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One of the world’s largest suppliers of fishing tackle has described how it monitors digital sales giant Temu to ensure copies of its products are not available on the site.
Rather Outdoors, the owner of 14 household name brands that include Fox, Lew’s and Preston Innovations, has developed a stringent legal process which flags up any trademark and IP issues involving sellers like Temu.
Gary Quinn, President of Rather Outdoors Europe, was responding to last month’s Angling International in which tax expert Marko Uhl warned that the integrity of the angling market is under threat from D2C marketplaces.
Quinn (left) said: “Whilst we must be vigilant with any consumer sales channel representing our brands, Temu specifically does not really impact our business as we deploy a legal process to identify and inform the seller of any issues, and this is largely effective. Over the last few months, we have seen hundreds of infringing listings taken down.
“However, the process can be more costly and cumbersome than it needs to be, and whilst most claims are dealt within 24 hours, this can sometimes take longer.
“We would like to see D2C sites be more proactive and use technology to make the process less arduous on brand owners, moving the responsibility back towards the sellers and the platforms.”
Quinn added that it was important that Rather Outdoors stayed on top of the digital sales sites. “We invest a lot of money to develop innovative products, which in turn makes the sport more interesting to anglers and more sustainable to all involved. Therefore, it will always make sense to ensure that we have the procedures in place to protect these investments in our products and brands.”
One problem that is set to be partially resolved this year is the presence of ‘de minimis’ terms on imported orders – items under €150 that do not attract any import duty on digital sales sites. Legislation is set to be introduced to remove this duty exemption.
“We welcome the de minimis moves from the EU as it helps ensure a level playing field for angling retailers and brands,” said Quinn. “Law makers also need to ensure that similar attention is given to ensuring products imported directly to consumers are treated the same as brands retailed in the UK and EU regarding compliance – one common example being labelling on clothing.”
Situation must be faced before more shops close, says retailer
Digital sales sites like Temu and AliExpress are hitting retailers hard and the problem they face need to be taken seriously before more shops are forced out of business.
That’s the view of Martin McGowan (below), owner of The Angling Hub, the Republic of Ireland-based tackle shop and website. He told Angling International: “I can’t believe that I am the only one seeing this. Chinese factories are selling wholesale to us, but at the same time they are pushing the exact same products on Temu – often at lower prices than what it costs us to land in the UK or Ireland.
“The stock response is always: ‘It’s not us – it’s other vendors that we cannot control’. However, from what we see every day – especially on Temu and AliExpress – it’s clearly the factories feeding the supply chain.
“Customers are posting Temu hauls all over Facebook with rigs, reels, tools – you name it. Shops like mine cannot compete with those giveaway prices. It is hitting us even harder as we are buying through UK wholesalers.
“A lot of the very products we stock are now appearing on Temu at consumer prices below what we can buy them for. I have spoken to a few people in the trade and they echo the same concerns. This is not a brand problem – it’s wholesalers, distributors and retailers all getting hit from the same angle.”
