Editor's comment

Why does the retail optical business take such a relaxed attitude towards counterfeit products? As the sunglass season gets into full swing, Luxottica (see News) has released details of the effort it is putting into stemming the flow of fake products. In just two weeks it intercepted over 3,600 fake Ray-Bans entering the UK through a single point. Multiplying this figure to account for the number of entry points and all of the high-value brands counterfeiters target gives an idea of the scale of the problem.

It is plain to see why manufacturers would want to stop cheap copies coming onto the market but the potential damage to the retail optical business is just as great.