Counterfeiting costs beauty industry £201m a year
£201million is lost every year in the UK’s cosmetic and personal care sector due to counterfeiting, which represents 6% of total sales in the sector.
Within the EU as a whole, that figure rises to £3.4billion or 7.8% of total sales lost due to counterfeit beauty products, according to a new report from the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).
OHIM said that lost revenue translates into 50,000 lost jobs, as the legitimate industry sells less than it would have done in the absence of counterfeiting, and therefore employs fewer workers.
OHIM president Antonio Campinos said, “This repost is just the first in a series of reports which, when taken together, will show the negative economic impact of counterfeiting and piracy on the EU economy.”
He added that a further £1.2billion of Government money is lost due to the fact that sellers of the fake beauty products are not paying income tax or VAT.
