Luxury store Cosette accused of selling fakes

Australian luxury retailer Cosette is facing a public relations nightmare amid claims that it has sold counterfeit designer goods to customers.

The company has built its reputation over many years for supplying off-season, discounted designer bags and other accessories from brands like Celine, Balenciaga, Gucci, Dior and Prada from its Sydney store and e-commerce site, but is facing a flurry of reports in the Australian media that some of those were fake.

Among the reports is a Sydney Morning Herald story which claims that one customer bought a $4,000 Saint Laurent Envelope Medium Chain Bag from the retailer for $2,400, receiving an item with mismatched serial numbers and photos on its authenticity certificate. The customer had the bag independently checked, and the result came back as a counterfeit.

The article cites other customers who suspect their purchases are so-called 'superfakes' – high-quality copies intended to deceive and carry a high purchase price, as opposed to cheaply-made knockoffs available in markets around the world.

Another report by 9now claims that another customer spent $1,928 on a Prada re-edition nylon bag, and had it checked after reports of the counterfeit problems emerged, and discovered it too was fake. Soon after, they sent a legal demand to Cosette demanding a refund.

The company – which is reportedly being investigated by Fair Trading, Australia's consumer protection watchdog – had this to say in a statement:

"Cosette reiterates that any claims that we sell fake bags are false. Goods sold by Cosette are genuine and are authenticated independently by third parties. If a customer is concerned with the authenticity of any product sold by Cosette, we encourage them to contact us. Cosette will arrange for a return of the product and reauthentication. If Cosette finds any product to be non-genuine after reauthentication, the customer will be refunded fully."