According to the China Business Times, “Discounts! 1 to 30% Off!”, 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”.

The noble Valentino scrambles for "descent"

The world-famous luxury brand, Valentino, has encountered such a situation when he crossed the ocean to China. When reporters searched for answers through the Internet, they discovered that 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 Hao’s words, the manager of Beijing Valentino Cooper’s agent, Mr. Jin Liang, said that he could not accept it. He said that although Cooper apparel was added with the “Cooper” suffix after “Valentino”, they were also legally operating. The product name is named after the famous Italian designer. 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. To each area, they registered their own brand at the end."

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. Its name brand, Valentino Coupeau (Valentino Cooper) is the only Valentino brand identified by PARIS, but it has nothing to do with the Valentino family.

Civilian Valentino returns rich

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."

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 what Chen Biao of Zhejiang Babe said: "Counterfeit products cannot pose a threat to high-end products at all?" Yao Shaowen expressed different opinions. He said that because "Valentino" itself has too many types of problems (such as clothing, underwear, leather goods and other categories), resulting in excessive brand extension and use issues. In addition, some domestic companies counterfeit this brand, making the original high-end "Valentino" slipped into low-end goods.

Many "Valentino" melees

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%. “Valentino currently has only three stores in China and Beijing alone.” She said. But only in the Parkson Shopping Center on Fuxingmennei Street in Beijing, there are two stores with Valentino. They are Valentino Cooper and Chardonnay Valentino.

At the Valentino Cooper store, reporters saw that men's T-shirts ranged in price from 680 to 2280 yuan, and their origins were marked with Shanghai, Macau and Italy. However, she did not find a source for Italian journalists in Italy. costumes. From the Florentine Valentino store less than a hundred meters from Valentino Cooper, men's T-shirts range in price from 590 to 1,980 yuan, and the audience has 30% discount. The salesperson also stated that the clothes in the store are also from Italy.

In fact, the reporter randomly clicked on the word "Valentino" through the internet and discovered numerous brands related to the brand: Vincenzo Valentino, Valentino Cooper, Valentino Jordon, Valentino Gravani, Valentino Gineja Valentino Gucci, Valentino, Chanai, and so on.

However, the reporter learned that there are only three internationally recognized "Valentino" family brands: First, the third generation heiress of the Valentino family, Vicenza Valentino, has Valentino trademark rights on shoes and leather products; The Giovanni Valentino brand, named after his brother Giovanni Valentino, of Vicenza, can produce both leather goods and clothing, but must use the full name of the brand to test the Chinese market in 1997; It is a Valentino trademark exclusive right from Valentino, a well-known Italian designer Valentino Gravani.