Fake furniture is rampant, Russia will increase market supervision

Domestic furniture exports achieved good results last year, and some orders were even scheduled for this year. Sellers who engage in cross-border trade should be familiar with infringement and counterfeiting. According to reports, the Russian furniture market is flooded with counterfeit and shoddy products, and Russia will increase market supervision.

Recently, the Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted AMEDORO (Russian Association of Furniture and Woodworking Enterprises) as reporting that by the end of 2020, counterfeit furniture in Russia had accounted for nearly 20% of the furniture market share, about 40 billion rubles (about 3.39 billion yuan). Among these counterfeit furniture, cabinet furniture and upholstered furniture (such as sofas and armchairs) accounted for the largest share , reaching 40%.

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade said that AMEDORO's data was only an estimate, but they were ready to investigate and resolve the counterfeit furniture traded in the "shadow".

Faced with the increasing number of counterfeit furniture, Russian manufacturers hope to strengthen the control of the industry. It is reported that AMEDORO has proposed to the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to set up a special committee to supervise the Russian furniture market, increase the inspection of counterfeit furniture, drive out "bad money", and protect the rights of consumers and the operation of manufacturers.

The growth of the counterfeit furniture market has put pressure on Russian furniture companies. Timur Irtuganov, head of AMEDORO, said that one of the factors driving the growth of the counterfeit furniture market is the reduction in Russians' income , which forces them to choose lower-priced products. The lack of market supervision has further encouraged these illegal activities.

In addition, the extremely high rate of return is also an important factor that attracts counterfeit furniture manufacturers. Irtuganov said that in order to reduce costs, illegal manufacturers do not meet the standards for many indicators when producing furniture, such as excessive formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and lead. According to the World Health Organization, lead poisoning can cause great harm to health, especially for children. According to statistics, about 600,000 children suffer from mental disorders due to lead exposure every year. Experts estimate that 143,000 people die from lead poisoning every year.

In addition, unscrupulous manufacturers will also take illegal procedures to evade taxes. In this way, the return rate of these unscrupulous manufacturers can be as high as 30%-40% , while the return rate of legal furniture companies is only 1%-3% . The huge difference in return rate makes many people "take risks".

AMEDORO said that developing a certification and labeling system would help solve the problem of counterfeit furniture. It also called on regulators to take responsibility and not put all the blame on manufacturers. The editor also reminded sellers not to touch the "red line" of counterfeit products.

Russia