Cold abuse of brands is not as bad as the Valentino brand

Cold abuse of brands is not as bad as the Valentino brand

Gu Huanyu, a brand expert, said, “The Valentino brand is no longer necessary for self-help.” He further explained that the market of the “Valentino” brand is chaotic. If you want to eliminate the impact of the abuse of this brand, you need to clean up the market and correct the brand. Many tasks such as image, legal rights protection and government public relations, which will result in high costs, have no way to save themselves.

When reporters searched for answers through the Internet, they were surprised to see that there were more than 160 clothing brands with “Valentino” words! Who is the real department?

Editor's note: The tide of the market is ups and downs, and the children in the market are also volatile and volatile. But one of the charms of business lies in its basic rules. Although enterprises and entrepreneurs think that the sinker is self-possessed and the floater is floating, there is always a pair of unseen big hands behind him.

Some people say that the reasons for failed companies are similar, and successful companies have their own reasons. Numerous people are studying how companies succeed, but we think that studies of failed or frustrated cases may be even more important to readers and business people. After all, it is the bloodstains and epitaphs of the forerunners that really make latecomers wake up.

For this reason, since the beginning of this period, this newspaper will make a special case study to analyze these companies.

"Discounts! 1 to 30% off!" The two salesmen are pulling their voices to solicit business. The store is full of people and many people are choosing their favorite clothes. The men's shirts, trousers and jackets are piled on the shelves and floats. The striking red lettering on the door is also the word "discount." The salesperson is even more eloquent in lobbying customers: “A brand-name shirt of 38 yuan is of good quality, decent, and of great value!”

This was the scene that the reporter saw on the 12th of August in a “Valentino” famous discount store near the West Railway Station in Beijing.

Today, the famous brand-named discount store “Valentino”, an internationally-known brand from Italy, has spread all over the streets of the capital. RMB 38 can buy international well-known brand clothing, which is indeed a kind of “selling” for “Valentino”.

Who is the authentic "blood"?

The world-famous luxury brand, Valentino, has encountered such a situation when he crossed the ocean to China. When reporters looked for answers through the Internet, they were shocked. There were more than 160 clothing brands with Valentino characters! Who is the real department?

It is reported that the "Valentino" store that appears in the form of a brand discount store does not only appear in the capital, but the "Warren" family that uses the same management means has already spread all over the country.

After many setbacks, the reporter contacted the general manager of the "Valentino" brand, Chen Wei. The unit she works for is the general agent of the domestic Valentino brand, the Zhejiang Babe Group.

Chen Hao told reporters: “Now, any brand with a prefixed suffix on the market is not an authentic Italian “Valentino.” The brands that I represent, registered in Chinese in China are 'Valentino' and are registered under the designer’s name. However, in general, Chinese names are not used, and the original name is used. This can also be distinguished from general counterfeit goods."

She stressed: "The brands we represent are luxury goods, and they are aimed at high-end consumer groups and general counterfeits. They simply cannot pose a threat to Valentino."

When a reporter asked about the issue of maintaining the brand image, Chen Hao said with a smile: "The rights protection is the brand's business. We are just brand dealers. The rights protection is not our responsibility." She said the brand side, the reporter Asked to understand that it is a company based in Hong Kong. The reporter used the telephone number provided by Chen Hao for a week to contact the company several times, but the other side of the phone did always receive a busy tone.

For Chen Xi, the manager of Beijing Valentino Cooper, Mr. Jin Liang, said that he was unacceptable. He said that Cooper apparel was suffixed with “Cooper” after “Valentino”.

But we are legally operating and the product name is named after the famous Italian designer.

He also told reporters that there are not only a small number of apparel products named after “Valentino” in the country, but all of them are applying for Chinese registration of the brand. Due to too many applications, no enterprise has yet to obtain formal Chinese registration. The reason why Valentino Cooper is "legally operating," and he explained that the product's English logo has been registered in France and has been filed with the Trade and Industry Bureau. Valentino Cooper is a luxury brand that focuses on high-end markets and has a high market share in Beijing. He said that in the large high-end stores in Beijing can see Valentino Cooper stores, in order to have a more in-depth understanding of "Cooper", the reporter also used the identity of the wholesaler dialed Li Zhiping's phone. He is the sales manager of the Beijing branch of Guangzhou Haojia Trading Co., Ltd., the general agent of Valentino Cooper leather shoes in China.

Li Zhiping said with certainty: “Valentino Cooper is a branch of Valentino in Italy. Besides producing shoes, he also manages clothing, ladies’ bags, etc.” He also illustrated the relationship between Valentino Cooper and the Italian Valentino family. “They are like brothers. In each area, they eventually registered their own brands.” However, he accused other brands of saying, “Some people see that the Valentino brand is doing well, they are fake everywhere, and many people are copying our brand.”

However, the actual situation is not what he said. The reporter learned from the website of Valentino Cooper that its founder, Valentino Cooper, was Italian but moved to Paris, France, when he was a teenager. Around 1978, Valentino Cooper began to emerge as a fashion designer. The style of men's wear he designed was classic and elegant and popular in France. Valentino Cooper founded his name brand Valentino Coupeau (Valentino Cooper) in France. This is the only Valentino brand identified by PARIS. In fact, he has nothing to do with the Valentino family.

It is more straightforward to Xiang Qinhe who claims to be the general agent of "Valentino men's wear in Yunnan." She affirmed: "I have never seen Italian authenticity. I am the agent of Valentino Bino Co., Ltd.'s clothing, mainly wholesale mid-range clothing, such as pants and jackets, the price of a jacket is generally 100 To 200 yuan."

When asked whether she considered the agent's authenticity when acting as an agent, she said: "The counterfeit products on the market are too many and too chaotic now. I can't figure it out myself. I feel like I can look and have good style."

It is reported that many of Valentino's agents on the market do not directly obtain the agency rights from the Valentino family. Instead, they obtain sales rights from the Chinese distributors in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Domestic companies go abroad to register “Valentino” as the name of the company’s factory, and then use these products in the name of commissioned processing, authorized production, and franchising. When these products are returned to China, they only need to go to the industrial and commercial department for record. Whether approved or not, sales will be discussed first.

Yao Shaowen, a domestic clothing brand marketing expert, said: “Valentino has never really entered China because of the domestic chaotic market.” According to him, when Valentino arrived in China in the mid-1990s, he encountered “speculation” and “follow the trend”. Under certain circumstances, some Chinese companies apply for trademark use rights abroad by adding prefixes and suffixes to their original names, and then to domestic sales. "In the industry, this kind of behavior is called 'rubbing the ball' and is a means to rely on brand names to obtain high returns."

Many "Valentino" melees

From the Valentino store on the roadside to the specialty shops of Valentino Cooper and Chardonnay Valentino in a shopping mall, prices range from a few tens of dollars to over a thousand dollars. Clothing with the “V” logo is everywhere. visible.

Is Valentino's market really the same as that of Chen Biao of Zhejiang Babe Co., Ltd.— “Impressive products cannot pose a threat to high-end products?”

“Some of these are absolute.” Yao Shaowen expressed different opinions. He said that because “Valentino” itself has problems with too many categories (such as clothing, underwear, and leather goods, etc.), this has caused excessive brand extension and Use and other issues. In addition, some domestic companies counterfeit this brand, making the original high-end "Valentino" slipped into low-end goods.

In the Xintiandi Shopping Center, Oriental Plaza in Beijing, Valentino is written in English in the name of the Valentino store. There is no Chinese logo, and the brand's men's and leather shoes are mainly operated. The salesperson explained that “the price of white men's T-shirts in different styles of fabric is not the same, and there are styles designed by designers for the catwalks. The minimum is 1760 yuan and the highest is 6,000 yuan.” Although these garments are very priced High, but in the end it can be bought at a discount of 3 to 50%. The salesman told reporters in this way. Similarly, the price of leather shoes ranges from 2,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan. After the discount, they can all be sold within 2,000 yuan. “Valentino currently has only three stores in China and Beijing alone.” She said.

Located in the Parkson Shopping Center on Fuxingmennei Street in Beijing, there are two stores with Valentino. They are Valentino Cooper and Chardonnay Valentino.

According to reporters at the Valentino Cooper store, men's T-shirts ranged in price from 680 to 2280 yuan, and the places of production were marked with Shanghai, Macau and Italy. The salesman said: "The 1280 yuan is made of Italian fabrics." The ongoing discount of 25% off the floor, if you want to buy a shirt of Italian fabrics only need 960 yuan. However, she did not find a dress originating in Italy for the reporter in the goods.

Less than a hundred meters from this Valentino Cooper is the Chardonnay Valentino store, whose name is GiovaniValentino in English and also has no Chinese logo. The men's T-shirts in this store range in price from 590 to 1,980 yuan, and they have 30% discounts. The salesperson also stated that the clothes in the store are also from Italy. “Zevanni Valentino only sells men's clothing and belts, not women's clothing. If there is a women's brand, this brand is fake. There are only two of our brand stores in Beijing, one at Parkson Shopping Mall and the other at Lufthansa Friendship Shopping Mall. ?

It is reported that as early as 2003, Zhuo Renni Valentino, who has been in the China market for 7 years, has already withdrawn from the Chinese market. Some industry insiders speculated that the Chinese-selling Zhuo Fanni Valentino brand clothing may now be a Chinese company that has acquired the right of agency.

Coincidentally, although the prices of "Valentino" in several large shopping malls are very different, they are all being promoted in a discounted manner. They all advertise themselves as high-end consumer goods and are "authentic" from abroad. Similarly, its "upscale" matches are sparse traffic. In addition, reporters did not see any consumers buying goods when they visited.

If you click on the word "Valentino" randomly through the internet, you will find many brands related to the brand: Vincenzo Valentino, Valentino Cooper, Valentino Giordano, Valentino Gravani, Valentino Gianni, Valentino · Gucci, Valentino, Chanel and so on.

In fact, there are only three internationally recognized "Valentino" family brands: First, the third generation heiress of the Valentino family, Vicenza Valentino, owns Valentino's exclusive rights in leather shoes and leather products; the second is "Vicenza." The younger brother Giovanni Valentino under his own name, Giovani Valentino, can produce both leather footwear and apparel, but must use the full name of the brand to test the Chinese market in 1997, but in 2003 Withdrawing from the Chinese market; Third, Valentino, a famous Italian designer, Valentino, has exclusive rights in the clothing brand. In 1993, he held a large clothing exhibition in Beijing.

Reporter's notes

From the first call to Zhejiang Babe Company’s Chen Hao’s phone, the reporter felt that most of Valentino's agents were “cool” on the media, and the staff of the Zhuo Fanni Valentino agency office of Beijing Parkson Shopping Center was listening. When the reporter wanted to interview the brand on related issues, he didn’t wait for the reporter’s words and then hung up the phone. The bad attitude made reporters puzzled.

Yao Shaowen believes that the reason why this part of the people are unwilling to face the media is "because these brands are not genuine products themselves and they have their own 'shortcomings'."

In addition, from the store's specialty stores to the street-level brand discount stores, they all use discounted products to promote "Valentino" products. From one fold to seventy percent, on the face of it, it is the price that “folds” off. In fact, the brand value of “Valentino” itself is actually “folded” away, including the degree of recognition, credibility, and quality of the customer. In the numerous "Valentino" melees, the value of genuine products has been "dilutive" and will eventually shorten the "lifespan" of the brand.

Some experts pointed out that in the face of a chaotic market, Valentino should stand up and explain how to identify genuine products. At the same time, he can emulate the success stories of the "Crocodile" brand and use legal means and negotiation to acquire other "Valentino" or stop other companies. Damage to the brand.

Gu Huanyu, a brand expert, said, “The Valentino brand is no longer necessary for self-help.” He further explained that the market of the “Valentino” brand is chaotic. If you want to eliminate the impact of the abuse of this brand, you need to clean up the market and correct the brand. Many tasks such as image, legal rights protection and government public relations, which will result in high costs, have no way to save themselves.

The imitating and “following” of famous brands of enterprises in China also show that the awareness of innovation is insufficient. Chinese enterprises should take “Valentino” as a warning and attach importance to the protection of intellectual property rights.