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Plagued by an overwhelming influx of counterfeit pen drives, Kingston is taking several measures to stop and counter the menace.
“Over the past six months, we have seen a glut of counterfeit pen drives in the market. It is seriously affecting our business,” said Vishal Parekh, Marketing Manager, Kingston India.
As a first step, Kingston is seeking support from channel associations across the country to inform and educate their members about counterfeits. “Many resellers have become unintentional victims of counterfeits. Hence, we are urging them to buy only from authorized partners,” said Parekh.
Most counterfeit issues that have come to the company’s notice pertain to deals where resellers have bought products on cash receipts. To put a stop to that, Parekh informed, Kingston is urging resellers to buy products only with proper bills. “Resellers also need to check MRP stickers before picking up products. Valid stickers have details such as name of importers and service center contacts printed on it.”
Kingston has launched a viral marketing campaign to educate consumers of the counterfeit products circulating in the market. “We are using social networking platforms like Facebook and Youtube to educate customers on how to distinguish between fake and original. We have also created a tool on our website where customers and resellers can enter the unique three-digit number printed on Kingston products to verify its originality,” he further added. The company is offering lucky-draw gifts to end-users, who register and verify products on its website.
When asked if Kingston was planning legal action against resellers found selling counterfeits, Parekh said, “We are against stringent action as we think that most resellers have unwittingly bought counterfeits. The best we can do is to educate them as they are victims too.” |