Sparkling wine and alcoholic spirits producer Zarea Bucharest, which was acquired by Karom Drinks last year, estimates it will loose 1.3 million euros in sales this year as a result of the counterfeiting of its Moldova and Arad brands (distilled spirits). Zarea forecasts 10 million euros in sales for this year. "The two brands will account for nearly 20% of our sales this year. There are some small producers that are starting to make their own spirits using these two brands, while others stop doing so upon receiving a warning from us and the authorities," said Emil Popescu, Zarea Bucharest general manager. Zarea has owned the two trademarks for more than 40 years. "Besides the losses it causes us, counterfeiting also confuses consumers in terms of the origin and quality of the products. There were even times when counterfeiters of the two brands made bigger sales than Zarea. These anti-competitive practices are damaging to what is one of our biggest acquisitions. However, many producers simply don''t know that abuse of registered trade marks is a crime and subject to prosecution," Popescu added. ZF
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