The Factors that Influence the Rise of Counterfeit Luxury Products in Egypt

Abstract

Nothing happens economically, until a customer's perception of value towards a certain product or service surpasses the price of the latter. Meaning, that value or emotion for a product or a service must at a certain point fluctuate high and above the fixed price in order for the transaction to be executed by the customer. The objective of this research is to attempt to explain this emotion consisting of hedonic and utilitarian components that leads Egyptians to perceive luxury product as a necessity casting an inelastic property over the former.They take a considerable amount of social risk to obtain this necessity. Some Egyptians are more and more inclined to purchase counterfeit luxury products. This research attempts to understand the factors behind such behavior. A counterfeit product is a product made with varying quality material using the same design, shapes, symbols, and even logos to resemble the original one but at a fraction of the price.