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CONSUMABLES
To mark the occasion, ICCE took part
in Europol’s Intellectual Property
Crime Conference which was held
in Antwerp on 19-20 September.
The event, which brings together
law enforcement, private industry
and academia from across the
continent to discuss new initiatives,
trends and techniques in the fight
VOW is warning resellers that grey stock of the Q-Connect
private label range of low-cost office essentials has reached the
UK market. The wholesaler has said that only a small amount of
the grey stock, which is being sold at reduced prices, is relevant
to the domestic market and it believes some of the goods on
offer are at least two years old.
Andrew Stacey, Marketing and Merchandise Director at EVO Group
confirmed they had spoken to INTERACTION, the Belgian-based alliance of
wholesalers and distributors from more than 20 European countries, which
developed and owns the Q-Connect brand, and were confident there was
no more grey stock to come. He also believed measures now in place
would ensure a similar episode did not occur in the future.
“The grey stock has come from a Dutch reseller and it’s therefore
unsurprising that only a limited number of its lines are relevant to the UK
market,” he said, adding: “The reseller concerned also left INTERACTION
some time ago and therefore has no access to the current Q-Connect
range. This explains why a significant percentage of the grey stock is toner
products that we believe are over two years old. These can be identified
easily, as they use the European KF code, rather than the VOW one.”
Stacey continued: “We’d ask resellers to bear in mind that the only
wholesaler based in the UK authorised to sell Q-Connect products is VOW.
We can supply from the whole range, with everything we provide being
up-to-date and fully relevant to the British market. I’d add that neither we
nor INTERACTION have any intention of changing these arrangements.”
Resellers with queries about, or wanting to order items from, the
Q-Connect range can contact their VOW Account Manager for further
information.
against counterfeiting, provided an
opportunity for delegates to meet
ICCE members, learn about the issues
faced by the printer consumables
sector and the industry’s fight
against the counterfeiters over the
last 20 years.
The non-profit organisation dedicated
to eliminating counterfeiting of imaging
consumables such as printer ink and toner
cartridges, also launched an awareness
raising video, helping consumers and
business understand the issues of
counterfeiting and explaining the actions
that ICCE is taking to protect its customers.
€
1.6bn market
In a statement ICCE said that the imaging
consumables industry is threatened by a
€
1.6bn market of counterfeit goods. These
are not only likely to be sub-standard
but can damage printers and potentially
expose consumers to dangerous chemicals.
They are often produced in poor working
environments and can be environmentally
unfriendly. In buying fake products,
consumers may even be inadvertently
funding criminal groups involved in people
trafficking and terrorism.
It insists that awareness is critical in the
fight against the counterfeiters, as this type
of crime often tends to be assumed as less
serious. Many people are unaware of the
risks to their own safety or the connection
between counterfeiting and other forms
of crime.
While consumers and businesses
have an important role to play, the real
power to make a difference is with local
law enforcement officials. To that end
ICCE works closely with law enforcement
agencies throughout Europe, Middle East
and Africa to educate, collaborate on
intelligence and enhance their skills in
identifying counterfeit goods.
Recent successes include the seizure of
thousands of counterfeit toners in the UAE.
In July this year two men in Greece were
convicted of trading in counterfeit imaging
supplies.
Chris Vansteenkiste, Cluster Manager
of Europol’s Intellectual Property Crime
Centre said: “Law enforcement and
industry collaboration are critical to our
successful fight against the counterfeiters.
Over the last decade Europol has
developed links with industry associations
such as ICCE and through shared
intelligence and joint actions we have
become more effective in enforcing the law
against the counterfeiters.”
Last month, the Imaging Consumables Coalition of Europe, Middle East and
Africa (ICCE) celebrated 20 years of combating print consumable crime
The fight with fakes
Grey stocks in UK
