The famous cigarette brand « Good Look » victim of counterfeit

During a press conference held on Friday, July 30, the Customs General Manager, Vola Razafindramiandra, informed that a large quantity of fake Good Look cigarettes was seized by customs officers last week in Toamasina. Indeed, 217 cigarette boxes have unnoticeably passed the customs control operations after being declared as boxes containing sandals from China. However, after being excavated, the 217 declared sandal boxes, in reality, contained 10850 cartons of fake Good Look cigarettes imported directly from China, the world’s leader in the production of counterfeit goods.    

Investigations revealed that these fake Good Look cigarettes, very similar to the authentic ones, are supposed to be sold at 18000 Ariary per carton, while the authentic brand is currently sold at 18800 Ariary. Being cheaper than the authentic brand, the fake Good Look cigarettes, once commercialized, might appeal to a very large range of Malagasy customers whose main concern when buying things is usually the price not the quality. According to statistics, Good Look is the most consumed cigarette brand in Madagascar during the last 15 years. It occupies 70% of the total production of its producing company, the Imperial Tobacco. Customs officials said during the press conference that the fake cigarette boxes seized in Toamasina will all be burned, and that strong measures will be taken concerning the customs control operations.