Hermès bags, Birkestock shoes, or lululemon pants. Chinese factories are flooding Tiktok with videos aimed especially to US consumers in which they say almost all kinds of premium or luxury brand products at much lower prices than those that can be found in the North American market. And is that the Commercial battle Not only is being fought in the offices, but also in social networks.

The Tariff policy Donald Trump has encruded in recent weeks, since the truce applied by the president of the United States has left China out, and he has found in Tiktok a weapon with which he counterattack. The large factories in the country are generating video content by encouraging consumers to “Eliminate the intermediary” and bet on direct purchase to save costs.

“I guess you know Lululemon and other great brands. You sell leggins for $ 100 and, do you guess what ‘, in these two factories you can get them for five or six turkeys”, Comment in this video. It also mentions the Row and Underamour brands, and points out that their products come from Xiang Long Clothing and Hung Qisun Clothing.

With the increase in tariffs, which are already in 145% for Chinese products, manufacturers are using the platform as a marketplace, Showing the items, the production process, and detailing the costs. Some claim to be the providers of the big brands, others suggest that those who manufacture are of the same quality as the originals and that the only difference is the label.

In this sense, the videos can be attempts for falsificification manufacturers that seek to take advantage of The confusion of consumers and the chaos generated by tariffs to boost their sales. In the case of Birkestockthe website defends that the brand is German manufacturing.

“To ensure that each product meets our rigorous quality standards, we operate an integrated manufacturing plant vertically and produce all our templates in Germany”, Says the firm. “In addition, we assemble the vast majority of our products in Germany and produce the rest in other places in the European Union”

However, one of the videos that has been viralized in recent days is that of the China.yiwu.factor account, which has been eliminated but created again. It shows that, despite the resemblance of footwear with that of the Birkestock brand, the firm that appears in the shoes is Kidmi or prayed. Moreover, in the profile there is a link to Aliexpress in which Kidmi shoes are offered for less than 20 dollars.

According to The Independent, Lululemon It manufactures approximately 3% of its finished products in Continental China and on its website offers updated lists of its suppliers, in a transparency exercise to consumers.
For its part, Louis Vuitton He has on several occasions that none of its products are manufactured in China.

Although most of the videos aim to be falsifications, many of the comments in the videos applaud the speech of Chinese manufacturers by “Expose” the reality of the luxury market and oppose tariff policy Trump. This is taking many Tiktok users still to be attracted to products at minor prices offered by these factories.

The reality is that the production of these Chinese manufacturers He has sophisticated Notably throughout the last decades, which has resulted in articles of a remarkable resemblance, both in aesthetics and quality, to the original brand products. Another factor that, added to the high cost of current life, raises the attractiveness among those consumers who are willing to go through highs that are “dupes”.

However, the falsification market in China is the largest in the world. As collected The IndependentUnited States Customs seized falsified items for approximate value of 1.8 billion dollars in 2023.
The trade war could aggravate the situation, causing more consumers to commit directly to Chinese or “dupes” factories and thus avoid tariffs.

Consequently, survival of the brand concept itself is in danger Before a consumer pressed by the economic context and seeks savings. This will force brands to review their marketing and communication strategies guiding them to value contribute their products to the life of consumers, above the price.