Fighting counterfeit goods is a major concern for CHANEL. We dedicate considerable financial and human resources to the fight against counterfeit producers all over the world.
Chanel defends its intellectual property rights (such as copyright, trademarks and design rights), including by taking legal action against counterfeiters, working with local authorities, and participating in information campaigns to ensure that consumers understand the risks they run in purchasing counterfeit articles.
Fighting against counterfeit means more than simply protecting our brand image. It also means protecting our creativity, our know-how and the quality of our products, as well as helping to protect consumers from products that may pose health risks.
CHANEL’s strategy is to ensure we control and oversee all parts of the chain in a product’s life cycle, from the initial creative phase to the choice of distribution channels. We can thus guarantee our clients that the articles they purchase are genuine.
There is one way to ensure that articles are genuine: purchase them only in CHANEL boutiques or from retailers authorized by CHANEL.
Please click here for more information on our boutiques and authorized points of sale.
CHANEL conducts investigations, raids and court actions against actors involved at all levels in the counterfeit supply chain: manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, as well as on the logistics, warehousing and payments side.
CHANEL's main weapon in the fight against counterfeits is the law of the countries where it operates. In the vast majority of these countries, it is illegal to manufacture, distribute or sell counterfeits. In some countries, it is even illegal to possess a counterfeit.
At any given time, CHANEL is involved in multiple lawsuits against counterfeiters in various jurisdictions. CHANEL also works closely in every country where we are present with police and customs agencies in their ongoing efforts to stop the sale of counterfeit goods.
CHANEL is also involved in ongoing consumer education efforts designed to inform the public about the dangers of counterfeits, including health risks, funding of criminal activity (terrorism, organised crime, and illegal sales of weapons or drugs), and also child labour.
CHANEL constantly monitors the Internet for websites, e-commerce marketplaces and social networks selling counterfeit goods or helping giving more visibility to counterfeits. Every year, CHANEL is successful in taking down many thousands of websites, advertisements on sales platforms and pages on social networks that breach its rights.
We also work directly with the major e-commerce marketplaces and social networks to obtain a better cooperation from them in cleaning up their sites and proactively filtering what is advertised, to give counterfeits less visibility.
In all events, consumers must be very wary of any alleged CHANEL goods sold over the Internet. There are no authorised sellers of CHANEL leather goods, fashion items and watches on the Internet. As of now, CHANEL and its authorised retailers sell only Fragrance & Beauty products and Eyewear (glasses) on the Internet. We regularly remind our customers that if a deal seems too good to be true, then it is probably a counterfeit, and that the best way to avoid being misled about the origins of products is to buy them only from CHANEL's authorised sellers.
Unfortunately, CHANEL cannot provide the public with detailed information on how to identify genuine CHANEL products as this information could be used by the counterfeiters. However, the main rule of thumb, again, is that if the deal looks too good to be true, then you are probably being sold a counterfeit. This is true in bricks and mortar retailers and over the Internet.
A few other pointers: (I) Location – Purchase only from an authorised CHANEL vendor. Items sold at flea markets, home parties, by street vendors or unauthorised websites are likely to be fake. (II) Price – The quality of a genuine CHANEL accounts for its price. If the price seems very low, then it is probably a counterfeit. (III) Detail – Counterfeiters often make errors in the details of the products. Poor stitching, misspellings or mistakes in the logo are often indication of counterfeits. There are no “second quality” or factory seconds of CHANEL products.
For any questions, or to report a counterfeit, please contact our anti-counterfeit team: anticounterfeit@chanel.com
