Lawsuits still remain on the horizon, but in the meantime, the brand sharpens its weapons against fakes (dupe or pure counterfeit as they may be): “Hands off the Kelly and Birkin“. Hermès wants to preserve the luxury and exclusivity of its iconic bags. And although in the case of Walmart’s ‘Wirkin’ bag it has yet to wage a legal battle, the brand has decided to step up its defenses against “imitators” in the United States. In Italy, well-made imitations of Hermès bags traded in Versilia have made headlines. While in Turkey, the closure of the influencer channel dealing in dupes was achieved.
Hermès sharpens its weapons against fakes
As conciliatory as the latest statements by CEO Axel Dumas may have seemed toward imitators, Hermès is working to expand its intellectual property department in the US. Currently, the company’s entire legal department is based in France and is headed by group general counsel Nicolas Martin and legal director Isabelle Guillot. According to Glitz.Paris, in mid-February the label sent a team to New York to meet with local colleagues, in particular the U.S. teams of Gucci (Kering), with whom a collaboration is being speculated.
Gucci’s experience
So there would be a possible collaboration between Hermès and Gucci, which, in November 2023, initiated legal action against Lord & Taylor, Sam’s Club, and Century 21. The Kering Group’s flagship brand accuses them of selling counterfeit products with its name and designs. Agents working for Gucci purchased products from the retailers’ websites and confirmed that they were fakes. Despite this, some of the retailers did not fully cooperate. Lord & Taylor in particular refused to return the counterfeit products to be destroyed.
Trafficking in Versilia
Meanwhile, in Italy, fakes (or alleged fakes) in Versilia have lifted the veil on the trafficking of fake bags (by Hermès and Chanel especially) in Forte dei Marmi. The traffic involves the “good” society vacationing in Versilia and would be headed by a man who sells counterfeit items of egregious workmanship (certainly superior to that offered by the illegal hawkers) at the price of 450/500 euros.
Instagram bans counterfeiter “Cumaliibags”
Counterfeiting of Hermès bags is also “all the rage” in Turkey. And fortunately there has been a move to counter it. Instagram has blocked and deleted the channel of Turkish counterfeiter Cumali Demirci, who specializes in fakes of the French brand. He was using the @cumaliibags account for his accessory sales ring, where he had amassed more than 87,000 followers. But the account was shut down a few days after the magazine Glitz.Paris pointed an investigation into his activities. The web is bigger than Instagram, though. Demirci is still on TikTok, with only 200 subscribers, and his website, which shows some of the bag designs he makes on demand, is still accessible.
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