01 September 2005

With counterfeit air-conditioners appearing in the markets of the Middle East and Africa, global and regional digital leader LG Electronics has introduced an anti-counterfeiting programme that aims to stay one step ahead of the perpetrators.

“The appearance of fakes has prompted the company to step up its copyright protection drive to protect its customers,” says a company spokesman. Within the framework of this programme, LG is prepared to request a ban on imports and customs clearance of counterfeit LG products and has set up special anti-counterfeiting reporting processes with its dedicated in-house business personnel and legal team in Korea and abroad. LG officials are training distributors to differentiate authentic from counterfeit products and warning them of the legal complications that they may face for trading in counterfeit goods.
“We are stepping up efforts to track down importers, distributors, and manufacturers of counterfeit products,” says K H Kim, president, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa Operations.
The counterfeit LG air-conditioners being distributed in the Middle East feature a crude sticker of the LG logo on its packaging. Many of the counterfeit products also bear stickers listing two different countries of origin (both Korea and China) and differing ranges of operational capacity.
“For the time being, we recommend our consumers to verify the authenticity of our products by examining the LG logo, country of origin and operational capacity,” says Kim.
According to leading Japanese market research consultancy Fuji-Keizai, LG sold more than ten million units in 2004 worldwide with a 20 per cent market share. Fuji-Keizai estimates the global air conditioner market to be worth $52 million. LG aims to manufacture more than 12 million units in 2005.
The market value of the comfort and process-cooling sector in the GCC is estimated to exceed $1.2 billion per annum in products and parts, and possibly double that in terms of associated products and services. LG has maintained its market leading position in more than 40 countries including the markets of the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

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