Nokia Intensifies Fight Against Counterfeits

It has proved difficult for the East Africans to tell the difference between Original Nokia phone and a Fake one


By Dan Muhuni

I conducted the following interview following the public outcry of innocent East Africans who falls into the hands of the fake Nokia phones without noticing.

Dorothy is Nokia’s Communications Manager in East and Southern Africa

What is Nokia currently doing in intensifying the fight against counterfeit in Kenya? Since Nokia has been the mostly affected.

Dorothy: Counterfeit affects Nokia products because of the leadership position and the reputation they have. Nokia participates with local and global authorities and groups on the proliferation of fake products. We constantly promote the purchase of genuine products through our dealers and through these associations. We continuously recommend that customers buy only from authorized dealers and look out the warranty logo in blue, marked 12 months-Kenya. Nokia has been using the media as a medium of reaching people in the East African region to sensitise the public on the differences between a genuine Nokia and a counterfeit one.

We are also encouraged by the warning by the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Communication Commission of Kenya warning consumers about compromising the quality and performance of the goods they purchase. This indeed further supports our call to our consumers to be vigilant about their purchases and where they make the purchases.

Do you think the implementation of anti-counterfeit legislation in the country which is still in parliament will help curb counterfeits?

Dorothy: Absolutely. We would like to see stringent measures taken to discourage those selling the counterfeits and thereby endangering the lives of Kenyans. We believe this anti-counterfeit legislation is a step in the right direction.

How much is Nokia currently losing annually to the counterfeit products which have flooded the Kenyan market?

Dorothy: It is difficult to assess the volumes and the financial impact of counterfeit products to Nokia, other legitimate businesses and local economies. The challenge is much broader than financial. Nokia is concerned about the inferior quality of counterfeit products and how the poor quality can adversely impact the consumer experience and the Nokia brand. Local economies also suffer from counterfeit products due to lost revenues to legitimate businesses, lost tax revenues and enforcement costs to government. We won’t speculate on the volume or financial impact for Nokia.

These fake products are made and sold illegally. We do not have information on the margins.

To conclude, a customer should insist on buying a phone with 12 months Nokia warranty. This way the customer will be certain they are buying a genuine phone. Nokia is soon introducing warranty stickers that will be on the sales box and this will assist the customer to identify phones on warranty. Generic warranty cards will also be available as further proof of warranty. However, the customer does not need to present the warranty form to get warranty services at Nokia Care points. The Nokia Care points are able to confirm warranty status through access to the Nokia database using the consumers IMEI or serial number.

We will continue to fight it by educating our consumers on how to tell the difference between a genuine Nokia and a counterfeit device. The box with the genuine phone must be intact and sealed with the Nokia logo, a hologramme and the IMEI number written on the outside. There will also be a blue warranty logo, with 12 months written on it, and clearly marked KENYA.

Dan Muhuni- EA ICT correspondent.(Blogs www.ictkenya.wordpress.com www.ictkenya.blogspot.com)