China firm cons parents out of US$51,000 with fake elite brand kids fashion show
A Chinese company has been fined 600,000 yuan (US$83,000) by the government for faking children's fashion shows and conning 367,000 yuan (US$51,000) out of desperate parents.
A Shanghai company had been promoting a series of fashion shows under the name Paris Kids Fashion Week since 2020, according to the mainland media outlet Xinmin Evening News.
The company branded the shows part of the world-famous Paris Fashion Week, and used images of famous tourist spots in France, such as The Louvre, on its website.
It also took the show to multiple first-tier cities in China, as well as Paris and Toronto.
At one of its fashion weeks in Shanghai, the company promoted four shows using the names of luxury brands Dior, Gucci, Burberry and Fendi, and charged 6,000 yuan (US$830) each to appear in a single show.
It also set up a parent-child event for parents to appear together with their kids.
It was recently revealed by the Shanghai Market Regulatory Bureau that the Paris Kids Fashion Week is a scam.
The bureau launched an investigation in 2023 after Gucci's Shanghai office reported the case.
According to the report, the company also used Gucci's logos, and knock-off emblems with the words Gucc101 and Gucc100.
During the investigation, a member of the company's staff said it charged parents more than 10,000 yuan (US$1,400) for each costumes their children wore in the show.
However, not all the clothes were authentic.
The company's owner, surnamed Huang, reportedly bought counterfeit clothes online.
Huang argued that he only bought the fake clothes to take photos, and did not sell them.
The authorities said the company's activities constituted trademark infringement.
The firm made a total of 367,000 yuan (US$51,000) from registration fees, which the investigation identified as improper gains.
The bureau fined the company 600,000 yuan (US$83,000).
A procurator in Shanghai said the company previously received fines from market regulatory departments in other parts of China, but it did not correct its business.
The company's social media accounts under the name Paris Fashion Week Kid's Unit can still be found online.
'The company was exploiting the desperate need of parents to make their kids successful and famous,' said one online observer.
While another said: 'Such phenomena are quite common these days. Many art and sports training centres also charge parents a big sum of money to send their kids to unauthorised contests.' - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
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