Jill of Honduras in her post, mentions some of the fake fashion labels found in Honduras, such as Tommi and Abrecromby. In India, the counterfeiting industry is an immense and highly complex one, something that a single comment to a post would never do justice to. Thus, for anyone who ever wondered how to shop on the subcontinent, here’s a primer.
Before I begin, it might prove worthwhile to translate some phrases into Indian English.
Branded: Manufactured by a well-recognised brand and sold at outrageous prices in posh show rooms.
Original: Can mean the same as branded, however is equally used to signify high quality knock-offs.
Duplicate: Can be used to refer either to all knock-offs in general or specifically to low-quality knock-offs.
Desi: Crap (never used by salespersons, only by disillusioned buyers)
Therefore an original duplicate refers to a high quality knock-off. Here original is used to describe superior quality, while duplicate is utilised to ensure you are not under the impression that you are buying branded stuff. Original duplicates are generally counterfeit, some use well known labels while others modify the brand names a bit (Calvin Kwan).
The largest market for cheap clothes in Delhi is Sarojini Nagar Market. It is famous for selling everything from high end branded clothes, high and low quality duplicates to just unbranded desi stuff. Here we encounter another category in Indian clothing, the export rejects. A lot of established brands outsource their manufacturing facilities to India and all their seconds (i.e. pieces that don’t conform to their exacting standards) are sold as export rejects and are generally of better quality than original duplicates.
The Indian shoe market is not strictly classified under this system of nomenclature; rather it mostly falls into either Branded or Desi. Desi shoes often use names like Adibas or Beebok and commonly modify well-known corporate logo’s as in an inverted Nike logo or four stripes from Adidas’ three).
For clothes it’s not much of an issue as a trained eye can generally differentiate between something that will disintegrate after one wash and something that will fade after two. In other things like automotive parts, it gets much harder.
Being the somewhat proud owner of a pretty old bike, I know first-hand, the problems associated with vehicle maintenance in India. To start with, in this field; counterfeit manufacturers go out of their way to imitate the packaging of branded spares, which are not easy to find in the first place. Then there are company authorised parts-dealers and garages that often stock only counterfeit parts (originals). Being as my bike is not manufactured any more, it is very difficult finding branded parts and I have to satisfy myself with original spares. Originals are never very good quality and consequently I find myself replacing brake pads and clutch plates with alarming regularity.
Despite being aware of the usage of this Indianised terminology, I often get confused by what the mechanic tells me. For instance after my most recent accident (Mr. Nose and Mr Truck) my headlight needed replacing. I stressed to my mechanic that I wanted original parts and he assured me that is exactly what he intended to use. Imagine my consternation when I came back and found not an original Yamaha headlight but one made by some other company (I can’t remember the name). Sensing my dismay, he pointed at the empty box and assured me that the company was an original one. On a more positive note though my headlight still throws a straight beam so I’m not too worried.
Before I begin, it might prove worthwhile to translate some phrases into Indian English.
Branded: Manufactured by a well-recognised brand and sold at outrageous prices in posh show rooms.
Original: Can mean the same as branded, however is equally used to signify high quality knock-offs.
Duplicate: Can be used to refer either to all knock-offs in general or specifically to low-quality knock-offs.
Desi: Crap (never used by salespersons, only by disillusioned buyers)
Therefore an original duplicate refers to a high quality knock-off. Here original is used to describe superior quality, while duplicate is utilised to ensure you are not under the impression that you are buying branded stuff. Original duplicates are generally counterfeit, some use well known labels while others modify the brand names a bit (Calvin Kwan).
The largest market for cheap clothes in Delhi is Sarojini Nagar Market. It is famous for selling everything from high end branded clothes, high and low quality duplicates to just unbranded desi stuff. Here we encounter another category in Indian clothing, the export rejects. A lot of established brands outsource their manufacturing facilities to India and all their seconds (i.e. pieces that don’t conform to their exacting standards) are sold as export rejects and are generally of better quality than original duplicates.
The Indian shoe market is not strictly classified under this system of nomenclature; rather it mostly falls into either Branded or Desi. Desi shoes often use names like Adibas or Beebok and commonly modify well-known corporate logo’s as in an inverted Nike logo or four stripes from Adidas’ three).
For clothes it’s not much of an issue as a trained eye can generally differentiate between something that will disintegrate after one wash and something that will fade after two. In other things like automotive parts, it gets much harder.
Being the somewhat proud owner of a pretty old bike, I know first-hand, the problems associated with vehicle maintenance in India. To start with, in this field; counterfeit manufacturers go out of their way to imitate the packaging of branded spares, which are not easy to find in the first place. Then there are company authorised parts-dealers and garages that often stock only counterfeit parts (originals). Being as my bike is not manufactured any more, it is very difficult finding branded parts and I have to satisfy myself with original spares. Originals are never very good quality and consequently I find myself replacing brake pads and clutch plates with alarming regularity.
Despite being aware of the usage of this Indianised terminology, I often get confused by what the mechanic tells me. For instance after my most recent accident (Mr. Nose and Mr Truck) my headlight needed replacing. I stressed to my mechanic that I wanted original parts and he assured me that is exactly what he intended to use. Imagine my consternation when I came back and found not an original Yamaha headlight but one made by some other company (I can’t remember the name). Sensing my dismay, he pointed at the empty box and assured me that the company was an original one. On a more positive note though my headlight still throws a straight beam so I’m not too worried.
5 comments:
Maybe our next topic can be pirating.
I think buying brand name clothes on sale is the best way to go. A lot of clothing is way over priced...pretty much your just paying for the name. But I look at the stitching and feel the weight and quality of the material and then decide if it is really worth the extra money. I'm not going to waste my money on something that is just going to fall apart anyways or that looks obviously "Desi" as you say. But also if something is a very nice and isn't a name brand I will buy that for less...it's the item not the name I'm looking at. It would be shallow of me to just buy something because it said Gucci on it. Yeah?
Jill,do you have a lot of that in honduras? Movies and music pirating is rampant here, so much so that entire areas devote themselves to that noble cause. Cops generally turn a blind eye, motivated by a little green of course.
Confusion say, i couldn't agree with you more, but i prefer a few 'originals' (not necessarily branded) to a whole lot of desi (btw. desi means indian)
Calvin Kwan is undoubtedly my favourite. Again from Palika Bazaar.
Oh pirating is out of control!! They even pirate religious movies!
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