Liverpool launched a "cut-price version of its new jersey in China to compete with the ubiquitous counterfeits that sell for just a few dollars and undermine European clubs’ ambitions to boost revenues in this fast-growing market," according to Bland & Ahmed of the FINANCIAL TIMES. After it unveiled its '17-18 season shirt last month, the club "started selling a budget version in China" at a cost of $30 compared with $87 for the normal jersey. The low-cost shirt "looks similar at first glance, featuring the club crest that has been redesigned to commemorate Liverpool’s 125th anniversary." But it is "made of simpler materials and is not produced by New Balance, the club’s kit supplier." Despite the size of the market and the "strong interest in European football," clubs have "struggled to make money from kit sales because of the ubiquity of fake merchandise, which is freely available in markets, sports shops and online shopping platforms such as Alibaba." Alibaba said that it is "committed to fighting counterfeiting" but that China "needs stronger law enforcement measures if it is to combat the problem effectively." The lack of intellectual property protection for foreign brands in China also "undermines" the value of TV rights, because pirated live streams of matches are "widespread" (FT, 5/9).
