Many counterfeit goods are now of better quality than the real thing, Alibaba founder Jack Ma has said in comments set to infuriate luxury brands which accuse the Chinese ecommerce group of profiting from the sale of knock-offs.
“We have to protect [intellectual property], we have to do everything to stop the fake products, but OEMs are making better products at a better price,” Mr Ma said, referring to original equipment manufacturers that typically make products for branded sellers.
“The problem is the fake products today are of better quality and better price than the real names,” he said at Alibaba’s headquarters in Hangzhou. “They are exactly the [same] factories, exactly the same raw materials but they do not use the names.”