You are currently undertaking a PhD on the subject of counterfeiting – how does this fit in with your teaching and what is the focus of the research?

My research focus is on consumers knowingly buying fakes, and in particular I am looking at the purchasing of high-end fashion and luxury items. This includes clothing, fashion accessories, artwork, watches and wines. These are tangible goods (rather than software or media) because I want to understand how it fits in with the experience of shopping for something that is a physical item; that is something that is worn or shown-off by the consumer in the future. I also want to understand the reason why people purchase fakes by getting into the field to observe their behavior firsthand. Part of my work is to interview consumers in detail about their views and understanding of what they are doing. Despite my engineering and mathematical background, I don’t want this to be a statistical analysis because I don’t believe that approach will say much about the real issues that govern the buying decisions of a consumer.

My teaching is mainly focused on consumer behaviour, but I always try to partially include the issues of counterfeiting and buying fakes in the various syllabuses of my classes. I also give conferences on these two topics.My teaching material is tuned to the type of course or the track followed by the students, so for example a marketing course will look at the scope of embracing counterfeiting issues in the marketing of a new product, whereas a lecture given in a master on strategy will see me adapt the content to see how companies might cover aspects of counterfeiting in a strategic plan.


And what will be the ultimate aim of your research?

The goal is to understand what goes on in the mind of a consumer so that eventually brands, governments and society can better tackle the issues. It is clear that there is an emotional response as well as a social influence. Better understanding these factors will help us tackle the issues of counterfeiting, and one of my aims is to challenge misconceptions and assumptions to date. I think we need to start by understanding that counterfeiting is a very old industry, rather like prostitution! It exists because there is a market pull not because there is the manufacturing push.

I am also fairly patriotic and want to support the French economy which certainly suffers from counterfeiting in the luxury fashion sector. Therefore I am also studying what happens at the French / Italian border, how customs deals with the problem, and I will be undertaking a field study in Venice early next year. It fascinates me that in a city like Venice, street sellers will sell fake goods outside the window of the very shop that sells the genuine item. This creates an interesting dynamic that I want to understand more about; in terms of the shopper facing the choice inside the shop and outside the shop.

Are you working with any specific brands?

At the moment, no. Although I’d like to work with brands and companies in the future, and be able to advise them on my findings, at the moment I think it is important that I do not get influenced by their views. I want to conduct my research without any preconceptions or undue influence from the brand owners.

Specifically, how do you think your work will ultimately help brand owners?

To me the process of knowingly buying fakes is linked to the shopping experience, rather than the actual product you end up with. People generally realise that the product is not the real thing and that it is likely to break or fall apart with time. However, they are attracted to street sellers because there is some excitement in the buying process. Some will see it is adventurous or ‘slightly wrong’ and so thrilling. Some will even become addicted to the activity, seeking to buy more to try to make it feel more acceptable. The process of haggling over price or being in an exotic holiday destination adds to the emotions. Clearly the frame of reference changes; what is perceived as right or wrong from a moral or legal stand point is changed. In some cases it becomes acceptable in a particular situation because ‘everybody does it’. In other cases it is the environment and social backdrop that is actually being enjoyed; such as at American ‘purse parties’. There is certainly an excitement gained from ‘playing with the rules’ and focusing on having fun in the present rather than considering the future implications.

But one thing that comes through quite strongly is that it is not simply a matter of price. People are not generally buying fake products knowingly because they are cheaper. This means that brand owners can look hard at the reasons why consumers do this and tune their marketing plan accordingly. There is also ample scope for turning these buyers of counterfeits into future customers, or making them better customers. For example, I have found that people will buy a genuine handbag and then a fake accessory like sunglasses. What the brand owner needs to understand is why these buying decisions were made in each case and include actions in their marketing plans. For example, was it just that the accompanying accessory was seen as something frivolous or was the buying experience of the counterfeit more satisfying in some way than buying it from a conventional store?

Where do you see the role of education campaigns in all of this?

Education campaigns are an important first step in reducing the amount of counterfeit goods that are bought. However, it has to start at a young age; often the campaigns are pitched at an older age group when it is too late. For example, the behavior of copying in exams and copying other people’s written work from the internet for homework assignments is all linked to buying counterfeit products. When we reinforce in young children why these activities are unethical, we also need to talk about counterfeiting and piracy.

There are also important cultural issues to consider. In China for example it is seen as a good thing to reproduce something, like a form of flattery. And so campaigns there need to focus on why it is wrong and the fact that you will be seen to ‘lose face’. I have studied many of the campaigns as part of my work and tried to understand which messages and which approaches are effective. Italy ran some very good national campaigns playing on the country’s love of football and their family values.

From your research findings to date, what surprises you most, and what have you learnt that has changed the future direction of your research?

To be really honest, I did not expect the data I collected to be so rich and deep in terms of content. For instance, while collecting the various anti-counterfeiting campaigns, I ended up analyzing more than one hundred of them!

This means that I had to use several methodologies to make use of my data. Basically, I went from pure content analysis to semiotics analysis and even metaphorical analysis! I included projective drawings in my interviews, like psychologists.

I also now consider relying upon new technologies and e-marketing tactics, from an international perspective and from a social networking point of view. I want to understand the implications of people on the Internet to either engage in the purchase of fake luxuries, or to fight against this. This will be done investigating Social Media. Fortunately, I will get interesting results which might be re-used by policy-makers in their future anti-counterfeiting communication campaigns.