Fake FiveFingers frustrate Vibram
Italian sole technology provider Vibram has said it is flattered by the amount of attention its FiveFingers minimalist toed running shoe has received from the market since its launch in 2007 but that it is frustrated by the volume of counterfeits that have come into circulation.
Speaking at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Exhibition in Salt Lake City in August, the brand's marketing manager in North America, Georgia Shaw, said most of the counterfeit products were being sold directly to consumers on the internet. She said: "We are not going to tolerate counterfeits coming into the marketplace, but it costs us $3,000 to shut down a website we find selling these products and it costs counterfeiters $10 to put a different one up with a slightly altered URL."
She said the company had already shut down around 130 such websites.
