Cheap fashion from Temu: Fake “fashion weaver” attracts customers

Cheap fashion from China: How the fake “Mode Weber” attracts customers

A website gives the impression that it is the online shop of a well-known clothing store in eastern Switzerland. But behind it is a Lucerne-based “competitor” that sells cheap junk. This is not an isolated case.

Published today at 06:32

It’s easy to buy supposedly high-quality fashion from Switzerland, but what if, after a few weeks, cheap fashion from China arrives in your mailbox?

Photo: Michael Scherrer

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Anyone from Eastern Switzerland will be familiar with Mode Weber: a regional fashion store with several branches in the region, such as in St. Gallen, Rapperswil or Wil. The company’s online shop is logically called modeweber.ch. But there is also a second online shop that appears right at the top of the Google search results. It is called: weber-mode.ch.

This webshop also appears to be of high quality at first glance. Only at second glance might you notice that some of the models in the photos look rather unnatural. As if the images were created by an AI. But what does that matter, after all, every item of clothing is currently on sale, some customers will probably think. You should act quickly.

Little effort, high margin

A look at the imprint shows that the Eastern Swiss fashion house Mode Weber is not behind the website. The owner is listed as the sole proprietorship Shoppingroom Etemi from the municipality of Willisau in the canton of Lucerne.

Marc Joss, Head of the Swiss clothing retailer Switcher, knows such shops. These are so-called dropshipping providers, also known as direct buyers. The internet is full of courses that claim to help you get rich this way and influencers who claim to have gotten rich this way.

But there are also many warnings on Facebook and the Page the Foundation for Consumer Protection. The reason for this: «The shops are directly connected to Chinese low-cost suppliers such as Temu or Shein Connected,” says Joss. “The customer actually orders there and not from the shopping room in Willisau.” The profit is simply a hefty margin. A visual inspection confirms this: the same polo shirt that is available on weber-mode.ch for “half price” at 44.90 francs costs a good 9 francs on Temu.

The polo shirt costs 44.90 francs in the fake Mode-Weber shop.

Photo: Screenshot

The original shirt costs just under 9 francs in the Chinese discount shop Temu.

Photo: Screenshot

But of course, says Joss, no one would buy the T-shirt if the online shop was called Shoppingroom Etemi. That’s why these shop owners deliberately choose a name that is associated with a reputable business like Mode Weber. “And so, to put it simply, the grandma from St. Gallen thinks she’s got a bargain.”

Real fashion weaver defends himself

But the real Mode Weber in St. Gallen is feeling the consequences. “We keep getting phone calls from angry customers who are not satisfied with the quality of the goods and complain to us,” says Lukas Weber. He is part of the fashion retailer’s management team. “We then have to tell them that they didn’t buy from us at all.”

The information about paying via Twint and the allegedly fake reviews on the customer portal Trustpilot mean that people have no qualms about dealing with the fake site, says Weber. Initially, those affected reported that the goods from China were not being delivered at all, but now they usually arrive after a few weeks.

Self-described on the Weber Mode website: Fashion start-up from Lucerne.

Photo: Screenshot

The shop operator is being monitored more closely, says Lukas Weber. This is also shown by the fact that the real owner is now listed in the imprint. This would mean that he would be fulfilling a legal requirement.

Anyone who wants to make a return is asked to register it using the contact form first. This is to ensure that the “return promise” works, even if the goods actually come directly from China, says Weber. It is not free: the customer bears the costs themselves.

Mode Weber tried to take action against the shop. “We have been in contact with the authorities for a long time,” says Lukas Weber. But these shops are adept at operating in legal grey areas. “In terms of trademark law, for example, we have almost no recourse, as our company name consists of a name and an activity and this combination cannot be fully protected.” I also find that the issue is not a top priority for the authorities.

Lawyer and IT law expert Martin Steiger knows that as a company that has suffered damage, you have options to take action against competitors. “For example, if a new online shop uses a domain name that is confusing with your own, you can issue a warning and, if that doesn’t work, go to court.”

Another important regulation for online retailers with a Swiss address is the Price Disclosure Ordinance. This stipulates that the final price must be visible to customers during the payment process. According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, foreign online retailers are obliged to indicate the import costs and at least roughly calculate them. Unannounced surcharges for customs and VAT are also not permitted.

The law against unfair competition can also play a role. According to this law, a company acts unfairly if it provides misleading information. This applies if the false impression is created that the company is based in Switzerland, or that the goods are shipped from Switzerland, even though this is not the case.

Lawyer warns of risky business

Back to the Etemi shopping room in Willisau LU. There are indications that the same operator also runs other shops such as “berger-luzern.ch”. Although the real owner of the shop is not named in the imprint, the products on offer are practically identical. What is particularly perfidious is that a supposed team is even shown here, which even wears T-shirts with the name of the shop. An image search quickly shows that the people shown also appear in a completely different context on the Internet.

But who is behind the company from Willisau? A young man from central Switzerland is registered as the owner. What does this person say about the business model of the fake Mode-Weber shop? No one responded to the written and telephone inquiries from this editorial team.

In any case, Martin Steiger warns against running such dropshipping shops carelessly: “Fake reviews, for example, are unfair. There are also rules for imports. If a company in Switzerland is behind it and, for example, counterfeit goods are sold, criminal proceedings threaten.” Many young people believe that they can get rich quickly with dropshipping, because an online shop can be set up quickly with the help of services like Shopify and with the support of AI. “But legally they can quickly fall flat on their faces, and that can sometimes cost a lot,” warns the lawyer.

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Christopher Gilb writes as a business editor about gastronomy, travel and tourism as well as retail. As daily editor, he regularly coordinates the department’s reporting. He previously worked for the “Luzerner Zeitung” among others. He is the winner of the Zurich Journalism Prize. Threema ID: 39MYBAUPMore info

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topicnews · September 23, 2024

Cheap fashion from Temu: Fake “fashion weaver” attracts customers

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