HP fights against counterfeit products in Africa
Hewlett-Packard (HP) has launched an audacious three-pronged strategy to fight the counterfeiting of its products in Africa.
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The strategy involves awareness creation, product packaging and enforcement.
The move comes after 20,000 counterfeit HP toner printer cartridges were confiscated at the Tema Harbour by officials of the Custom Excise and Preventive Duty (CEPS), in November 2012.
According to HP, this formed part of nine million units of counterfeit HP products confiscated globally in recent years.
At an anti-counterfeiting briefing in Accra Tuesday, ACF Marketing Programme Manager, Tina Rose, said counterfeiting posed a huge challenge to HP because it undermined its (HP’s) business standards and practices.
She said: “Counterfeiting is bad news for everyone, as it dishonestly generates billions of dollars and threatens the reputation of global brands such as ours. It also harms consumers by creating low quality products with unknown chemicals which damage printers and could harm the environment.
This, Rose said, had informed HP’s decision to raise awareness on such illicit activities and contribute towards eradicating them.
“The war against counterfeiters is constantly evolving and we must remain steadfast in our resolve, which is why we always look for new ways to tackle counterfeiting in our various markets across the world,” she said.
To this end, Rose said HP had protected its printer cartridges with the latest sophisticated security technology as part of efforts to protect customers against the deceitful and illegal actions of counterfeiters.
She said HP original inkjet and LaserJet print cartridges now feature sophisticated holographic properties as well as a new Quick Response (QR) code which customers can easily validate using a web-enabled smartphone or online at www.hp.com/go/ok.
According to Rose, HP Authentication Software offers customers easy-to-use support to avoid counterfeit Laser Jet print cartridges.
She said customers could download and install the free software from www.hp.com/go/tonercheck, saying, “Should the software detect anything unusual, it will warn customers with messages and advise users on what to do next.”
The PPS Marketing Manager for HP in West Africa, Tolulope Lawani, gave an assurance that HP would ensure that its partners and customers receive only authentic supplies by making its printer cartridges difficult to produce, distribute and counterfeit.
Lawani called on the public to be vigilant when buying HP printing supplies, so as to avoid counterfeits.
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