It is the Portuguese company with the most models and one of the most prominent internationally. Since 2003, 4 400 different products (or models) involving all sectors of activity (from footwear to lighting, from textiles to furniture) have been registered with the main European harmonisation body, OHIM. Of these, around 25% of the total, the equivalent of 1015 comes from just one company: Atlanta Footwear components. However, being innovative has its costs.
“We have always tried to be a highly innovative company, both in terms of using the most modern technologies and in developing new collages. For this reason, we have been registering all our soles for several years now. And it is imperative that we do so because many of our models are copied”, underlined Joana Meireles. The head of Atlanta regrets that “the Portuguese authorities do not act more swiftly” and even gives an example: “at the end of 2009, we detected a case of counterfeiting in Spain and another in Portugal. In Spain, in less than two weeks, the products were removed from their points of sale. In Portugal, the situation has been dragging on for 14 months, and despite all the requests we made to ASAE, the competent authorities are only now beginning the investigation process. In a fashion sector, where collections are constantly changing, this late response is incomprehensible”, Joana Meireles stressed.
At the moment, Atlanta has cases underway in five different countries. Apart from Spain and Portugal, Atlanta’s soles have been copied in countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. “That’s the price of being innovative,” she said, lamenting that these are “very complicated and time-consuming” processes.
Over the past five years, Atlanta has increased turnover 25% to €5 million and the number of employees 37% to 55. Meanwhile, a new pavilion is being developed, extending the offer to new prefabricated products (Atlanta already produced soles in TR, rubber, TPU, PU, among others). “One of Atlanta’s great assets is the possibility of approaching a very wide range of clients, from big reputable brands to high-volume clients such as the Inditex Group,” he revealed.
Source: APICCAPS Newspaper, No. 173
“We have always tried to be a highly innovative company, both in terms of using the most modern technologies and in developing new collages. For this reason, we have been registering all our soles for several years now. And it is imperative that we do so because many of our models are copied”, underlined Joana Meireles. The head of Atlanta regrets that “the Portuguese authorities do not act more swiftly” and even gives an example: “at the end of 2009, we detected a case of counterfeiting in Spain and another in Portugal. In Spain, in less than two weeks, the products were removed from their points of sale. In Portugal, the situation has been dragging on for 14 months, and despite all the requests we made to ASAE, the competent authorities are only now beginning the investigation process. In a fashion sector, where collections are constantly changing, this late response is incomprehensible”, Joana Meireles stressed.
At the moment, Atlanta has cases underway in five different countries. Apart from Spain and Portugal, Atlanta’s soles have been copied in countries such as Germany, France and the Netherlands. “That’s the price of being innovative,” she said, lamenting that these are “very complicated and time-consuming” processes.
Over the past five years, Atlanta has increased turnover 25% to €5 million and the number of employees 37% to 55. Meanwhile, a new pavilion is being developed, extending the offer to new prefabricated products (Atlanta already produced soles in TR, rubber, TPU, PU, among others). “One of Atlanta’s great assets is the possibility of approaching a very wide range of clients, from big reputable brands to high-volume clients such as the Inditex Group,” he revealed.
Source: APICCAPS Newspaper, No. 173