Amazon on Tuesday said a warehouse in China was raided by local authorities, who seized hundreds of counterfeit belts and buckle accessories, after the retailer and luxury brand Salvatore Ferragamo reported the fake items to the country’s Market Supervision and Administration.
“This should serve as a reminder that bad actors will be held accountable, as Amazon collaborates with both brands and law enforcement agencies around the world to stop inauthentic products from being sold across the retail industry,” Kebharu Smith, head of Amazon’s counterfeit crimes unit, said in a release.
Amazon and Ferragamo identified “bad actors” trying to sell items, including a counterfeiter of the Italian brand’s Gancini belt, on the retail giant’s site, according to the release. In 2021, the companies jointly filed two lawsuits against the alleged counterfeiters. Amazon said the recent raid followed an investigation by its CCU and the MSA.
In 2020, Amazon formed its counterfeit crimes unit to tackle the problem of fakes being sold on its site. The company has also filed a lot of lawsuits against counterfeiters, most of whom likely reside in China. The company said it’s also invested more than $700 million and employed more than 10,000 people to proactively protect its store counterfeit items.