Everyone in America seems to love the name brand. They don’t care how useful or sturdy it is, as long as it prominently displays a designer or company name that signals status and fashion awareness. It doesn’t take the counterfeiters long to start imitating these pricey items and selling them as the real thing. As it goes, it seems like counterfeit imports lower quality standards. A pair of designer jeans won’t last as long anymore. If the kid just wants the look, he doesn’t care if his Supra shoes are made of cheap materials. On first glance, they look real, and that’s all that matters.
The counterfeit products are priced very high for what they are. Even if they are priced $30 less than the real thing, people get excited and think it’s just a good sale on their favorite designer’s clothes. Most of this these cheap, imitation imports aren’t even worth $15. That makes counterfeiting a big business. Then there are the people who know it’s counterfeit and don’t care. It’s about the so called bargain. Quality standards begin to matter less and less.
Today, name brands that were only available in high end department stores can be found in stores who do business with middle income and working class people. The name brand is there, and it’s authentic, but the feel of the material is cheap, and the product is an import from somewhere that pays a paltry wage and uses cheap materials to produce the brand. Suddenly, name brand clothes are no better than counterfeits and generics. Maybe this drives the market. When everyone can buy Calvin Klein, then some other elite brand will emerge, and those who have to be the fashion elite will flock to the brand. The rest of us will continue to buy our cheap, has been, imports from Nike, Levis, and even western wear giants, like Tony Lama.