Raids Net 4,700 Counterfeit Sportswear Products
12 November 2012
Columbia Sportswear Company announced in May that authorities in Thailand confiscated more than 4,700 counterfeit Columbia products from four retail outlets and two related warehouses in recent raids.
Starting with a tip from Columbia’s Thai distributor, the raids followed several weeks of surveillance by private investigators and local and regional Thai law enforcement agencies. One of the alleged leaders of the counterfeiting and smuggling operation was located and arrested near Thailand’s border with Cambodia and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of the owner of a chain of retail stores and warehouses that were used to distribute and market the counterfeit goods.
“We take our brand and image very seriously and intend to take aggressive action to stop the unauthorised use of our name, designs and trademarks,” said Columbia CEO and president Tim Boyle. “Thanks to the effort and cooperation of numerous law enforcement agencies around the world, we are raising the profile of our anti-counterfeit programs.”
The raids and resulting arrests are the largest counterfeit bust to-date in Columbia’s recently heightened campaign to reduce counterfeiting of its products and intellectual property, according to a company statement.
“As our brands become stronger and consumer demand for our products increases around the world, we will face increased counterfeiting activities,” said Boyle. “The cooperative relationships we are establishing across our supply chain will be increasingly important to support our efforts to safeguard the intellectual property that we work so hard to create.”
