Continually battling against black market schemes, the Spyder scored a win against counterfeit operations when a shipment of over 1000 imitation jackets and pants was stopped at the Finnish border. In late August, the Finnish National Board of Customs notified the company of a Spyder-branded jacket and pant shipment arriving from Russia that they suspected to be counterfeit. After receiving verification from Spyder that the merchandise was indeed counterfeit, Finnish Customs seized the goods.
It is believed the product was headed for distribution points across the European Union, a substantial market for the brand. Had the product worked its way into the market, it would have undermined local retailer investments and left customers holding a low quality rendering of authentic Spyder goods.
Spyder filed a criminal complaint in Finland against the Finnish importer of the goods. Once the case is concluded, the counterfeit merchandise will be destroyed.
“Spyder has become a worldwide prestige brand and therefore is a target of counterfeit activity,” said David Jacobs, Spyders CEO. “Were serious in our efforts to seize illegal product. Its an ongoing issue, and were spending significant resources to minimize the problem.” The first Spyder counterfeits appeared in Russia in 2003, and sales of forged product has spread to Eastern Europe.
Spyders proactive stance includes working closely with customs agencies throughout the world to educate customs officers on how to recognize imitations so they may be detained at national borders. Additionally, anti-counterfeit labels are affixed to high-end outerwear to uniquely identify product as authentic. Internally, company staff monitors Internet sites for signs of illicit activity. These efforts have shown success. Two weeks ago, U.S. Customs seized nine counterfeit jackets from a passenger arriving in Portland from China as a result of an application to record Spyder's U.S. trademark registrations with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Since December 2004, approximately 30 seizures have been documented, most taking place in Eastern Europe. This figure includes both border control measures, like the one in Finland, as well as seizures in retail shops and open-air markets.
Spyder retains the law firm Holland & Hart to target the illegal practices. “Stopping fake goods through customs seizures is one of the most effective ways to combat counterfeiting, because it keeps the goods out of the marketplace altogether. It's a lot easier to detain one large shipment of counterfeit goods at the border than it is to chase 50 street vendors,” said Spyder's attorney Andrea Anderson of Holland & Hart in Boulder.
