The rise in the sales of counterfeit brands: The case of Turkish consumers

Counterfeiting activity is a worldwide phenomenon rapidly increasing in every country. Accounting for about 7% of global trade, counterfeit brands resemble the genuine goods but are typically of lower quality in terms of performance, reliability or durability. The size of the counterfeit brands market in Turkey is reported to be around 3 billion dollars. The prevalence of counterfeit manufacturing, the wide availability and the increase in the sales of counterfeits in the Turkish market make it imperative to address the nature of the demand. This research investigates the rapid increase in the sales of counterfeit brands in Turkey and attempts to identify the major factors that motivate consumers to purchase these brands. A field study has been conducted at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, the oldest and largest covered bazaar in the world. A judgment sample of 385 young adult, urban Turkish consumers, between the ages of 18 - 35, were approached face-to-face and surveys were completed. The results are reported according to the objectives of the research. The multi-regression analysis points to prestige, brand popularity, wide availability and low price as the four main motivator factors for consumers purchasing counterfeits. In addition, respondents are examined in terms of how they view both their own and other consumers, use of counterfeit brands.