China's guerrilla warfare on tariffs starts with luxury goods
If you've been on any social media recently, you've probably been hit by one of these videos initially pushed through TikTok. The script is always the same: a Chinese manufacturer demonstrating how they carefully craft high-end luxury bags with imported leather, high skills, and very aggressive pricing. The only thing missing? The luxury brand logo.
These replicas, sometimes referred to as "super fakes," are so meticulously crafted that they closely resemble the authentic products. To some extent, the logical reaction should be "so what?" There's nothing new in counterfeit products coming from the very same manufacturers working for genuine luxury brands and 'spilling out' some production directly to market. Numerous malls in China have been dealing with this grey business for decades.
Yet, the difference here is critical: a full-on guerrilla marketing strategy is at play, which you can consider being very focused and coordinated without feeling paranoid.
And the messaging is quite potent:
Super Fakes are a strategic weapon
China’s top-tier replica manufacturers access near-identical materials, factory processes, and craftsmanship. In some cases, products are made in the same supply chains that serve luxury brands. These replicas are not just illegal copies—they’re a form of soft economic retaliation, circumventing global price structures.
Cost breakdown shocks
A $34,000 Hermès bag costs less than $1,400 to manufacture at this quality level in China. The videos break down material, labor, and distribution costs, highlighting the enormous markup that luxury brands depend on.
Cultural Shift in Luxury
Global consumers—especially younger ones—are increasingly comfortable with owning a nearly identical bag, even if unofficially. This carries less stigma than before, and in some cases, might even be an act of resistance of sorts, broadcasting that these consumers are not dupes.
What's left for luxury brands?
Until now, the illusion of scarcity and the story of craftsmanship have largely sustained luxury pricing. But if that illusion shatters, that's it. This is how fragile the luxury ecosystem is when its core pillars are challenged so aggressively.
The perception gap
Luxury is all about perception, and this communication war understands that very well. This is about dispelling quite effectively the brand aura of incumbent Western luxury brands. It's a total reversal of the script: The very same luxury brands now feel like they are the fake ones, doing nothing but overcharging for stamping (or sewing) a logo on a high-end Chinese product.
Luxury is just a domino...
But still, China probably doesn't care so much about luxury. We can also argue whether the damages occasioned by such videos will be potent or long-lasting. I do believe they will leave quite a stain on these famous brands.
In any case, luxury is just an easy target for destroying the tariff's logic (if you believe there's one at play). It's simply the first domino starting to wiggle in a global trade war where many larger dominos are aligned very close to one another.
China's strategic message here is simple and effective: Try to unravel our economy, and we will unravel your worldwide global branding by not only broadcasting what everyone knows but also skipping entirely your "brand tax," letting consumers access the same goods for their real price. This will apply to any consumer goods, from TVs to washing machines and soon enough to trains, microchips, or aerospace.
Side notes...
- With all this in mind, if I were a global luxury brand today, which might not even manufacture anything critical in China, I would start to think deeply and widely about my brand value and my marketing strategy. The problem you have now will not be solved by booking an elite top-model or glamorous movie star for another photo shoot with your product.
- And if you still think TikTok's algorithm was not under China's direct control, you might want to start changing your mind. 😌