning the consumer knows they are buying an imitation.
Why Counterfeit Fashion Products
The author conducted a study in the Ghanaian fashion and beauty industry in 2023 and found that, although literature on counterfeiting suggests consumers will not purchase imitated or counterfeit products if they know they are imitations, this study unfortunately found otherwise in developing economies, especially in Ghana.
This is due to consumers’ current collective buying behaviour, which shows high demand for luxury and well-known fashion brands, such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, GTP, MONAA, Ophelia Crossland, MODA Cosmetics, and Sleek Makeup, etc., at lower prices.
Other factors such as attitude, price-quality inference, self-esteem, brand image, income, social influence, and social media play a critical role in this phenomenon. Here, consumers perceive luxurious, well-known fashion brands as a way to promote their self-esteem. This is especially true for high-fashion products such as bags, shoes, wigs, perfumes, and jewellery.
In addition, excessive buying of counterfeit products is also a result of peer pressure, as consumers want to show their peers that they are fashionable. It was also noted that excessive social media content creates unnecessary competition; hence, demand for counterfeit fashion products increases as these socialites compete.
Income level was also seen as a motivational factor; individuals with lower incomes who want to be accepted or fit into high society also buy counterfeit products to feel accepted. On the other hand, some individuals with higher incomes also buy counterfeit products, saying that in our part of the world they are not sure what they are buying; to avoid being ripped off, they buy whatever they deem beautiful in the marketplace.
In reference to the study, a consumer said, “I buy counterfeit designer fashion products because I do not want to be ripped off.” Therefore, to avoid being ripped off, most individuals buy whatever they find in the marketplace as long as it is beautiful and suits their criteria.
Drivers of Affordable Fashion Products for Occasional, Image-Driven Social Events
In Ghana, price-conscious consumers buy products based on how often they use them. For instance, someone attending an occasion such as a funeral or naming ceremony who wants a cloth for Friday, another for Saturday morning and afternoon, and another for Sunday will not buy three expensive clothes for that one event, since these clothes may not be worn again.
For this reason, some clothing manufacturers, especially those who produce local prints, bring out cloths to serve different purposes; for example, if Company A brings out the “Nsubra or Akyekydeɛ akyi” design and prices it at GH¢500, and Companies B and C bring out the same product at a lower price, that does not make Companies B and C’s product an imitation or counterfeit, as long as they have the right to bring out the design.
This same research conducted in 2023 in the industry reveals that, most of the time, consumers know exactly what they are buying, and most of the time this buying behaviour has nothing to do with their level of education, income or exposure.
One retailer who granted an interview said that when her customers come to buy cloth from her, she made known to them that, “We have different types of clothing in stock; this cloth was originally brought to the market by Manufacturer A, and it is GH¢350; however, Manufacturers B and C have the same design at GH¢300 and GH¢200, respectively”. In such instances, consumers choose the one they can afford, depending on the occasion or user rate.
Counterfeiting, although illegal, is often seen as insignificant; I believe it is a menace that will not change minds, no matter what you say or believe. However, it should be addressed appropriately, as it is a common predicament across industries.
Dr Yaa Amponsah Twumasi- is a Ghanaian academic who holds a PhD in information systems, marketing expert, and entrepreneur who lectures in the Department of Marketing at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). With over 25 years’ experience across the corporate world, entrepreneurship, and higher education, she strongly advocates digital innovation, women’s empowerment, and awareness of counterfeiting and piracy in the fashion and beauty industry.
