In February 2012, Michael Jordan filed a complaint against “Zhongqiao Sports(fake jordan in china)” to the Trademark Review and Adjudication Board of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce of China on the grounds that “the registration of the disputed trademark damaged his right to name.” Then, people realized it was a fake Jordan.
In China, people translate “jordan” into Chinese “乔丹”. The company registered the brand trademark “乔丹” and opened stores on Taobao, JD.com, Pinduoduo and other shopping platforms to sell sports shoes products under the “乔丹” brand. This made many buyers who did not know the truth think that this “乔丹” was the “AIR JORDAN” owned by NIKE, and then achieved huge sales.
Zhongqiao Sports (formerly known as 乔丹 Sports) is an enterprise group specializing in the research, development, manufacturing and sales services of basketball equipment. Since it was renamed 乔丹 Sports in 2000, it has relied on the influence of “Jordan” brand to continuously increase the company’s revenue. It even almost became a listed company.
In February 2012, Michael Jordan took the biggest fake Jordan company in China to court. Then, people realized that the shoes sold by this company were not genuine Jordans.
Since then, the nearly ten-year trademark dispute between Zhongqiao Sports and Jordan began. After many twists and turns, Zhongqiao Sports finally ended up losing the lawsuit and changing its name.
Zhongqiao Sports Co., Ltd. (Zhongqiao Sports), formerly known as Qiaodan Sports Co., Ltd. (Qiaodan Sports, QiaoDan), was formerly the Second Daily Necessities Factory in Chendai Xibian, Jinjiang, Fujian Province established in 1984. It was renamed Qiaodan Sports in 2000 . The logo of Jordan Sports (China) is a dribbling athlete. In 2000, the company applied to register trademarks such as “乔丹”, “QIAODAN” and graphics. On April 26, 2007, it applied for trademark No. 6020578 “Jordan and graphics”. However, the brand “Jordan” used by Jordan Sports (China) has never been authorized by American NBA basketball star Michael Jordan. Air Jordan, owned by NIKE, is the only brand authorized by basketball player Jordan to use the name “Jordan”.
Nowadays, Zhongqiao Sports, which has lost the “乔丹” brand, has seen its revenue performance and gross profit margin decline one after another. Its prospectus shows that during the reporting periods, namely 2019, 2020, 2021 and January to June 2022, Zhongqiao Sports’ gross profit margins were 31.91%, 29.52%, 27.86% and 27.19% respectively. However, during the same period, the average gross profit margins of comparable companies in the industry were 46.94%, 46.06%, 49.52% and 48.87% respectively. It can be said that its recent IPO restart still faces multiple challenges. The cause of the current situation can be said to be “Jordan” in success and “Jordan” in failure.
Can a trademark have such power? How much is it worth?
You know why you often hear about fake Jordan shoes, but not fake Warrior shoes. Because in the United States and even around the world, almost no one has not heard of the word ”Jordan“ or related content such as Michael Jordan and Jordan sneakers. NIKE AIR JORDAN is not only famous, but also popular among young people, especially men. Although Jordan shoes are positioned as basketball shoes, not all men who wear Jordan shoes like basketball.
In addition, each new model is released in limited quantities, which results in demand exceeding supply. These shoes, which originally cost more than $100, were resold for $1,000 because they were unavailable. Brand premium is the main reason for the emergence of fake products.
Therefore, fake Jordan was born.
The reason why fakes exist is not just because they are cheap, but because they can satisfy the vanity of many people. Even if many people know that the shoes are fake, they will buy them as long as the price is within their acceptable range and they look exactly like the genuine ones.
The moment the fake “Jordan” was declared defeated, there was no real Jordan left in China.
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