Man arrested for making and selling 200,000 counterfeit Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo socks

By Pham Du May 31, 2025 | 03:00 pm PT

A man in Hanoi manufactured and sold 200,000 counterfeit socks bearing the Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo brands, wholesaling them for VND4,500–5,000 (US$0.18–0.20) per pair.

Hanoi's Economic Police Department announced the prosecution of 51-year-old Nguyen Van Thien on Friday for violating industrial property rights.

Fake Adidas socks. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Fake Adidas socks produced by Nguyen Van Thien. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

The investigation revealed that Thien started a sock manufacturing and trading business in 2015 in Quoc Oai District. Initially, he produced socks for various companies and sold them under his own "Thien Duong" brand.

In 2018, noticing high demand for socks featuring logos like Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo, Thien began producing counterfeit versions.

He purchased knitting machines and instructed the suppliers to pre-install the Nike, Adidas, and Uniqlo logos into the machines’ software. He also obtained labels and tags from unregulated producers and employed four workers to operate the machines and handle packaging.

During a raid on Jan. 4, authorities seized 3,450 pairs of Adidas-branded socks, 14,400 pairs with the Nike logo, 2,100 pairs marked with Uniqlo, and 1,500 loose socks featuring the Nike swoosh. Additionally, over 10 machines, 200 heat-molding frames, and nearly 70 kg of labels were confiscated.

Machines used to produce fake branded socks. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Machines used to produce fake branded socks by Nguyen Van Thien at a facility in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Investigators found that since 2022, Thien had produced and distributed around 200,000 counterfeit pairs of socks, with a total estimated market value exceeding VND240 million (US$9,400).

The counterfeit socks were primarily sold wholesale through e-commerce platforms, social media, and suburban markets, at 25% profit.