Luxury goods group LVMH is discussing a plan with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance to restrict counterfeit products sold on the popular video-sharing app. Toto Haba, senior vice president of global all-round marketing for Benefit Cosmetics, a beauty brand owned by LVMH Group, Europe's largest luxury goods company, said that with TikTok's vigorous development around the world, the goal of both parties is to cooperate to achieve a "higher shopping experience." Expand the market.
Group members also include Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Tiffany & Co.
Haba said the luxury goods group has reached an agreement with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to combat counterfeit goods on its online Tmall mall.
The agreement will help improve Dida Store's reputation among brands and buyers in key new markets. The company launched a full-scale shopping spree in the United States last year and has set ambitious goals to grow its U.S. e-commerce business 10 times to $17.5 billion by 2024, according to Bloomberg.
A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment.
Sellers on online marketplaces such as Amazon, JD.com and Alibaba's Tmall have long been selling counterfeit products at significantly lower prices, cracking down on them with varying degrees of success. Such products trick customers into paying for counterfeit products and prevent brands from selling on their platforms, as this may reduce the value of genuine products.
"Protecting our intellectual property is important to us. The company is already flagging Benefit-branded products that look suspicious," Haba said on TikTokShop. "TikTok and ByteDance seem more willing to discuss the issue with us and put the right safeguards in place."
In the U.S., TikTok Shop operates as an integrated part of the social media app's video feed - where specific users and brands can tag and sell products through their videos - or within a designated tab, like an e-commerce site focused on a specific format. TikTok said 150,000 merchants and creators posted videos during the first month of the holiday shopping season, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday, bringing in more than 5 million new users.
In the United States, several big brands, such as Benefit or fashion retailer Revolve, are increasingly selling on the app, but many others have been slow to participate in commercial operations.
Bloomberg reported in September that third-party sellers may list items they do not personally produce and sometimes sell them at a discount, which can raise questions about whether the products are authentic.