Consumers' attitudes regarding non-deceptive counterfeit brands in the UK and China

Despite the wide spread of counterfeiting, very few studies have examined consumer behaviour and attitudes regarding counterfeit products. This paper aims to profile the consumers who admit to purchasing nondeceptive counterfeit brands in the UK and China. Furthermore, it attempts to investigate consumers' views on counterfeit brands and to contrast them with the genuine brands and the non-logo products. The demographic profile seems to be somewhat influential in the intention to purchase counterfeit brands for British consumers, but not for Chinese. The findings suggest that not all respondents have a very high opinion regarding counterfeit brands, while Chinese value them even less. Consumers find it difficult to distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit brands, and when they are compared with the genuine, the British believe that counterfeits are even less trustworthy.