Luxury Institute Survey Wealthy Consumers Say Counterfeits Hurt the Luxury Goods Industry

Luxury Institute Survey
Wealthy Consumers Say Counterfeits Hurt the Luxury Goods Industry

Four out of five wealthy American consumers say that the counterfeiting of luxury brands has a negative impact on the brands affected, according to a new WealthSurvey by the Luxury Institute. Older wealthy Americans, age 50 and above are more likely to feel that way (83%), than wealthy Americans aged 18-30 (67%).

The Luxury Institute surveyed a nationally representative valid and reliable statistical sample of more than 300 American households with a minimum of $200,000 in gross annual income and minimum net worth of $1,000,000 (including home equity).

“There is a great deal of discussion about the effects of counterfeiting of luxury goods, but scant research has been conducted to include the voice of those most truly affected: wealthy luxury buyers”, said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. “Wealthy consumers are the best customers of global luxury goods brands, and, given their purchasing power, their input is a critical component of developing real solutions to this growing problem”.

Overall, forty percent of wealthy consumers say they know at least some people who buy counterfeit goods. However, the familiarity with counterfeit luxury goods buyers is 56% for wealthy Americans aged 18-39 and only 42% for those aged 40 and above. In addition, 56% of the wealthy see the purchase of counterfeits getting worse in the next few years.

However, most wealthy consumers are not fooled by the quality of fake luxury goods. Three quarters say that counterfeits are visibly inferior, and three quarters also say they can often spot the difference between a fake and the real thing. This is particularly true of higher income consumers. The wealthy have little respect for individuals who buy fake goods and the countries that allow the illegal production of these goods. Over two-thirds say that governments should impose sanctions on countries that allow the production, distribution and sale of fake luxury goods, and 85% say that China is the one country that is doing the least within the international community to stop this problem.

As the trusted and respected Voice of America’s Wealthy, the Luxury Institute is the pioneer in developing objective and independent customer-centric metrics for the luxury goods and services industry. In addition to other critical measures of the perceptions of wealthy consumers, the survey clearly measures the willingness of wealthy consumers to pay a premium price, purchase and recommend a luxury goods brand that is being counterfeited by gender, age, income and net worth. To acquire the survey please contact Mr. Martin Swanson, Vice President of Sales and Business Development at mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com or at 914-909-6350.

About the Luxury Institute

The Luxury Institute is the uniquely independent and objective research institution that focuses solely on the top 10 percent of America’s wealthy. The Institute provides a portfolio of proprietary publications and research that guide and educate high net-worth individuals and the companies that cater to them on leading edge trends, wealthy consumer rankings and ratings of luxury brands, and best practices. Publications include the monthly Wealth Report, the Luxury Brand Status Index surveys, the Luxury Best Practices surveys and the Luxury Consumer Experience Index surveys. To reach the Luxury institute, please call 646-792-2669 or go to www.luxuryinstitute.com.


Contact: Martin Swanson, Vice President Business Development
The Luxury Institute
(Office) 914-909-6350
(Cell) 914-715-3357
mswanson@luxuryinstitute.com
www.luxuryinstitute.com