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Customers’ confusion
After hearing the news, singer Tran
Phuong Linh voiced her disappoint-
ment: “After how much I have spent on
Milano in Ho Chi Minh City, I was really
shocked.”
Another singer, Vy Oanh, spent
VND45 million on a shirt shares the
same feelings. Thu, a businesswoman
in Ho Chi Minh City complained: “After
the news was published in many news-
papers, Gucci&Milano has not given any
feedback to its customers.”
Huong, who lives in Hanoi and runs
a business of her own, knows peo-
ple who have had negative experienc-
es buying luxury goods: “My business
partners are usually European. There,
people have very clear laws about coun-
terfeits. When my friend went to France
they were topped at Charles de Gaulle
Airport with a fake handbag. She spent
three days in custody and was punished
with a $25,000 euro fine for bringing a
fake LV handbag in the country. After
that I decided to take partners who like
shopping to Gucci&Millano shop as I
thought they were authorized. How-
ever, when we asked for a VAT invoice,
they told us to wait in ten days. All
their stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
City cannot provide this kind of invoice
which allows foreigners to be refunded
with VAT after they leave Vietnam.”
Many are dubious about luxury pur-
chases. “I think they mix authentic and
fake items in stores,” said Thuy Linh, a
29 year old MC in Hanoi. Many people
share Linh’s opinion and think if you are
lucky, you can buy an authentic piece,
but if not, you may buy a ‘super fake’
item – one made 99 per cent the same
as an authentic one.
Thu Hien, a 32 year old real estate
broker has come across such items: “I’ve
seen handbags selling on the market
and I’ve seen a clip about making them.
They bought the authentic one and imi-
tated every little detail. Even the crafts-
man who made the authentic handbag
was shocked because of the similarity
between two products.”
Thu Hien also warns that differenti-
ating between counterfeit and authen-
tic products depends on experience
and even luck. This theory partially ex-
plains the endless promotions at Gucci-
Milano. Many people report they have
received text messages from the com-
pany promoting discounts of 30, 50
and sometimes even 70 per cent, which
rarely occur in overseas shops.
In Vietnam, the existence of coun-
terfeits is widely accepted and the
counterfeit products of famous brands
such as LV, Gucci, Hermes and many
more are sold everywhere. If you want
to buy authentic items in the country,
it is best to buy from someone who
brought the item in a foreign store and
brought it here in their private luggage,
which is very risky. Ordering directly
from official websites takes time and
you cannot try the items beforehand.
They can also buy from authorized and
non-authorized distributors; this has
long been seen as the most convenient
and trustworthy channel, but it is now
facing its own troubles.
There are still some who believe
luxury shops will never sell coun-
terfeits as it would ruin their name.
Hoang Le Dung, a 29 year old deputy
director for a labor exporting company
is one of them: “I am a regular cus-
tomer of the Gucci&Milano store at 63
Ly Thai To, Hanoi. I am satisfied with
the items I have bought there. Milano-
Vina would never risk their reputation
by selling counterfeits.”
Le Dung now asks around among
her friends at the Ho Chi Minh City cus-
tom department and in the economic
police about the origin of shipments.
Tax evasion is another major is-
sue within the sector. The tax on some
shipments has been just tens of million
dongs, but in the case of Ta Giang Linh,
the true tax bill was VND1.6 billion,
while the Millano-Vina shipment should
have netted the public purse around
VND20 billion. Taken over the period
of nine years in operation, thousands
of billions of VND could have nbeen
side-stepped.
One representative of Milano-Vina’s
managed to make the situation even
worse when he was quoted by local
press as saying that Milano-Vina always
sells authentic items, but they shipped
via Hong Kong, creating the misunder-
standing that the shipment was import-
ed from China. This argument is too
weak to convince people, however.
“A C/O (Certificate of Origin), or B/L
(Bill of Lading) shows, with no scope
for confusion, the exact export country
and port of loading. It is so funny that
they claim the transit country can be
misconstrued as the export one,” said
Manh Hoa, an import officer in Hanoi.
It has over a month since this scandal
began and people are yet to see any
solid conclusions.
17
timeout
society at large
They bought the authentic one and imitated
every little detail. Even the craftsman who
made the authentic handbag was shocked
because of the similarity between two products
No conclusion has been made
on whether or not Milano Vina
has committed trade frauds