Fake clothes, shoes and accessories cost EU companies €26bn a year - report

The report says this equates to annual losses to the industries of €26.3 billion in revenue, and 363,000 jobs in the EU.

When indirect effects are added, the costs are €43.3 billion in lost sales, and a loss of up to €8.1 billion in government revenue, according to the report.

These figures assume that every purchase of a counterfeit item represents a lost sale of a legitimate item.

This is the second Observatory report to analyse a particular industry, following one on cosmetics and personal care published last year, and was compiled by a team of economists at OHIM.

The €26.3 billion figure is based on sales lost by the clothes, shoes and accessories industries due to counterfeiting. The methodology for calculating the level of counterfeits is complex, and is explained in the report’s appendixes.

The €43.3 billion figure also considers indirect losses by other industries, for example suppliers of goods and services.

If you are interested in this sector, you may like to attend our first Luxury Brand and Retail Forum in London on September 23: details here.