The parallel market or gray market (grey market) corresponds to the trade of a commodity by legal distribution channels but not certified, nor authorized by the original manufacturer. These sites flourish on the canvas without label or verification, undermining the reputation of companies since they taint the confidence of Internet users towards their brands and brands. Pascal Baisnée, CERTILANE CEO, patented cyber prevention solution, book his analysis to combat the growing risk of the parallel market.
On the cosmetics and perfumery market for example, Distributors like Sephora or Marionnaud are sold in online and offline and free to set their price according to different criteria. Les pure-players, as far as they are concerned, have more flexibility, And this is particularly why a multitude of resellers are born every day and offer very varied products at broken prices. These actors also have a strong impact on traditional distributors who must constantly try to align themselves in terms of pricing despite their higher fixed costs. Brands must therefore choose their distribution strategy so as not to see their scored brand image, Make the right choices in approved resellers and maintain good relationships with the right distributors.
The gray market, scourge of brands
Some markets are more victims of the gray market than others. Perfumery and cosmetics are regularly victims of this parallel market and brands pay the price. But why is this gray market so harmful for this sector ? Often characterized by old products and sub-stucks, The latter offers consumers of products certainly at attractive prices, But whose quality is not up to the brands present on the market. Indeed, after too much time, the fragrance as the colors are deteriorating. A great loss for the consumer, money and time looking for this best price without the guaranteed quality, But also and above all for the brand which loses its credibility and its reputation. Lately, Beauty Success notably alerted the brands sold to its platform for their unwanted presence on many European sites without approval like Primor, Wood ou ditano.
Watchmaking and video games on the front line
Another sector is embarking on a fight against the parallel market : watchmaking. Retailers mainly benefit from exchange rate differences, especially in Asia, By offering products on these parallel markets at reduced prices. So resellers will lower prices to attract consumers, which induces an important shortfall for watchmaking brands. In 2019, One of the market leaders, Swatch, announced its intransigence towards the gray market by alerting its unfair practices and the danger that it can degrade the image and the health of companies. Finally, The Gray Market is a real black beast for the video game market. Many non -approved sites break the prices. Who does not want to take advantage of a reduction of 30 euros on the latest fashionable game ? It is a real scourge for many distributors recognized in this sector : Amazon, Fnac, Steam, or GamePlanet. Furthermore, Some sites allow Internet users to publish gaming resale offers by creating their account but endanger consumers who have exposed their data without site verification and are therefore prey to cyber attacks. Resellers from the gray market do not supply themselves with publishers but use diverted methods to sell games. On his side, The consumer may end up with unusable video games and dangerously exposes his data. Here again, The reputation of brands can be marred by such practices.
Solutions Web authentication
In order to install confidence between brands, Distributors and consumers, It is essential to find solutions and associate with trusted third parties to authenticate your site. for example, If the brand chooses to adopt a certification label, She has a guarantee of quality, especially on its distribution channels by approving their list of distributors in a readable manner for the Internet user. This to gain transparency between the actors and lead to a snowball effect on the Internet. The more brands will turn to this type of solution, The more the players in the chain will be interested in it and gradually the parallel market will face a massive authentication of merchant sites and it will therefore be easy to detect the resellers of the gray market of "officials". This is a good way here, Distributor's side, to enhance your marketplace by providing a guarantee of trust and security to Internet users.
Certilane to distinguish the true from the false
Patented solution (Europe, US, China) effective authentication to combat the growing risks of phishing and internet scams, The Certilane application makes it possible to distinguish the true from the false in one click, instantly, Anonymous and completely safe. A quick gesture which reassures by certifying the authenticity of sites which have subscribed and which have the Cyber Protector Robin by Certilane. It is to bring confidence between brands, Authorized and consumer distributors, but also to preserve the reputation of companies, that tools like Certilane have been developed. This solution will not stop the deployment of pure players from the Gray Market, But the image of brands will be preserved.
