WITH EXACTLY A week to go until Christmas Day, Revenue has announced the seizure of a massive consignment of counterfeit toys – understood to be Frozen dolls – at Dublin port.
After some routine profiling, Customs Service agents yesterday confiscated more than 20,000 of the counterfeit stuffed toys, which have a retail value of €600,000.
The fake Frozen dolls were found in a container which arrived from China, and were destined for a Christmas market near you.
Anna and Elsa figures have been phenomenally popular in Ireland so far this year – with parents queuing for hours, and even getting into fights, in order to get their hands on them.
Just yesterday, Retail Excellence Ireland said the dolls were sold out in their member stores, and that counterfeit imitations had become “rife.”
A major concern for toy retailers is the growing prevalence of counterfeit toys.
Travel to many country markets and indeed some stalls in urban areas and you will witness what cannot be found in legitimate toy retailer’s stores – the much in demand Frozen doll.
Look closer and you will see that it is in fact a copy.
In a statement today, Revenue warned desperate parents that fake toys could pose “serious health and safety risks” to kids, due to the lack of regulation in their production.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say