China ' s top live - stre aming influ encer , Vi ya , has been acc used of selling counter fe it products in collabor ation with the US street brand " S upr eme , " caus ing a huge stir . The problem origin ated when Vi ya sold a neck Whatsapp fan as a " S upr eme x GU ZI " collabor ation product in her own live broad cast for 198 yuan (abo ut 3, 400 yen).
" Any thing can be Supreme ! This ir onic statement has become a reality . Vi ya strong ly recommended this product as a " limited collabor ation product " in the distribution , and many fans bought it . However , it was later revealed that this was not an official collabor ation product .
The cont ents of the accus ation and Vi ya ' s response
In response to critic ism from consumers and net iz ens , Vi ya issued an official statement . In a statement , it acknow led ged that " th ere was a de fect in the product description " and promised a refund to all buy ers . However , the company strong ly deni es the alleg ation that it " inten tion ally sold counter fe it goods . "
" We have always so ur ced our goods through regular chann els and had no intention what soe ver to sell counter fe it goods , " the Vi ya side claim ed . On the other hand , Supreme ' s author ized agent in China explic it ly stated that " th is product is not an official collabor ation product , nor has it entered into a licens ing agreement . "
The problem of counter fe it products in the Chinese EC market
The case high light ed the major challenges surround ing the handling of brand ed goods in China ' s live - commerce market . In recent years , counter fe it products tout ed as " col labor ative products " have become a problem in China , and more regulations are needed from the perspective of consumer protection .
Exper ts point out that influ enc ers " have an obligation to veri fy the authenti city of their products . " In particular , top influ enc ers like Vi ya have a significant social responsibility , as they gener ate sales of millions to tens of millions of yen with each live broad cast .
Future develop ments and implic ations
In light of this incident , the credi bility of the Supreme brand in the Chinese market may be tempor arily impa ired . We also expect a wave of regulations to spread across the live commerce industry .
Vi ya is now pro ce eding with the refund process , as well as prom ising to review the product sele ction process in the future . However , some consumers are also saying that " re fund s alone are not enough , " and the future response will be watch ed .
It can be said that this live case has raised an important issue of how to balance brand protection with consumer protection in China ' s fast - g row ing commerce market .