Over the last few days, the internet (and particularly TikTok) has been ablaze with claims from factories in China that they are the original manufacturers of a wide variety of luxury goods, ranging from Hermès Birkins to Lululemon sports leggings.
There are a number of videos in which various factories are showing off goods that they claim to be genuine luxury items and offering to sell these to consumers for a drastically reduced price, such as $1400 for a Birkin. In one video that has nearly 10 million views, a manufacturer claims to be able to sell Lululemon leggings for $6 rather than the standard retail price of nearly $100. It is claimed that the goods are shipped to the brand owners who add their branding/logos before the items are sold to customers.
As a result, the app DHGate has soared up the charts this week and by 14 April, it was the third most popular free iPhone app in the US (up from no. 352 just days earlier) as consumers follow directions from the various "exposé" videos to bag a bargain.
Some brands have responded. For example, Lululemon issued a statement on Monday confirming that they "[do] not work with the manufacturers identified in the online videos and we urge consumers to be aware of potentially counterfeit products and misinformation". The two factories mentioned in the viral videos do not appear in Lululemon's list of suppliers issued in April 2025.
A spokesman for Adidas said that their products are "not sold directly by our suppliers" and that "the best way for consumers to buy genuine Adidas products is to purchase them from adidas.com, an Adidas retail store or one of our official retail partners".
Regardless of whether the claims in these videos are true or not, this will surely have an impact on the luxury goods market at least in the short term. This content forms part of a much larger narrative online about the luxury goods market in which influencers promote "dupes" and, in some cases, counterfeit products that offer customers the appearance of a luxury item at a fraction of the cost.
It has been reported that Hermès in particular enjoyed significant growth in 2024 and that the brand has recently overtaken LVMH to become the world's most valuable luxury goods company. However, some of the most viral videos this week blatantly target Hermès and it is difficult to see how this won't have a knock-on effect at least in the short term, certainly in respect of consumer perception.
Content is swirling online, championing the manufacturers for "calling out" the luxury goods market and, as yet, it appears that brands such as Hermès and Chanel have not yet formally responded to the claims in the videos.
It is widely acknowledged that social media can have a significant impact on consumer purchasing behaviour - for example, social media is one of the key drivers behind the "dupe" phenomenon. Therefore, in the absence of a response from the affected brands to confirm, deny or clarify the allegations, the current viral narratives will continue to proliferate online. In the short term, regardless of whether the claims are true or false, this could have a negative impact on revenue as well as carefully crafted reputations and brand image.
Lululemon and Adidas seem to have the right idea by quickly responding to try to dampen the flames as much as they can.
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