$210m-worth of fake Hermès handbags seized in US

US customs have seized more than 16,000 counterfeit Hermès purses and handbags that could have fetched about $211m at genuine retail prices.  Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intercepted nine separate shipments from China and Hong Kong at the Los Angeles/Long Beach seaport complex in an operation between June 6 and September 17.   The fakes are thought to have been destined for sale in southern California retailers, and would probably have been worth less than $300,000 at domestic street prices.  A $14m shipment of fake Hermès bags was seized at the same port in February 2013 (see picture). Typically genuine Hermes bags – such as the iconic Birkin line – sell for between $9,000 and $18,000, said LA/LB’s assistant port director Elva Muneton in a PE.com report.

Last year, Hermès won $100m in damages from 34 websites that sold counterfeit copies of its products including Birkin and Kelly handbags, wallets, watches, belts and jewellery, while a Chinese national received a life sentence for running an operation making fake Hermès products in Dongguan, Guangzhou province.

http://www.securingindustry.com/clothing-and-accessories/-210m-worth-of-fake-herm%C3%A8s-handbags-seized-in-us/s107/a1842/