International Journal of Marketing Studies; Vol. 5, No. 2; 2013 ISSN 1918-719X E-ISSN 1918-7203 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 23 Consumer Intention to Buy Original Brands versus Counterfeits Ervina Triandewi 1 & Fandy Tjiptono 1 1 Faculty of Economics, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Correspondence: Fandy Tjiptono, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Tel: 62-274-487-711. E-mail: fandy.tjiptono@gmail.com Received: November 30, 2012 Accepted: January 21, 2013 Online Published: February 28, 2013 doi:10.5539/ijms.v5n2p23 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijms.v5n2p23 Abstract The present study addresses the issue of consumer intention to buy original brands and their counterfeits in the Indonesian fashion product market. Specifically, it examines the impact of past purchases (of original brands and their counterfeits), consumer attitudes (toward the economic benefits of counterfeit purchase and hedonic benefits of counterfeit purchase), and personal characteristics (i.e. self-image, materialism, and perceived future social status) on consumer intention to purchase original luxurious fashion brands and their counterfeits. Based on a preliminary study, five brands in five different fashion product items were selected and used for the study. About 170 females aged between 15 and 50 years old living in Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) province participated and filled in the self-administered questionnaires for the current survey. Multiple regression analyses were employed to test the research hypotheses. The results indicated that past purchases and personal characteristics were significant predictors of consumer intention to buy counterfeits, while consumer attitudes toward the hedonic benefits of counterfeit purchase were not related to the dependent variable. Most antecedents (except materialism and self-image) had significant influences on purchase intention of original brands. Meanwhile, consumer intention to buy counterfeits and consumer intention to purchase original brands have positive reciprocal influences. The main findings suggest that Indonesian consumers are simply willing to buy both originals and counterfeits. It seems that consumer affordability is a real issue to be solved. However, further studies with bigger sample sizes and broader geographical scopes are needed to clarify these findings. Keywords: counterfeit luxury brands, original luxury brands, fashion products 1. Introduction Counterfeits have been growing globally. According to one report, counterfeit products are accounted for about 5-7 per cent of world trade with an estimated value of US$600 billion a year (www.icc-ccs.org, accessed on September 7, 2011). Gentry, Putrevu, and Shultz (2006) noted that many luxury brands have reported a devaluation of brand equity as a result of rampant counterfeiting activities. It is not surprising since the more successful and popular a brand name, the more likely it will have counterfeits (Nia & Zaichkowsky, 2000). In the fashion industry, for example, counterfeit goods can be found in a number of product items, such as clothing, leather goods, shoes, watches, and jewelry products (Yoo & Lee, 2009). Asia and South America have been suggested as the largest sources for counterfeit and pirated products (Ritson, 2007). Counterfeiting of popular brands is a serious problem worldwide. Indonesia is no exception. A report suggests that international investors were hesitant to invest in the Indonesian clothing industry because the level of piracy in the market was considered as high (Ekawati, 2010). Counterfeit and pirated products caused Indonesia to sustain a loss of more than Rp 2 trillion (US$212 million) in 2002, and Rp 43.2 trillion in 2011 (Febrina, 2006; www.thejakartapost.com, accessed on December 12, 2012). Penz and Stöttinger (2005) argued that while most of studies have emphasized on investigating the reasons why manufacturers committed counterfeiting (the supply side of counterfeiting), few studies have examined the factors causing consumers to buy pirated and original brands (the demand side of counterfeiting). One of the few studies is Yoo and Lee (2009) who investigated the antecedents of consumer buying intention of original brands and their counterfeits in South Korea. The present study aims to replicate with some modifications Yoo and Lee’s study (2009) in the Indonesian fashion market context. Indonesia is a logical choice for examining original and pirated brand purchases. It is the fourth most populated country (with about 237 million people in 2010) and one