Page 31 - Forbes India (December 2015)

earns a “strike”, and after three defect, then pass them out the back been as simple. She complains
or four “strikes”, Alibaba shuts door to Zhai. Some counterfeiters Alibaba is now forcing her to
the shop. However, the confusing also collect discarded fabrics, leather submit stacks of paperwork to
system gives a seller ample and other raw materials, ship them challenge the company’s penalty.
opportunities to stay in business. to their own factory, hire workers But Zhai’s first store continues to
For instance, unless a seller from the official manufacturer and market as many fakes as ever.
accumulates too many points in a assemble these pieces into replicas C Di, 28, has endured less pressure
year, his record is eventually wiped of the real thing, which Zhai says she from Alibaba. She readily admits
clean, allowing all but the most overt also sells on Taobao. On a good day, that she copies designs from major
wrongdoers to keep their stores she can rake in $11,000 in sales. luxury brands like Gucci, Fendi
open. Those who get banned can Zhai’s counterfeits should be easy and Ferragamo, then hires a factory
just re-register their stores under a to spot. They are exact copies of the in China’s Guangdong province
different name and resume their sales. original, complete with brand logos, to manufacture the handbags for
The Chinese merchants who yet she sells them at discounted prices her. Di opened her Taobao shop in
hawk counterfeits on Alibaba’s and states on her Taobao storefront 2013 and began making so much
platforms concede that the company that they are not official goods. money that she quit her job as a civil
is getting tougher—but not enough Yet Alibaba has done a poor job of servant. Each month, Di sells some
to discourage them, and they still stopping her. Soon after she began $30,000 worth of rip-offs, bringing
market their illegal goods with near selling these items in 2010, one of her her more than $1,500 in income.
impunity. Take, for instance, S Zhai, suppliers got nabbed, and Alibaba shut Nevertheless, Di has been penalised
30, who operates two Taobao stores down her first shop. But a few months by Alibaba for intellectual property
selling counterfeit handbags and later, she was able to reopen under infringement only once—the company
clothes from brands, including Prada, the same registration and shop name. asked her to stop selling a near-replica
Fendi and Balenciaga. Her products After buying Alibaba employees some of a Ferragamo bag. Granted, she has
come from the very Chinese factories nice dinners and gifts, it lifted the gotten smarter at avoiding detection
that manufacture the authentic items. ban, and she went back to selling the by tweaking the designs to make her
Quality control officers yank handbags exact same counterfeits. (An Alibaba products appear slightly different
and other goods made for the brands spokesman says the company has a from the originals. But some of her
off the assembly lines for some sort of policy of “zero tolerance on fraudulent wares are still obvious copycats.
activities by our employees”.) Despite She recently offered a Michael Kors
RiSinG Sun her record, Zhai says, Alibaba handbag with the interior clearly
Japanese prime ministers come and go salesmen have offered services to covered with the company’s logo. In
so often that they usually don’t climb help promote her site.
very high on our list. But Abe is now Five years passed michAEL BLoomBERG
finishing the third year of his second before Alibaba caught The former mayor of New
(non-consecutive) term. His economic York City has said he won’t
policies—dubbed “Abenomics”—have up with her again. In seek higher office, and
slid down our ranks as a
pumped billions of dollars into the world’s mid-2015, her second result, but he still runs a $9
third-largest economy. And although the shop was shuttered. billion-in-revenue financial
remedy isn’t working quite as well as he’d This time, reopening information and news
like, he was re-elected as head of Japan’s provider
ruling party in September. its virtual doors hasn’t

39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46.
khalifa Ban ki-moon shinzo aBe dinG park michael BloomBerG Jim YonG kim kim JonG-un
Bin zaYed seCretary Prime XuedonG Geun-hYe Ceo, BloomBerG President, suPreme
al-nahYan General, minister, Chair, China President, AGE 73 world BanK leader, audRey PORee / aBaca PRess / neWscOm
President, united JaPan investment south us AGE 55 north
uae nations AGE 61 CorP Korea us Korea
AGE 67 AGE 71 JaPan AGE 55 AGE 63 AGE 32
united araB south China south north
emirates Korea Korea Korea

gOVeRnment & POLicy PHiLantHROPy & ReLigiOn Finance & inVestment Business cRime & teRROR

DECEMBER 11, 2015 FORBES INDIA | 31