Deceptively genuine online store How a fake "Mode Weber" lures customers into a trap
A website claiming to belong to the renowned eastern Swiss fashion house Mode Weber is actually selling cheap goods from China. The operator uses the risk of confusion to deceive customers.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- A website called "weber-mode.ch" uses the similarity to the well-known eastern Swiss fashion store Mode Weber to mislead customers.
- The Lucerne-based operator buys cheap goods via platforms such as Temu and sells them on at significantly higher prices.
- Customers complain about poor quality and long delivery times.
- The operators operate in a legal gray area and make it difficult to enforce claims.
Mode Weber - a name that stands for quality in Eastern Switzerland. The fashion store operates branches in St. Gallen, Rapperswil and Wil as well as an online store at "modeweber.ch". But if you google the fashion store, you will recently come across a second store: "weber-mode.ch".
At first glance, the store appears to be reputable and offers supposed bargains - but the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reports that it hides a perfidious deception. A glance at the legal notice reveals the true origin: it is not Mode Weber that is behind the site, but the company Shoppingroom Etemi from Willisau in the canton of Lucerne.
This company operates a dropshipping store that sources goods directly from China and sells them at significantly higher prices. A polo shirt that is offered on "weber-mode.ch" for just under 45 francs costs only around 9 francs on Temu. This means that the operator of the shopping room benefits from a hefty margin.
Ordering from China instead of St. Gallen
"The stores are connected directly to low-cost providers such as Temu or Shein via a kind of interface," explains Marc Joss, head of the Swiss clothing retailer Switcher. "The customer actually orders there and not from the shopping room in Willisau."
In order to be successful, the operators give their stores names that are reminiscent of well-known brands - as in the case of the fake "Mode Weber". This makes unsuspecting customers think they have found a bargain from a trustworthy supplier.
Complaints end up with the real Mode Weber
Because of course, according to Joss, no one would buy a T-shirt if the online store was called Shoppingroom Etemi.
"And so, to put it simply, the grandma from St. Gallen thinks she's got a bargain," says Joss. This is followed by disillusionment: disgruntled customers complain about the poor quality of the goods and the long delivery times - complaints that often end up with the real Mode Weber.
Initially, those affected reported that the goods from China were often not delivered at all, but this has since changed. Warnings are also piling up on platforms such as Facebook and the Foundation for Consumer Protection.
Site operators are also exposed to risks
However, the references to paying by Twint and the allegedly fake positive reviews on the customer portal Trustpilot led people to trust the fake site, says Lukas Weber, part of the management team at Mode Weber.
Mode Weber is in contact with the authorities, but: "There is almost nothing we can do in terms of trademark law." The company has also found that the issue is not a top priority for the authorities.
The stores cleverly operate in a legal gray area and make it difficult for the fashion house to take effective action against them. This exposes not only customers but also the operators of the site to risks.
Final price must be clearly visible
As an aggrieved company, you definitely have options to take action against such competitors, explains Martin Steiger, lawyer and expert in IT law, to the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper :"For example, if a new online store uses a domain name that is confusingly similar to your own, you can send them a warning letter and, if that doesn't work, you can take them to court."
An important regulation for Swiss online retailers is the Price Disclosure Ordinance. It ensures that the final price is clearly visible to customers during the payment process.
According to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, foreign retailers must also indicate import costs and at least roughly quantify them. Unannounced fees for customs duties and VAT are therefore not permitted.
Website shows fictitious team
The law against unfair competition also plays a role. It applies if a company makes misleading statements, for example if the impression is created that the company is based in Switzerland or that shipping is carried out from there, although this is not the case.
There are indications that the operator of the Etemi shopping room from Willisau LU also runs other stores such as "berger-luzern.ch". Although the real owner is not named in the legal notice, the products on offer are almost identical.
Particularly brazen: The site even presents a supposed team wearing T-shirts with the store's name. However, a quick image search shows that these people also appear online in completely different contexts.
Young man from central Switzerland runs the company
But who is actually behind the company from Willisau? A young man from central Switzerland is registered. What does he have to say about the business model of the fake Mode Weber store? He has not responded to written and telephone inquiries from the "Tages-Anzeiger".
Many young people believe they can get rich quickly with dropshipping, as an online store can be set up quickly with platforms such as Shopify and the support of AI.
"Legally, however, they can quickly fall flat on their faces, and that can cost a lot," warns lawyer and IT law expert Martin Steiger. For Mode Weber, the problem remains for the time being.
