2021-11-17-科尔尼-Combating_the_gray_market_menace_9页_2mb

Combating the Gray Market Menace

The gray market is an unauthorized distribution channel involving genuine or counterfeit goods, causing significant harm to companies, consumers, and governments. It includes categories like counterfeit products, diverted goods, and expired/damaged items, often sold at discounted prices. This market grows globally at about 15% annually, with India seeing gray market products ranging from 2-10% in consumer goods to 10-20% in appliances and auto components.

Impacts are severe: companies lose sales and brand value; consumers risk unsafe products, especially in drug counterfeiting; governments lose tax revenues and may face funding from illicit activities. In India, counterfeit luxury goods are prevalent in street shops, while everyday items enter through normal channels. Globally, China has high counterfeit rates, with over 20% personal care products being fake.

Efforts to combat involve damage assessment, internal controls, external audits, and enforcement actions. For example, companies conduct surveillance and seizures, using technologies like holograms to deter counterfeiting. Strategies include reinforcing existing processes, changing operational methods, and collaborating with stakeholders like customs to shape the external environment.

Key recommendations: strengthen regulations and customs partnerships to curb unauthorized imports and expired goods; increase authentication features to make counterfeits easier to detect. Immediate action is needed to root out illicit sellers and protect consumers and businesses.

To address this, a multi-pronged approach is essential: enhancing internal supply chain controls, performing market sampling, and working with governments and industry groups to shape policies and enforcement. This collaborative fight aims to reclaim market share and safeguard economic integrity.