- Reinstates quality promise as brand’s core value
- Conducts raids with the support of local police in Kerala
Mallapuram (Kerala), 24st October, 2016: JSW Steel, the flagship company of diversified Indian conglomerate JSW Group, recently raided steel retailers with the help of authorities in Mallapuram recently to combat counterfeiting of products under its brand.
JSW Steel has established a reputation as an ethical company driven by innovation whose products are manufactured to the highest standards.
The raid at Mallapuram in the State of Kerala was conducted by the local police from the Kadampuzha police station. It had been brought to the company’s attention that several traders across Kerala have been selling unauthorized, poor quality, counterfeit products by infringing the name and logo of “JSW” (which is a registered trademark belonging to JSW Group) thereby passing off their spurious goods/products causing damage to the company’s brand and eroding its long-established well-known trademark and reputation, goodwill and trust developed amongst its customers in India and overseas as well. Counterfeit sheets were found by the Police officials during the civil raid conducted in Mallapuram that were being sold as replicas of JSW Colouron+ brand and were recovered at Steel House, an establishment belonging to one Mr Pulikkal Shaafi. The sheets were seized and duly sealed.
The JSW Group takes the issue of piracy/passing off, infringement of trademark and counterfeiting very seriously. Not only does it amount to theft and unfairly skews the competitive playing field, but also is a major safety concern. In fact, depending on the final application of these counterfeit products, the damages could be severe.
Counterfeiting and piracy impact virtually every industry sector around the world. India is no exception, suffering significantly on economic health and safety. According to a FICCI report, unauthorized or counterfeit goods sales cause average losses of 20% which also result in a huge loss of revenues to the government.
Jayant Acharya, Director – Commercial & Marketing, JSW Steel said, “Consumers are being cheated by counterfeiters selling low quality products under renowned brand names thereby creating a potential threat to their life and property. We are a responsible and committed brand and the safety of our consumers is of paramount importance to us. We would like to thank the local authorities for their support in conducting the raids and like to reassure our consumers that it is our constant endeavour to proactively fight this scourge.”
“We strongly believe in nurturing a competitive marketplace and ensuring best quality products are available to customers. Counterfeiting eats away at the spirit of a healthy marketplace and should be curbed since it compromises on quality, safety, effectiveness aspects & erodes consumers trust. Counterfeiters should be dealt with severely in accordance with the strictest laws and the JSW Group is committed to supporting the authorities as they fight this malpractice,” Mr Acharya added.
