The Ralph Lauren saga is on again… but with different actors. As for the American brand two years ago, representatives of other well-known makes will be in Mauritius next month to stop counterfeiting of their products. Hawkers and shops selling Hugo Boss, Luis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani brands would be well advised to stop the production and sale of counterfeit products before the officials and their lawyers arrive in Mauritius. They might thus avoid legal problems.

About 3,000 jobs are threatened by this visit in September. But for the lawyer of the foreign companies, Sanjeev Ghurburrun, the institution responsible for this is the government. “The counterfeiting cases are left ignored in the Director of Public Prosecutor’s office. Mauritius will soon be confronted with serious problems,” he warns. Even though he admits that the customs department is doing a great job, he condemns the “attitude of anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting policemen who do not make any seizure while they do it for counterfeit CDs”.

Moreover, during their visit to the country, the companies’ representatives intend to enquire on the effective measures taken by the government to fight the problem. The shops and hawkers selling counterfeit products will also have a hard time next month if they do not change their habits quickly – the more so as the foreign companies’ officials and their lawyers intend to trap them. They will pose as tourists to have an overall idea of the extent of the scourge.

As for the Mauritian lawyer, the main brand to be counterfeited in Mauritius is definitely the German brand, Hugo Boss. Except for the duty free shop in Plaisance, no other shop has the right to sell Hugo Boss products . And yet, the lawyer thinks around Rs 150 million are involved in the production of counterfeit products.

<B>Reputation at stake</B>

Hugo Boss is actually thinking of setting up a factory in Mauritius which will involve Rs 60 to 70 million investment. “But company managers first want to make sure that Mauritian authorities effectively fight counterfeiting,” explains the lawyer. The visit may thus mean a lot in terms of economic benefits for the country as well. The reputation of the country is dangerously at stake and this may prevent it from welcoming important investors in the future.

But textiles are not the only type of products that are being counterfeited in Mauritius. In Sanjeev Ghurburrun’s opinion, the transactions in counterfeit products – all sectors except for textiles – represent Rs 1 billion. This is why the companies’ representatives will also tackle perfumes and glasses that are also part of the illegal business.