Melissa M. Dunn 
The fight against counterfeit shoes continues.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Louisville, Ky. Last week confiscated 625 pairs of fake Gucci shoes that (if real) would have sold for around $ 456,250.
According to CBP, the manifesto on the shipment claimed it contained cell phone cases. But when officers examined the package on October 2 to make sure it complied with regulations, they found the package actually contained a selection of Gucci shoes. After being examined by an import specialist, it was determined that the shoes were in fact fake shoes.
The shipment originated in Dubai and was addressed to a company incorporated in New York City, according to CBP.
Counterfeit products have long been a problem for the footwear industry, but the boom in online shopping has spurred considerable growth in black market goods. In fiscal 2019, CBP and Homeland Security Investigation, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, seized 27,599 shipments containing intellectual property rights violations, worth $ 1.5 billion. dollars.
Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America estimates that footwear accounts for about 12% of the counterfeit goods seized, with the most commonly affected brands being Nike, Adidas, Ugg and Christian Louboutin.
In a statement in March, Matt Priest, President and CEO of FDRA, said, “Counterfeit shoes threaten jobs in our industry and put American consumers at risk, and bad actors are using e-commerce sites. popular to target unsuspecting consumers. With today’s sophisticated counterfeiting operations, it can be nearly impossible for consumers to determine a legitimate good from a counterfeit product.
Indeed, consumers express a growing concern about the authenticity of their purchases. A recent study by retail tech company Intelligence Node found that 66% of consumers are at least moderately concerned about buying a counterfeit item, although only 17% say they have.
Sanjeev Sularia, CEO of Intelligence Node, cited a recent Forbes study that estimated sales of counterfeit and pirated products to be around $ 1.7 trillion annually.
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