NEW YORK—Gucci and other luxury brands owned by the Paris-based Kering Group are suing Alibaba in an effort to stem the counterfeit products sold through the Chinese giant’s ecommerce marketplaces.
The lawsuit, Gucci America Inc v. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Friday, May 15. It alleges that Alibaba’s marketplaces “knowingly encourage, assist, and profit from the sale of counterfeits on their online platforms,” according to a copy of the filing reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
A company spokesperson said via email, “This lawsuit is part of Kering’s ongoing global effort to maintain its customers’ trust in its genuine products.”
According to Brian Buchwald, CEO of Bomoda and an expert on China’s retail space, Alibaba’s largest ecommerce site Taobao currently has 1859 unauthorized sellers of Gucci products, and approximately 85,700 unauthorized Gucci items. Many of these items are counterfeits that bear the Gucci trademark.
