Hansgrohe fights fake hand shower imports

Grohe joins forces with an excavator to crush international counterfeits.

German bathroom products manufacturer Hansgrohe has joined forces with Stuttgart Airport customs office to destroy dozens of copied hand showers being imported from China. Customs officers noticed the similarity of Chinese imported goods to Hansgrohe's Raindance AIR hand shower model. An inspection confirmed that they violated the company's property rights.

Hansgrohe has established a special team, supported by lawyers, to enforce property rights following many years of plagiarism of its products. The firm has won legal battles against manufacturers and vendors of copied products in Europe, as well as obtaining judgements in China. "It's a Sisyphean task," said Richard Grohe, a member of the board of directors, Hansgrohe.

"However, we do follow up any violation of our property rights that is discovered and, if necessary, take legal action - even within China."

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

Hansgrohe estimates that the annual economic damage for the company caused by counterfeit brands and products is between 1-3% of the total turnover.

However, even greater damage is caused to the company image when poor quality, bad workmanship and deficits in function and safety of counterfeit products are wrongly associated with the original brand.

"It's worth taking countermeasures," added Grohe. "Moreover, we owe it to our partners in the specialised bathroom trade to combat the circulation of counterfeit products. The cheap fake products damage retailers just as much as they damage us as a brand manufacturer."