Quickie post about a subject near and dear to my heart. I’ve written about it several times.
Today’s Financial Times had an article by Josh Sims about licensed reproductions of furniture versus “inspired by” pieces (aka knockoffs).
The conclusion isn’t dissimilar from ones I’ve seen in other articles: it’s up to the purchaser to decide whether to buy licensed pieces or less expensive knockoffs. It appears that many license holders begrudgingly acknowledge that people buying knockoffs wouldn’t even consider an authentic version, and vice versa. So no big impact on their sales.
Some industry folks maintain that the difference in quality between, say, a licensed Knoll chair and the cheapie version would be enough to deter those with a good eye. But unless you shop in person, the subtleties may be lost on you. Christian Hawley at Nest says:
“The fact is that the quality isn’t the same…The whole experience, from admiring the item to sitting in it, is different. Until you experience that, it’s hard to persuade some customers the distinction is really there.”
Bottom pic from Knoll.com.