Morocco Cracks Down on Counterfeit Clothing Trade to Protect Formal Sector

The informal sector is suffocating the formal sector. In the clothing sector, several ready-to-wear stores have had to file for bankruptcy. Since February, the Moroccan authorities have launched a crackdown to clean up the sector. "Launched in several cities, this crackdown targets mainly merchants and resellers of counterfeit clothing or authentic but diverted from legal production and marketing channels," reports the daily L’Économiste.

According to the president of the Franchise Federation, Mohamed El Fane, quoted by the newspaper, these counterfeit stores are proliferating in Casablanca, particularly in the neighborhoods of Bourgogne, Maârif, downtown, Derb Omar, Mustafa El Maani, Bab Marrakech, Korea, Aïn Chock, Derb Ghallef, and Sidi Maârouf. "In fact, for a long time, a kind of specialization in counterfeiting, by neighborhood, by zoning, by type of product... has emerged," informs the specialized daily.

In Casablanca, several neighborhoods have specialized in counterfeits: Korea, in espadrilles and sportswear, Derb Ghallef in footwear, suits, phones. Bourgogne concentrates the stores of fake jeans, polos, jackets, Sidi Maârouf in the imitation of jeans, polo, jackets, etc.

"Less than a month ago, the authorities and customs dismantled a counterfeiting network in Casablanca. According to a member of the Casablanca Chamber of Commerce, the counterfeiters were tracked down by the customs services, via an account on TikTok," we read. Significant quantities of counterfeit clothing have been seized in this factory specialized in sportswear reproduced identical to the originals and sold at prices 50 to 70% cheaper.