Fake Kånken backpacks / Fjällräven

[Janne]

This week, three people in Sweden were sentenced to prison for importing and selling fake Kånken backpacks from China.

No doubt the same fake product is being sold over the internet worldwide. So be aware of that heavily discounted Kånken are probably fakes.

The company owning the Fjällräven brand claim that the Fjällräven products are one of the brands which are most faked in the leisure industry.
Sold by Ebay, Alibaba and Wish.

 

[Tony]

it's amazing how much it happens generally, some of the fakes are very good and its hard to detect them...

 

[daveO]

There's some good guides to detecting fakes on Youtube etc. Apparently even Fjallraven can't tell that some are fake though. There's also the problem now that people are selling fakes second hand as genuine. Buy one genuine bag and use the 'proof of purchase' to sell the fakes kind of scam. I just assume everything is fake these days. Even genuine stuff is often lower quality now. Customs must be too busy playing with imported knives to worry about all the fake goods flooding the country.

 

[Erbswurst]

Especially if the original product got such a bad quality like original Fjällräven products now a days!

One Chinese factory is as good as the other. Both produce Fjällräven stuff, one is called fake, the other is called original.
Both are rubbish!

The hunting stuff from Decathlon for 10% of the price is as good as that overpriced original Fjällräven stuff.

Take an original Solognac Rucksack and everything is fine!

 

[Janne]

I agree, quality has gone down on the genuine stuff.

But apparently the fakes are even worse!

Fjallraven fabrics are quite special though. I have not found any better.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I seem to remember reading, in several different articles, that the factories in China will churn out several thousand "genuine" items for brand X during the day, then the same amount of the same article during the night, that are sold for a fraction of the price through the grey markets...

Same factory, same machines, same patterns, same materials in most cases.

Once you decide to be hideously greedy and get the Chinese to produce your wares at 50% of the cost of European factories, yet you continue to sell for the same price as when it was produced in Europe, you no longer have my sympathy.

It might be legal, but that doesn't make it right.

 

[Janne]

Fjällräven have gone down in price taking inflation in account.

Remember, companies can charge what they want, and fakes are morally and ethically wrong. Plus illegal.

That theory you mention is a myth. Companies have a pretty good control of the materials made specifically for them. Fjällräven use several fabrics developed by them over decades.

Only fake people buy fake goods.

 

[troutman]

Interesting point you raise here, Janne.

Outdoors kit and clothing has a huge mark up, I bet fjallravens cost to produce each of these rucksacks is less than $5usd per piece. The remaining retail price goes on brand name.

I don’t agree with buying fake kit but in terms of quality it is probably on par and likely made in the same factory or by the same workers. I know this happens often with some electrical kit, just look at the adapters etc available for new cameras by third party manufacturers. How can they produce them so quickly when a model has only just been released to the public? Because they are also supplying parts or all of the new system!

I’ve been fairly disappointed by fjallraven kit and feel the name is why most people buy it, yes the fabrics are good but most of it seemed cheaply put together- single stitch etc.

 

[daveO]

Outdoors kit and clothing has a huge mark up, I bet fjallravens cost to produce each of these rucksacks is less than $5usd per piece. The remaining retail price goes on brand name.

Yeah that's not quite how RRP works. If a Kanken bag is £75 RRP with 'free delivery' then £12.50 of that is VAT right away. The delivery cost to you is also built into that price. Then you have retailer's costs and profit. Manufacture and shipping. Reseach and development. Marketing. Years of building up a reputable brand name. Plus all the costs involved in running an international company and taxes on the profits everyone makes along the way. Then you've got warrantee claims and customer service to allow for which all add up to company losses. Plus the odd theft and damaged stock I imagine.

The fake sellers are not only dodging all that tax and making use of everone else's hard work but they often make more profit/item than the original company.

 

[troutman]

Yeah that's not quite how RRP works. If a Kanken bag is £75 RRP with 'free delivery' then £12.50 of that is VAT right away. The delivery cost to you is also built into that price. Then you have retailer's costs and profit. Manufacture and shipping. Reseach and development. Marketing. Years of building up a reputable brand name. Plus all the costs involved in running an international company and taxes on the profits everyone makes along the way. Then you've got warrantee claims and customer service to allow for which all add up to company losses. Plus the odd theft and damaged stock I imagine.

The fake sellers are not only dodging all that tax and making use of everone else's hard work but they often make more profit/item than the original company.

You raise an interesting point but if that’s the case, how come a company such as decathlon etc can sell a rucksack with more features and a similar build quality for a lot less? The rrp is exactly that a ‘recommended’ retail price. It’s only what someone is willing to pay. In terms of manufacturing cost per unit, in a far eastern factory they won’t be paying anywhere near the retail price.

I should also add, I know there is no middle man with decathlon but there is with other retailers. Look at other fashion bags (which the Kanken now is) and there are lots of similar ones being sold for a lot less...brand name is what you are paying for.

 

[Janne]

You also pay for the brand.

Many, if not most, people buying the fake Kanken online think they bought a real one.


I have seen many Kankar in my life, we have a few in the family right now, and I find the quality not far behind the early ones.
(yes, not as high in the details).

I recognize the brand name and brand symbol Fjallraven, but do not recognize the brand name decathlon or have a clue about their brand symbol.


If you buy a fake item, do you remove the brand name and symbol?

 

[Wayne]

A lot of outdoor brands really are pricing themselves out of the market. £110 for a pair of cycling shorts 100% polyester manufactured in Vietnam.

The staff in their Vietnam base are barely acheiving $150 per month. Materials cost are pretty low.

Therefore someone is making a rather tidy profit.

I sat in a meeting recently about inclusion in the outdoors. The general belief was that outdoor activities are the preserve of middle class white folk.

Hard to disagree with that premise when a quick wander around Snow and Rock will show the average price for a jacket is more than 2 weeks wages for your average shelf stacker.

 

[Janne]

We MUST vote with our wallets.
That is the ONLY way prices will go down.

Personally I buy quality, not image. Too old to give a flying f###. Pardon my French!

But the Kanken is unbeatable, imo. Which other backpack has that extremely useful removable closed cell sitting mat?

Yes, outdoor equipment is scarily expensive.

We buy most of our outdoor stuff in Scandinavia, Scandinavian brands. Being in Nature, doing whatever you do in nature, is the most common hobby/pastime, so very well designed.
Norwegian Jotunheim brand are really userfriendly and good quality.

 

[Broch]

There is very little that is unique, either design or material, that justifies the very high prices of some of the 'brands' especially now that most of them take advantage of very low Eastern wages. I know that my 'work' trousers have outlasted friends' Fjallraven ones and I could buy 4 pairs for the price. G-1000 frabric? sorry - nothing unique to Fjallraven - waxed tough polycotton has been used by many manufacturers for a very long time. Fjallraven are one of the most copied because they are overpriced

 

[Janne]

Or most copied because of the strong brand?

Nobody is faking the look of Hyundai.

The think is - you want an Fjallraven item? Then buy a Fjallraven, not a fake!

But, as I mentioned before, this thread I started to warn people here that Fjallraven items are faked, so they do not buy something they think is a real one ( at a good price) then receive a fake. To be careful.

Also, Sweden is quite hot in stamping down of fake Swedish brands, just as the French are on fake French brands.

With a little bit of bad luck, you might get arrested.....
My business partner, 68 years old now, got arrested when she arrived in Paris. She had bought a fake LV handbag.
She did not know about that law. She is French, so speaks French fluently, which made it easier for her to get released.

 

[Broch]

No danger of me buying fake Fjallraven; I haven't bought Fjallraven for many years now

 

[BJJJ]

Or most copied because of the strong brand?

Nobody is faking the look of Hyundai.

The think is - you want an Fjallraven item? Then buy a Fjallraven, not a fake!

But, as I mentioned before, this thread I started to warn people here that Fjallraven items are faked, so they do not buy something they think is a real one ( at a good price) then receive a fake. To be careful.

Also, Sweden is quite hot in stamping down of fake Swedish brands, just as the French are on fake French brands.

With a little bit of bad luck, you might get arrested.....
My business partner, 68 years old now, got arrested when she arrived in Paris. She had bought a fake LV handbag.
She did not know about that law. She is French, so speaks French fluently, which made it easier for her to get released.

It tends to be the retail price that drives copying, who would bother if the return was not very much?

 

[Janne]

Of course it is the profit.

Ponder this:
Manufacture exactly the same item, but put a different name on.
"BJJJ" instead of Fjallraven. Create a new logo. Sell it 10% cheaper.
How many will buy it? Not many. Because you do not have a worldwide recognized brand.

 

[BJJJ]

]No danger of me buying fake Fjallraven; I haven't bought Fjallraven for many years now [/QUOTE]

Same here. Not good value. IMHO

 

[Janne]

What is 'value' ?

Is 'good value' buying a fake item?