4.5 FIGHT AGAINST COUNTERFEITING
Moncler and Stone Island are constantly engaged in the fi ght against counterfeiting to guarantee intellectual property rights and product authenticity, to protect end clients and their intangible assets.
The approach to the fight against counterfeiting has confirmed over the years as a fundamental and daily commitment to guar- antee the protection of clients. This is the guiding principle of the global strategy implemented by Moncler s Brand Protection and Intellectual Property department and by the Stone Island s Legal Department.
The action against the production, distribution and market- ing of counterfeit products is based on solid portfolio of trade- marks, models, patents and Moncler and Stone Island domain names. The execution, maintenance and protection of their port- folios guarantees the Group s Brands intellectual property rights in geographic areas of current and potential commercial interest.
Administrative activities related to brand and patent portfo- lio management also continued with a view to new product launch- es, projects, production processes and sustainability. With regard to Stone Island brand, the activities carried out during the year fo- cused on extending the Brand to new product classes and on the creation of new graphics for the well-known badge.
The Group fights counterfeiting by acting on various levels and channels, both offline and online, and by providing clients with tools for checking the authenticity of the garments purchased. Over the years, Moncler has devoted considerable resources and energy to developing and improving anti-counterfeiting systems, as well as to collaboration, training, awareness-raising and veri- fication activities. The authentication-tracking system, adopt- ed since the 2016 Spring/Summer collection, was strengthened during the year. This system provides a unique alphanumeric code, a QR code and an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag that allows the end client to immediately receive feedback on the au- thenticity of the garment purchased by scanning the NFC using a smartphone or tablet, which can be verified on the code.moncler. com website, directly managed by Moncler.
In addition, to further assist its clients, Moncler has creat- ed a service dedicated exclusively to anti-counterfeiting issues, drawing up, where necessary, expert reports for clients who are victims of counterfeiting and who wish to recover the sums paid in the unwitting purchase of a counterfeit garment from electronic payment services companies.
Stone Island has been using the technology and experience provided by Certilogo® since 2014, thus allowing its clients to verify the authenticity of its products; during 2021 the use of this technology was also extended to Stone Island Junior garments.
Synergies and ongoing collaboration between Moncler s Brand Protection and Intellectual Property department and the Stone Island Legal Department enabled, since the first months of the integration, the implementation of new monitoring and clean- ing measures, the inclusion in specific customs and market sur- veillance programmes of strategic countries, relevant to the brand or production, and to increase the focus on the digital channel by strengthening the effectiveness of enforcement activities on sales platforms, search engines, active websites and social networks.
Constant monitoring of the online channel and implemen- tations of the anti-counterfeiting system enabled Moncler to in- tercept more than 60,600 online auctions of counterfeit products, shut down nearly 443 sites where counterfeit garments were of- fered for sale, delist from search engines approximately 23,000 pages linking to counterfeit products and remove approximately 67,000 posts, accounts and sponsored ads from the main social networks. In the case of Stone Island, such activities led to remove approximately 21,000 online auctions of counterfeit products, around 360 sites in violation and approximately 5,100 posts, ac- counts and sponsored ads on major social networks during 2021.
To strengthen the strategy to fight online counterfeiting, Moncler and Stone Island have drawn up a plan against vendors in the United States involved in the international sale of counter- feit products on digital platforms, resulting in a strong deterrent for counterfeiters.
On the digital front in 2021 Moncler also continued to par- ticipate in the Memorandum of Understanding project promot- ed by the European Commission and signed in 2016 by various
brands and the main European sales platforms, aimed at ensuring concrete collaboration between brands and platforms to reduce the presence of counterfeit products on such platforms. As part of this project, a lobbying activity to promote best practices and guidelines in relation to the regulatory package for updating the European e-commerce laws (Digital Service Act DSA) has been carried out.
Moncler and Stone Island also conduct careful and con- stant monitoring of their finished product suppliers through pe- riodic checks at the workshops where the logoed material and anti-counterfeiting labels provided by the Group are received, managed and applied. Despite the challenges posed by the pan- demic, eleven brand protection audits were carried out in 2021. The return of feedback on the findings of audits allows constant and progressive improvement in the production process.
The Group also collaborates locally with the main customs and enforcement authorities worldwide to identify counterfeit Moncler and Stone Island products, providing, where necessary, expert reports attesting their illegal nature.
The training sessions delivered to the enforcement authori- ties continued in 2021 in digital way due to the Covid-19 pandem- ic situation. 30 training sessions were held by Moncler and 17 by Stone Island, for Italian and foreign customs officers and enforce- ment authorities using digital tools, maintaining the dialogue with them with the aim of increasing the awareness of the two Brands.
Constant collaboration during the year made it possible to continue to manage approximately 3,200 seizures by Moncler and nearly 500 by Stone Island at global level, that allowed to re- move from the market, respectively, around 143,500 and 84,000 finished products and more than 144,600 and 24,000 counterfeit accessories and branded items, such as non-authentic logos and labels intended for the production of counterfeit garments and accessories. At national level, the activity implemented by the Group enabled Moncler and Stone Island to carry out, respective- ly, 90 and 110 seizures enabling the removal from the market of a total of approximately 28,000 counterfeit finished products, ac- cessories and branded items.
To raise awareness and provide internal training to the de- partments most affected, Moncler formalised brand protection procedures explaining how to check for style content, conducting approximately ten dedicated training sessions. This activity will also be launched by Stone Island in 2022.
Moncler and Stone Island s work in the area of brand protec- tion is also characterized by the participation and collaboration as active members in the main national and international associa- tions dedicated to combating counterfeiting, including INDICAM in Italy, UNIFAB Tokyo in Japan, UNIFAB in France, ACG in the United Kingdom, ECCK in South Korea and Friends In Fashion. See also pages 68-69.
4.6 TRANSPARENT AND RESPONSIBLE COMMUNICATION
The most stable and lasting relations are based on trust and transparency. For this reason, the Moncler Group has always conducted every marketing and communication initiative responsibly across all channels, paying close attention to how, what and with whom it communicates.
For the Moncler Group it is very important to communicate consis- tently, responsibly and transparently. All the images and messag- es delivered through the various online and offline communication channels are carefully defined so as to be in line with company val- ues, to respect human dignity, to be non-discriminatory and to not evoke violent behaviour or dangerous conduct. Special attention is paid to the communication of the children s collection, which aims to ensure absolute respect for the fundamental principles under- lying the protection of minors. Although the Group does not cur- rently adhere to specific voluntary codes or standards relating to advertising activities, it complies with all the relevant regulations in force in each of the countries in which it operates. As evidence of this ongoing commitment marketing, advertising and sponsor- ing activities of the Group s products have never resulted in cases of non-compliance with existing regulations.
Always with a view to responsible communication with cli- ents, also product labels cover a very important role for provid- ing clear, transparent and accurate information. Moncler and
152 153 MONCLER GROUP
2021BE FAIR BE FAIR