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Thousands of ‘perfect’ fake Gucci shoes seized

Shoppers looking to step out in the perfect Gucci shoes but save on the price tag were thwarted on Thursday by Italian police, who seized over a thousand counterfeit pairs.

Published: 11 December 2014 17:11 CET
Thousands of 'perfect' fake Gucci shoes seized
Police seized thousands of 'perfectly crafted' fake Gucci shoes in Sicily. Photo: Gucci photo: Shutterstock

Police suspicions had been raised by the popularity among foreigners of a plain-looking shop run by a Chinese man near Catania in Sicily, where they discovered "perfectly crafted" shoes modelled on the latest designs by the Italian luxury brand.

The horde had a black-market value of around €40,000 ($49,500).

In a separate raid, officers confiscated over 1.3 million Christmas toys and lights which did not conform to European safety standards, a police statement said.

The products, deemed a risk to children and a fire hazard, were found stashed in depot belonging to a Chinese businessman in the industrial area of the city.

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SHOPPING

Record retail sales in Denmark after post-lockdown ‘ketchup effect’

Sales of shoes and clothes Denmark leapt by close to 100 percent in May in what the Danish Chamber of Commerce is describing as a post-coronavirus "ketchup effect".

Published: 25 June 2020 10:59 CEST
Record retail sales in Denmark after post-lockdown 'ketchup effect'
Danes have been buying shoes like they're going out of fashion (which these Moshi Moshi shoes from 2008 clearly are). Photo: Jan Jørgensen/Ritzau Scanpix
According to Statistics Denmark, retail sales overall rose 9.4 percent in the month after shopping malls were reopened, hitting a new record after the largest month-on-month increase since it first started reporting retail statistics at the start of the year 2000. 
 
“This is of course positive and clearly shows that the Danes have had the courage to increase consumption as the reopening takes place,” said Tore Stramer, chief economist at the chamber, in a press statement. 
 
“However, it must be borne in mind that there has been a saving in consumption that has been let loose in May. So we are also seeing a ketchup effect in consumption.” 
 
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Denmark's government shut down all shopping malls in the country in mid-March, with most high street shops also closing their doors until the restrictions were relaxed on May 11. 
 
 
The surge in sales will make up for some of the financial hit taken by Danish retailers during the lockdown, indicating that profits for the year might be less affected than feared. 
 
But Stramer warned that higher unemployment and a fall in Danish exports would continue to drag on Denmark's economy over the rest of the year, meaning May's bumper sales were unlikely to continue. 
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