Research commissioned by HP about the attitudes and behaviours associated with counterfeits. And, the results in KSA revealed that the majority of managers with purchasing responsibility for their offices have never bought counterfeit products.
Majority of business owners surveyed in Saudi Arabia said that they wouldn’t purchase counterfeit goods. However, a small percentage stated that they had inadvertently purchased counterfeit products under the false impression they were genuine brand name original.
The HP Anti-counterfeiting Program actively supports customers and business partners to avoid falling victim to counterfeiting. It continues its anti-counterfeit program in the Kingdom and the program promotes awareness about the escalating problem. HP is also joining hands with the Saudi Arabian government to further educate the business sector, resellers and consumers on how to identify and report counterfeit products.
“The research findings highlight the fact that businesses are becoming more aware of the perils of purchasing counterfeit goods, which they recognise as having harmful consequences for society. It’s encouraging to note that those who avoid counterfeit products do so knowing that the quality of fakes is often deficient and the best experience comes from original products. We will therefore continue to inform clients throughout the region about the negative consequences that counterfeits can entail.” said Laszlo Czinege, General Manager, Imaging and Printing Group, HP Saudi Arabia.
The survey highlights the fact that business owners need to be increasingly aware that their purchasing departments have to be particularly vigilant against the presence of counterfeit products; and thateducation and on-going awareness campaigns are required to combat the prevalence of counterfeit goods. More than half of the companies surveyed agreed that the use of counterfeit contributes significantly to unemployment and diminished business revenues.
At the same time, HP also supports local law enforcement authorities to help dismantle illegal operations that manufacture counterfeit printing supplies for HP printers globally. HP helped authorities seize nearly 9 million pieces of fake printing supplies across EMEA over the last four years.
According to the Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), the estimated market for counterfeit merchandise is $750bn globally. Whereas, the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and Africa (ICCE) indicates that there’s an 8% counterfeit rate in the nearly 30bn market for printing consumables in Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA).
