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Fake cosmetics flood market 24th July 2008                

With the prices of imported cosmetics rising sharply because of higher tariffs and a weakening dong, cheap knockoffs are becoming rampant.

Studies by foreign cosmetics distributors have found that Vietnamese spend over US$55 million per year on make-up and $700 million on skincare, hair care and nail care products.

Most global brands like Lancôme, Christian Dior, L’Oreal, Shiseido, and Ohui have, predictably, made a quick entry. But the prices of their products have increased by 20 to 50 percent since the beginning of this year. Many have doubled since last year.

Cheap knockoffs have filled the gap. Many markets, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, sell products at low prices and dubious quality and origin, many carrying US and French brand names. At a shop in Vuon Chuoi Market in District 3, when a buyer asked for a Shiseido face powder the owner offered four kinds, all priced as low as VND65,000-145,000, but without import stamps.

Most of the products sold at Kim Bien wholesale cosmetic market in District 5 reportedly lack clear origins. Miss Bay, a wholesaler at the market, said she cannot guarantee the quality of any product since they are from the border areas -- and most likely to be smuggled into the country.

They are sold mostly in the provinces and to hairdressing salons, and not in retail, she added. At Tan Binh market in Tan Binh District most well-known brands like Lancôme, Shiseido, Ponds, Hazzelin, DeBon, Olay, E’Zup, Nivia, and Essence are available but cost just 20 percent of their rates at authentic shops.

The quality of beauty products is not monitored, leading to their widespread availability. The fakes could be hazardous to users’ health. Mai Thi Gai, 55, of Go Vap District, for instance, felt her scalp go hot and her throat parched after a hairdresser used a dodgy dye. It took her one year to recover.

According to a new regulation the government issued last March, the Pharmaceutical Management Department must be intimated about the contents of cosmetic products -- both imported and locally made -- before they are released in the market. If any product harms consumers’ health, its distributor has to pay them damages.

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