National Bureau of Investigation operatives headed by Supervising Agent Ramilo D. Quinto combined with the Carag, Caballes, Jamora & Somera (CCJS) Law Offices and managers of Nike Philippines, Inc. ("Nike Phils.") conducted simultaneous search and seizure operations on eight targets recently.
With search warrants issued by Judge Nemesio S. Felix of Branch 56 or the Regional Trial Court of Makati City, the NBI operatives, CCJS Law Offices and Nike Phils. raided eight different targets, namely a huge warehouse located in Marikina City, the Cash and Carry Supermarket and six retail outlets in Greenhills Shopping Center area. The operators of the huge warehouse were found to have imported, manufactured and sold fake shoes bearing numerous Nike marks.
Accoding to Satyen Patel, general manager of Nike South East Asia, this incident merely scratches the surface of Nike’s battle against product piracy and counterfeiting. "While the raid marks significant progress in our efforts, we still have a long way to go in curtailing the counterfeiting business. However, because the proliferation of counterfeit products is detrimental to our brand and consumers, Nike will continue to initiate actions and work with authorities on programs that will ultimately result in increased enforcement and create strong deterrents to counterfeiters. We want to work towards eradicating the rampant illegal counterfeiting practices."
While counterfeit products obviously hurt Nike’s business, it is the consumers who bear the brunt of being "cheated" when they purchase counterfeit products.
"It is not only about purchasing a product of lesser quality, but more importantly, consumers are putting themselves at risk to injury and safety hazard by using products that are not made to provide the proper support and cushioning to play sport," explained Patel.
One of the most harmful defects in imitation Nike shoes is the absence of Nike’s superior cushioning system. The out-sole of counterfeit products are hard and made of plastic that does not provide cushioning, potentially causing injury from the lack of impact protection. There are also other features (undisclosed for security reasons) that help to distinguish authentic Nike footwear from fakes.
To avoid purchasing counterfeit Nike products, consumers are urged to purchase products from Nike-only stores or their authorized retail partners.