Published on 31.10.2012 . Dmitry_Vasfilov - 247 Comments ↓
There are a huge number of clothing brands on the Russian market. There are eminent and not so famous among them, widely known and familiar only to a few. This article will focus on special brands - the so-called werewolf brands. Such brands mean those that seek to create an illusion in the buyer about their Western origin, and sometimes about premium. Companies that own such brands often sell Chinese and Russian consumer goods to people under beautiful names and legends.
Interestingly, in most shopping centers in Russia, about half (and in some cases - most) of the area is occupied by shops and "boutiques" of such werewolf brands - clothes and shoes. I already talked about werewolf shoe brands in this article, now it's time to meet werewolves in the world of clothes.
Attention! Assigning any brand to the number of werewolves is a very responsible matter. It's hard to say anything with 100% certainty, so I don't take care of this. Therefore, I emphasize that here I collect just suspicious brands. And I explain why they are suspicious. In addition, brands that do not hide Russian origin are placed here: just for information, since there are people who, due to the fact that the name is foreign, think that the brand itself is, say, English or Italian.
Despite the fact that I approached the preparation of this material very responsibly, I could make mistakes. Therefore, you can use the information only at your own peril and risk. I emphasize that the presence of a brand in an article does not mean that it is a "werewolf".
Albion. On the official European website (by the way, the server is located in Poland), the company carefully avoids the issue of its origin, but in the "Where to buy" section only Polish and Russian points of sale are indicated. Suits, judging by the reviews, are made in Poland. And they cost not so little - about 20 thousand rubles apiece. No connections with Italy could be found, and meanwhile, sometimes these costumes are passed off as Italian.
Alessandro Bonimi. You can read more about the exposure of this brand here. here. The brand appears to be Russian.
Alessandro Manzoni. Apparently, the brand of the Lady and Gentleman city chain of stores. The foreign Internet does not know such a brand. In the "Lady and Gentleman city" stores themselves, sellers are quite actively promoting this brand among buyers. The prices are high.
Alfred Muller. Passes himself off as a German mark. In fact, the site itself exposes this legend: in the "Where to buy" section, only Russian outlets are listed (even when you go to the English and German versions of the site, which, by the way, are noticeably poorer in content than the section in Russian). This brand is owned by Dialog LLC (see. here), which, by the way, promotes another of its own "premium" brand - Greg Horman.
Al Franco. Issued as a Spanish brand. But the brand does not have a website at all, just as there is no information about it on the foreign Internet. The countries of production of Al Franco clothes, judging by the information on the websites of online stores: Turkey, China, Russia. The prices are quite moderate, but not very low. Reviews are both positive and sharply negative. These clothes are widely represented in the Snow Queen and Wildberries stores.
Antonio Meneghetti. The creators of the brand “tie” it to the Italian professor Antonio Meneghetti, who allegedly began to design clothes in his declining years. In fact, Antonio Meneghetti clothes are sold only in Russia and Ukraine, and in Europe no one knows about them. Claims of Italian ancestry are highly questionable.
be free. A youth clothing brand owned by the Russian company Melon Fashion Group. The origin of the brand is stated quite openly on his website. Clothes are made in Russia at the Pervomayskaya Zarya factory (at least, that's what it was called in Soviet times). The prices are very low, the quality is decent.
Baon. Existing since 1992, the Russian brand of the company of the same name, which, in general, does not hide its origin (see its website). Earlier, however, the legend about the Swedish roots of the brand was cultivated among buyers. Pretty popular brand desam belongs, by the way, also to Baon. Baon and desam are generally good value for money.
Bone. The brand of the Sportmaster chain of stores. Made in China, reasonably low prices, good quality.
Cacharel. This brand was founded in France more than half a century ago. However, in 1995, the rights to use the brand in 30 countries were transferred to the Turkish company Aydinli Group, which is stated on the website of the Turkish Cacharel. There is also a French Cacharel, but in Russia Cacharel stores are precisely Aydinli Group. This clothing actually has nothing to do with France; seems to be made in Turkey. Value for money, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired. The main markets for this Cacharel are the CIS countries (including Russia, of course), Turkey, the Middle East.
Camelot. Russian brand, produces clothes mainly in China. He does not invent legends and myths about his origin. Initially, it was aimed at making the collections of major fashion brands available to the public. Therefore, Camelot often simply copies the design of Western firms. The price-quality ratio is good.
Caterina Leman. A Polish brand of women's business clothing, which in Russia is passed off as Swiss or German, and almost super-duper exclusive and supposedly very popular among European high society. Prices are high, but the quality of Caterina Leman clothes, judging by the reviews, leaves much to be desired. In Western Europe, the Caterina Leman brand is unknown; these clothes are sold mainly in Russia and Poland.
Chimino. Apparently, this brand belongs to the chain of men's clothing stores of the same name. Production - Romania and Russia. In the West, of course, this brand is unknown. The brand has no legend.
Demix. The brand of the Sportmaster chain of stores is very popular in Russia. Popularity is due to low prices and acceptable quality. All Demix clothes are made in Chinese factories.
You can read more about the Sportmaster stores and its brands here. this article.
de rossi. The company does not have an international website, there is only a Russian one and its English version on the Russian domain; myself website registered to a private person (you can see here). Mostly shirts are sold under this label, prices are high. At the same time, it should be noted that shirts are really sewn in Italy, from good Italian and English fabrics. True, for such money you can buy shirts and original Italian brands - for example, Pal Zileri, Z Zegna, Etro.
diplomat. A network of premium clothing stores, which, in particular, represents the brands Thomas Berger (allegedly Germany) and A. Falkoni (allegedly Italy). In Europe, no one seems to have heard of these brands, they do not have their own websites. The clothes of these brands are sewn mainly in Turkey, the prices are high, the quality is good, but it can hardly be called really premium.
D.Polgri. Russian brand of men's clothing, Russian production. The name was clearly invented, as they say, "under Italy." But there are no legends. The quality is not bad.
Emilio Guido. Turkish brand of men's business wear. On the origin and countries of production of clothes on his website delicately silent. But, of course, he talks about the Italian style (and Russian sellers can start singing songs about Italian designers and craftsmen who sew suits by hand). The site, by the way, is quite decent, international. Shops are mainly in Russia and other CIS countries, as well as in Turkey and some other countries: Morocco, etc. The prices are high, the quality is decent.
Ethan Grant. Despite the postscript London, it has nothing to do with England. Turkish brand, Turkish production. Previously, it was poorly distributed, but by now the scale of activity has grown somewhat. The quality is good and well worth the price. There is no website, so there are no legends either.
Fabio Paoloni. There is no Italian (and even English) site. The Russian-language site is very simple (it is doubtful that a reputable Italian clothing company has something like this), but tells us legend. There is no information about Fabio Paoloni in the foreign segment of the Internet. The prices are high, and the quality, judging by the reviews, is low.
Finnflare. This brand cannot be attributed to werewolf brands, but it is still worth mentioning in our article. The brand was indeed founded in Finland, but relatively recently it was bought out by a Russian business woman. Nowadays, Finn Flare clothing is sold mainly in Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and in Finland only in very small quantities (I must say that in general, in the early 2000s, sales of Finn Flare in Finland fell sharply). Clothing is produced in China and some other Asian countries; however, brand representatives say that Finn Flare clothes have never been made in Finland itself.
Learn more about the history of the Finn Flare brand here.
Fratelli. The site is in two languages: Russian and Italian, and in both cases the domain is .ru. The Negozi (Shops) section of the Italian version shows a map of Russia with the names of Russian cities. There is no information about Fratelli's Italian clothing on the foreign Internet. Judging by the comments, it belongs, by the way, to the owner of another pseudo-Italian brand - Meucci, which will be discussed below.
Gee Jay, Gloria Jeans. Russian brands founded by Rostov businessman Vladimir Melnikov. Clothes of average quality at very low prices, sewn in Russia. Gee Jay and Gloria Jeans do not hide their Russian origin, but on the contrary, they emphasize it. In the article, these brands are listed just in case - suddenly someone thinks that these are foreign brands.
Read more about Gee Jay and Gloria Jeans in this article.
Giovane Gentile. The name hints at an Italian origin, but in fact it is a Turkish brand. This is indicated on the international site, the owner company is Ergem tekstil. However, frankly, the Turkish origin is not advertised, and sometimes the sellers begin to tell tales about the Italian designer. Giovane Gentile items are sold in many countries (mainly Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa), but not in Italy. In general, an ordinary average brand with "Italian" ambitions.
Giovanni Botticelli. There is a website in Italian, but it is extremely simple and uninformative. And in the “shops” section, only Russian “boutiques” are listed on it. And in the contacts are Moscow coordinates. The reviews are rather contradictory: some people like Giovanni Botticelli shirts and ties, someone says that the quality of shirts and polo leaves much to be desired.
Where Giovanni Botticelli clothes are made, unfortunately, is unknown. Obviously not in Italy: the price is too low, there are also big doubts about Germany (as indicated on the website of one online store): again, the price is too low for German tailoring, and in general, very few people sew shirts in Germany. Most likely, shirts are made in Turkish or Chinese factories - it must be admitted that both the Turks and the Chinese have already learned how to produce quite beautiful and high-quality clothes (although, of course, they are far from the Italians).
glenfield. A casual clothing brand with a rather amusing legend that flaunts on the official website of the brand. Allegedly, Glenfield was founded in Italy, in some kind of "production center of the Venetian region" as much as 30 years ago. But the brand doesn't even have a website in English, let alone in Italian. There is no information about the brand in the foreign segment of the Internet; the site is hosted in Russia. True, judging by the reviews, the quality of the clothes is good; but the quality of service in stores is mediocre.
Henderson. Russian brand with Polish roots. He does not hide his origin (just look history on the site). The prices are higher than average, but the clothes are quite high quality. It is developed by Russian designers in cooperation with European ones (I don’t know if this is actually the case, but in principle it is quite possible). Henderson clothes are made in China, Portugal and some other countries, some models are made in Italy. Read more about the Henderson brand in this article.
Incanto. The site - with the European domain eu, with the Italian and English versions. However, a little check reveals that the server is located in Russia (see below). here), which is very odd. There is practically no information about Incanto clothing on the foreign Internet. The site lists several Italian stores and a whole sea of Russian ones. However, the famous shoe "werewolf" Carlo Pazolini also opened stores in Italy - after great success in Russia.
The quality of Incanto, judging by the reviews, is not bad. Prices for real Italian lingerie are too low (although prices are rather high compared to budget Russian products, of course), so it is unlikely that it is made in Italy.
incity. Russian brand, which is openly declared on his website. It belongs to the Modny Continent company, which, by the way, declares its international character. This is, in general, true, since the brand entered the markets of a number of CIS countries. Incity clothes have a good price-quality ratio, although in general the quality is very mediocre.
Joss. Another brand of the Sportmaster network. The price-quality ratio is adequate. Production - China. You can read more about Joss here.
Kanzler. There is information that, in fact, Kanzler salons are a rebranded chain of clothing stores "Elegant". Quite high prices, but the quality, admittedly, is good. An alternative is the Henderson brand discussed above, with approximately the same quality, but the prices are slightly lower. Another alternative is indeed the German Hugo Boss (although it is made in Turkey), but there, on the contrary, the prices are slightly higher.
Have you ever thought about the fact that not all modern clothing companies that position themselves as authentic with almost half a century of history are in fact so? In this review, we will talk about "pseudo-Italian" labels, which in fact are nothing more than a competent marketing ploy that hides the real country of origin of the products they offer.
The first thing to mention when starting a story about Italian pseudo-brands is that the products they offer do not have to be bad and of poor quality. Yes, by inventing a beautiful but illusory story for their company, its management deceives its buyer in advance. But, as practice shows, such measures are taken only because the current client is not interested in purchasing goods of a domestic manufacturer. Most are absolutely sure that the label on clothes "" is the same indestructible guarantor of quality and practicality.
So, with why there are pseudo-Italian brands, we figured out, now we will find out exactly how this happens. This is done according to a very primitive scheme:
- A company is registered in Italy, thanks to which its beautiful and harmonious foreign name arises;
- Then the address of its head office, headquarters, is registered, and it is not at all necessary that the office will be located there in reality.
Although nominally the addresses and documents of the company are Italian, its management is Russian or Ukrainian, and under “Italian” it offers customers goods that were actually made either in China, or in Russia, or in Turkey (depending on where it is cheaper).
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When shoes or clothes are ready, and all technical issues are resolved, the only thing left is to correctly present the products to the public. Here, a team of PR agents and advertising specialists joins the work, which comes up with a beautiful, attention-grabbing story for the newly-made brand. All the procedures listed above are aimed at achieving one goal - to sell the product for more than its real value. After all, you must admit that you are ready to pay much more for a real branded Italian thing than for a similar one, but from a domestic manufacturer.
Classification of pseudo-brands
All domestic clothing brands positioning themselves as brands of Italian origin can be conditionally divided into three types.
- The first type is represented by brands that, although they do not advertise much, do not hide their real origin, and from Italian attributes they have only a foreign name. Almost all modern Russian/Ukrainian labels can be attributed to this type.
One of the brightest representatives of the first type is the network women's clothing store INCITY. - The second type includes those labels that talk about their homeland in a very veiled way. Starting a story about the process of development and formation, they meekly report that "the company appeared on the Russian market in such and such a year ...". Such words can be interpreted in different ways, and most people mean by them that at that time the stores of this brand began to open in Russia, having previously gained success abroad. Paolo Conte, for example, can be counted among such firms.
- The third type is pseudo-brands that deliberately mislead the client, forcing him to believe in false information. They come up with beautiful legends and stories that tell about the creation of the company, its long and thorny path to becoming on the world stage, "genuine Italian" quality, long-term traditions, etc.
At first glance, nothing can give out this kind of pseudo-brand. Everything in it, from the official website to the company logo, is designed in such a way that the buyer has no doubts about the real homeland of the label. Such brands are especially dangerous because when you buy an expensive Italian item, you end up with a low-quality product of domestic or Chinese production.
Overview of Italian pseudo-brands
D.Polgri
D.Polgri is a fairly well-known chain of casual clothing stores for men. The brand does not come up with any special legends regarding the true Italian origin, however, the name, and its general concept, correspond to the principle “under Italy”. The quality of the offered goods is not bad, but the price is slightly too high.
This company supplies office-style clothing for men to the Russian market. Despite its true Turkish origin, the official website of the company is full of news about the preservation of the exceptional traditions of Italian masters, their unique style in costumes. The quality to price ratio is pretty good.
Giovane Gentile - although the brand is endowed with a bright and sonorous name, it is clearly of Italian origin, it is entirely Turkish. The official online store contains the contact details of the true owner of Ergem Tekstil, but the homeland of the goods produced is still not advertised much. Giovane Gentile outlets are available in a number of eastern and western European countries, but the label's items cannot be found in Italy itself.
Henderson
Henderson is a well-known brand in Russia representing high quality clothing. Although the real country of origin is not kept secret (in order to get information on this matter, it is enough just to visit the official website of the store), collections and advertising campaigns somehow unobtrusively allow buyers to believe that, in fact, the home of the company could be Italy or England.
The brand's garment factories are concentrated in China and Portugal. Costume models are developed in close partnership with leading European designers.
Henderson offers really high quality clothing at affordable prices.
Rico Ponti
The name of the company clearly hints at its Italian roots, but the entire management team is concentrated in Russia. From the information presented on the official portal, it is difficult to draw any unambiguous conclusions.
Vassa&Co
Despite the name typical for Italian companies, it is of Russian origin. This information is available on the website of the official online store, and it is quite easy to get it: just visit the appropriate section "About the company".
This is a fairly well-known brand of office style clothing for men, positioning itself as a true Italian brand. In fact, all the company's products are manufactured in Poland, where its headquarters are located.
It is rather difficult to find information on the origin of Albione on the website of the official online store, no monosyllabic data is presented on it, however, if you study the “Points of sale” section, you can see only Russian and Polish addresses in it.
The ratio of quality and price is not the most pleasant, the starting price of the suit is 20 thousand.
Alessandro Manzoni
In fact, the brand belongs to a large domestic concern "Lady and Gentleman city". On the official website, it is written in black and white that the goods produced are distinguished by genuine Italian quality and sophistication, excellent style, and this is followed by the very legend story that tells about the origin of the company in Lombardy in 1989.
But all the official data and documents completely refute the stated fable, presenting a certain Andrey Mikhailov as the responsible person, and Moscow as the place of registration of the enterprise.
Antonio Meneghetti
The firm is an ardent representative of pseudo-Italian brands. Its creators actively promote the information that the design of each model of clothing is the result of the work of the Italian genius, Antonio Meneghetti. In reality, the stores of this label are open only in Russian and Ukrainian cities, and in Europe it is completely unknown.
De Rossi
Another pseudo-Italian brand specializing in the production of pajamas, shirts and underwear.
The price-quality ratio is not very pleasant, most of the goods overcome the price threshold of 5-7 thousand.
There is no reliable information on the Internet regarding the country of manufacture of De Rossi clothes, and customer reviews are very contradictory.
Diplomat is a popular chain of luxury clothing stores in Russia, whose products are mainly represented by the two brands Berger and A. Falkoni. According to the legend, actively promoted by the sellers of the store and existing advertising campaigns, the latter is entirely Italian.
In fact, no one has heard of these brands in Western European countries, which allows us to conclude that, most likely, clothing collections are designed and sewn in Turkey.
Fabio Paoloni is a network of stores open all over Russia. The company is promoted as a long-term Italian brand. On the official website, however, there is no reliable information regarding the country of origin.
The price-quality ratio is poor. Most products are much more expensive than similar domestic options, and the quality, according to reviews, leaves much to be desired.
Fratelli M
Another pseudo-Italian menswear brand is Fratelli M. His official website works in a bilingual format: Russian and Italian, and the Russian domain is also chosen. In the “Shops” section on the map, although there are a large number of circles scattered throughout Europe, in reality, only Russian addresses can be obtained from retail outlets.
Giovanni Botticelli
The brand website can be presented in three languages: Italian, English and Russian. In the "Shops" section, you can find only Russian addresses of boutiques, which allows us to conclude that this brand is also a "dummy" brand and has nothing to do with Italy.
Prices are not so democratic. For example, an ordinary basic tie can cost 1.5 thousand rubles. It is pointless to say anything about the quality, since the reviews are very contradictory.
Zolla
Zolla is a domestic company for the tailoring and production of casual women's clothing. The employees of the company do not at all aim to lie about the true origin of the brand, however, because of the name, a huge number of buyers firmly believe that they can buy real Italian things in the Zolla store.
Incanto
Incanto is one of the most famous brands of underwear, pajamas and shirts in Russia. Employees of the company are diligently trying to hide its real origin, disguising the label as Italian with all their might. Although the official online store has a European domain, the server itself is located in the Russian Federation, which causes certain suspicions.
It was not possible to find any information about Incanto products on foreign sites.
Meucci
Meucci is a fairly large label that, according to the official version, produces high quality authentic Italian clothes. In reality, the products of this pseudo-brand are made at a domestic factory, which is located in the provincial town of Lobnya, in the Moscow region.
Meucci prices are high, absolutely not corresponding to the quality of goods.
Mia-mia
Another company for the production of women's underwear, self-proclaimed itself a real Italian brand. According to customer reviews, it is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of products, since they are inconsistent.
Prices are not democratic, and therefore the company causes even more suspicion.
Orsa
This chain of stores is another company that is part of the concern "Lady & Gentleman city", and therefore there is no need to argue about the truth of his Italian origin.
Orsa is another pseudo-brand that offers products of not very decent quality at inflated prices.
Roberto Bruno
This is a label similar to the aforementioned Meucci. Although the official version speaks of its almost half a century of Italian history, in reality there is no reliable information that would confirm the origin of the company. The site domain is Russian.
Simoni is a fairly common menswear label in Russia, specializing in the manufacture of business suits. Although the information presented on the official portal speaks of the Italian roots of the company, no one has ever heard of him in Italy itself. Sales outlets are dispersed exclusively on the territory of the Russian Federation.
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Many buyers do not even suspect that Russian manufacturers are actually hiding behind big English and Italian names. This article is about the most important "pseudo" foreign brands.
Why do some Russian brands pretend to be foreign
Here we are dealing with the conviction of the majority of Russians that foreign clothes and shoes (not counting China and Turkey) are always more fashionable and of better quality than domestic ones. This conviction is not unfounded. On the other hand, domestic manufacturers, who know about the “special love” of Russians for everything foreign, take advantage of this. This is especially true for new brands formed after the 1990s.
First of all, brands take such names that “sound” in the manner of Italian or American. In this fact, in itself, there is nothing shameful and it takes place even in recognized fashion meccas, such as Italy. In particular, the Henry Cotton’s brand sounds in the English manner, is aimed at fans of the “English style”, but was founded in Italy in 1978. However, there is a big difference - they do not hide this fact. Just such a name is consonant with the style of the clothes that they produce.
By the way, who certainly would not hurt to do a rebranding is our Bolshevichka factory. It just sounds funny: “A businessman in a Bolshevichka suit.” However, this is purely their business, at least they do not mislead anyone.
Three categories of Russian brands that pretend to be foreign
All brands that “pretend to be” foreign can be divided into three categories.
The first category includes those brands that do not hide their Russian origin and have only the name itself in a "foreign" language. It's like our Timati black star - no one has any doubts about his origin.
The first category is INCITY is a Russian fashion brand founded in 2005. This is a chain of fashionable women's clothing stores owned by Modny Continent JSC. Having taken a foreign name for itself (which, by the way, does not unequivocally indicate the place of origin of the brand), this brand positions itself as Russian from the very beginning and does not experience any discomfort in connection with this. Just like the English language, having become de facto international, the name in English is both a tribute to fashion, and a trend, and just a marketing ploy.
The same can be said about Henderson, a chain of menswear stores.
The second category of “Russian foreign brands” makes no secret of the fact that apart from the name, it has nothing to do with a foreign brand. However, people still buy such clothes and shoes, believing that "there is something foreign about it." But such brands do not come up with false stories of creation, but simply remain modestly silent. At least on their official websites, you will hardly find a clear indication that this is a Russian brand. Instead, they use such streamlined formulations as "such and such a company appeared on the Russian market in such and such a year." Those. this phrase can also be interpreted in such a way that the company came to the Russian market from abroad.
Below are examples of such companies with phrases as they themselves explain their origin on their websites.
Shoe brand Paolo Conte (Paolo Conte fashion, P.Cont) was “founded” in 2000; manufacturer of women's business clothing TOM KLAIM "founded" in 1993; shoe company RALF RINGER "appeared on the Russian market" in 1996, the company "TERVOLINA" - "exists" on the market since 1992; O'STIN "began its activities in Russia" in 2003, SAVAGE "the history of the company originates" in 2000. Camelot - "the first store opened in Moscow" in 1997. OGGI (renamed oodji since 2010) "the story of oodji begins" since 1998. Sela - "founded" in 1991, ZOLLA - "the ZOLLA brand began its history in Russia" in 2004 in Moscow, KANZLER - "Over 18 years of work in Russia, KANZLER has earned the recognition of Russian men" .
The brand deserves special mention. Mascotte, which is owned by Moskot-shoes LLC. Initially, they did their best to create an image of a solid English brand around the brand: until recently, the company's website claimed that its head office was located in London. But now all information has been removed from the site, leaving only the fact that in 2000 the Mascotte brand entered the Russian market by opening a representative office in Moscow. Overpriced compared to Europe, low quality - if things go on like this, buyers will already guess that this has nothing to do with England.
Third category- brands that mentally mislead the consumer about the origin of the brand itself and the places where their products are made. For this, “stories” of their creation are invented, and if, for example, you go to their official website, you can even read this sentimental story about “age-old traditions” and “genuine Italian (English, etc.) quality”. Even the logos of such brands are made so that the buyer does not have any doubts that he is really buying a foreign, and not some kind of "Russian-Chinese" product.
And the person believes that this product is of high quality. Here we are dealing with the “placebo” effect, when a person is told that he has become the owner of a “prestigious” brand. Indeed, a person begins to “feel” the quality of this thing, and how it “differs” from domestic or, God forbid, Chinese production. And when, for example, shoes fall apart after 2 months, then the person blames Moscow slush and reagents for this, but not the manufacturer.
The third category includes such "brands" as Westland, TJ collection, Carlo Pazolini, FiNN FlARE, Fabio Paoloni, BGN. About these brands should be written in more detail. these brands deliberately mislead buyers and I, as a professional shopper, want to open the eyes of my readers to these brands.
Westland
Official website of the brand Westland ascribes to himself the following story: “In 1930, the Walter brothers and David Adams opened a small workwear factory in Chicago, Illinois. The case was called in a simple way - W&D Adams Undertaking.
However, in the United States, no one has heard of such a company and such brothers. You can try to search for this brand using Google or Wikipedia. By the way, when I asked the question on their official website, “Where can I buy their brand in the USA”, the operator-consultant (there is such an online service) answered me: “Nowhere” and put a smiley. My next question is "Why?" was simply ignored.
The quality of the clothes is average. But it’s worth mentioning the prices: on average, they are twice as high as in the USA, for example, Levi’s jeans in the USA can be bought for $ 40.
T.J. Collection
The TJ Collection, which, according to press releases, "was created in the UK in 1992", produces shoes under three brand names: T.J. Collection , Chester and Carnaby. They are all produced, according to press releases, in "family shoe production in Italy and Spain using manual labor." TJ Collection is bought by fashion-conscious middle class; Chester - lovers of solid classic shoes; Carnaby - youth. Only one thing surprised the buyers - when they, having gone on business or on vacation to England, tried to find a store of their favorite brand, nothing came of it. In fact, this brand was invented by a married couple from Moscow, and the name is formed from the first letters of their names Timur and Yulia. True, they now live in South Africa.
FINN FLARE
Initially, a truly Finnish company at the turn of the 2000s was acquired by a Russian entrepreneur. At present, the trademark FiNN FLARE is related to Finland only by its legal address of registration. Neither production, nor design, nor quality control have anything to do with Europe, although the company actively exploits its origin in the formation of a solid Finnish image and, of course, an exorbitant price.
FiNN FLARE clothing and footwear are produced in Russia, China and Vietnam. The product quality is quite decent. Design for an amateur, but it's always a matter of taste. Pricing policy exploits with pleasure the paradox of the Russian market: clothes that are quite ordinary for Europe cost as much here as in England and Italy products from world-famous designers.
Carlo Pazolini (bankrupt)
Shoe brand Carlo Pazolini actively positions itself as Italian, and by no means in the budget price segment. As indicated on Forbes.ru, the founder of Carlo Pasolini, Ilya Reznik. In 1992, a thirty-year-old automotive engineer at the Moskvich plant, having earned a small capital in the sale of consumer electronics, ordered a batch of shoes from one of the factories in southern Italy. The logo for the Carlo Pazolini brand he invented was developed by the young advertising agency Video International. in 1997, Reznik bought two shoe factories - in the village of Tuchkovo and the city of Kubinka, Moscow Region. However, now more and more shoes are made in China, because. labor force in Russia is too expensive.
By the way, this is the only Russian brand that positions itself as Italian and at the same time has its stores in Italy itself. For example, I personally know one store in the very center of Milan on via Dante. (closed since 2016).
Fabio Paoloni
branded Fabio Paoloni men's clothing is produced: classic suits, shirts, outerwear. The word Milano is present in the logo itself, giving an unambiguous hint of its noble origin. That is, it is a direct misrepresentation. Only Runet is filled with information about the Italian clothing brand Fabio Paoloni. In the Italian segment of the Internet, there is not a single hint of it. Where clothes are sewn and by whom Fabio Paoloni one can only guess - on the official website there is no information at all about their origin.
BGN
As stated on the official website “The history of the BGN brand began in Paris. In 1999, following the first BGN gallery, located in the very center of Paris, the first store appeared in the Saint-Gemain des Près area, then in 2004 in the Le Marais quarter. In 2000, the first BGN store was opened in Russia, then in Ukraine and Turkey. Every year the number of stores is constantly growing”. However, there is not a single mention of this brand in the French segment of the Internet, so draw your own conclusion.
And in conclusion, I’ll say that if the quality and style of clothes and shoes are at a high level, then there is no need to hide behind a “foreign” brand, and if not, then this is not only a deception of consumers, but also damage to the business reputation of those countries that cover up pseudo-Italian and pseudo-American companies.
Stylist-shopper
Olesya Maranova
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"Real Italian shoes" from China and other tricks of Russian marketers ">"Real Italian shoes" from China and other tricks of Russian marketers "alt="(!LANG:"Werewolf brands". 7 Russian brands that are ashamed of their origin "Real Italian shoes" from China and other tricks of Russian marketers!}">
The topic of import substitution, which is now fashionable, haunts both politicians of all stripes and enterprising citizens who, taking advantage of the moment, are trying to master budget money with the good goal of ousting foreign competitors from various markets. Many of them are unaware that the so-called “werewolf brands” of domestic tailoring have been operating in Russia for a long time, successfully disguised as large foreign companies.
However, as practice shows, these brands more often resemble the girl who was successfully taken out of the village, while forgetting to take the very village out of her. So it is with manufacturers, no matter how much effort marketers make, it’s still quite difficult to hide the real origin. We decided not to go far for examples, but just give them in this post...
Stores of this brand, as a rule, are located in large shopping centers. Mannequins dressed like Harry Potter classmates seem to hint at the aristocratic roots of this brand. Pseudo-English plaid trousers and club jackets actually have the same relation to England as Baba Yaga has to Hogwarts.
In fairness, it should be noted that the brand has never tried to hide the fact that it has nothing in common with foreign countries, except for the spectacular name and the fact that some of the clothes are made in China, Portugal and sometimes in Italy.
A TV quiz called "Own Game", where smart guys and other Wassermans fiercely fight for the opportunity to become the owner of unique stationery from Erich Krause, did a lot to popularize the brand in Russia. It would seem, why would these serious men crush each other with intellect for the sake of a box of cheap paper clips? They do not spare each other for the sake of "imported" stationery! In fact, everything is much more prosaic ...
All goods, from pencils to expensive pens, are produced under the strict control of the Russian company Office Premier. Moreover, since 1994. And what is most interesting, the manufacturer did not particularly try to hide it. And the fact that buyers themselves lay out money for a beautiful name is their problem.
Seeing the richly decorated windows of this chain of stores, many buyers imagine a certain Italian elderly shoemaker named Carlo, who, without sparing his belly, hand-made shoes for days on end, which the damned capitalists then “sell at exorbitant prices” to visitors to shopping centers.
In fact, there are thousands of such shoemakers and they never had people with European names in their family. They were born and work in China, producing shoes for a Russian shoe brand, whose founders decided that the Italian name would caress the ears of a buyer who firmly believes that only Riga sprats can be better than Italian shoes.
Looking at the dull landscape outside the window, filled with universal longing and houses of the same type, the average Russian citizen brews a tea bag with a foreign name. At this moment, he is mentally transported to the shores of Foggy Albion, where people like him leisurely stroll along the cobbled streets, enjoying the leisurely and calm life of European aristocrats.
Alas, the harsh reality takes us to the city of St. Petersburg, the natives of which registered the same company in 2003 GreenField Ltd with an office in England. Moreover, it was registered by the Orimi Trade tea manufacturer. Unlike the previous heroes of this post, the guys from Zeleny Pole can confidently assert that their company is English and easily reject all claims about the Russian origin of the brand.
BORK
Here it is necessary to pay tribute to the marketers of the company. They did their best and did everything to ensure that their brand was perceived as something "made in Germany". Moreover, the quality and quite an adequate price tag organically contribute to this picture.
In fact, this brand belongs to the Russian company Electroflot, which cannot but rejoice in the period of the fashion for "import substitution".
One of the favorite brands of the provincial oligarchs, who like to emphasize that they wear Kanzler, in fact, has nothing to do with Angela Merkel or her predecessors in power. Despite the beautiful German brand name and quite decent quality, this brand has Russian roots.
To be more precise, there is every reason to believe that the brand grew out of the "Elegant" chain of stores, whose managers realized in time that it's better to have a "brand werewolf" in their hands than "Elegant" in the sky...
VITEK
And for dessert, we decided to include a brand with perhaps the most interesting name in this list. It is a mistake to believe that a certain Vitek gave the name to the brand, although this is how most consumers pronounce it. In fact, the name of the brand comes from the Latin word vita, meaning "life" and the English word tech, skillfully shortened to tek.
The company is registered in Austria, manufactures equipment in China, and the management is located in Russia, which is clearly confirmed by the consumer characteristics of the equipment, giving reason to believe that, after all, a certain Victor made a significant contribution to the development and positioning of the brand.