"It's not perfect quality, but it's almost 100 euros less," explains Jaime (25 years old). When it comes to quality, the materials are not comparable, but this consumer does not deny the great resemblance that his pair of Adidas sneakers, purchased on Hacoo for 22 euros, have with the original brand and its selling price of 120 euros.
The popularity of this application (among the 15 most downloaded apps on the Google Play Store in Spain during the last week) is once again based on social media dissemination. X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, and especially TikTok, have worked wonders among consumers: thousands of accounts have shared hauls (videos where a buyer shows their latest acquisitions) of products that imitate big brands, but at a much lower cost.
"I bought a mini Tous bag," explains Sara (24 years old). "The original price was 90 euros, but on Hacoo, I found it for 24, saving 66 euros. And for that price difference, it's definitely worth it."
Using this application is much like a treasure hunt game. For example, when a user accesses the marketplace, they only find clothing, bags, shoes, among other products, without major distinctions. If they search for a specific brand, they won't find it.
To do so, they must resort to the links shared on social media, leading the user to the image of the product from the brand with visible defects that alter the brand's distinctive features (such as an incomplete logo) and a lower price. The user does not see the final product. "Content creators have created Telegram groups where they share all kinds of product links. And once you add it to the cart, the app works like any other online shopping app, with secure payment processes, confirmation emails, and even order information sent via WhatsApp," explains Jaime.
"They are avoiding being pursued," says Laura Montoya, a lawyer specialized in industrial property, intellectual property, and new technologies at the specialized firm ABG Intellectual Property, when assessing this complicated bargain hunt through other channels, "the word of mouth that was done before is now through social media."
Because, as some may wonder, is it legal?
On one hand, Hacoo is a sales platform, not the direct seller, as they themselves warn in the Terms of Use section where they state that they have no control over sites operated by third parties and links.
Another issue is the products being sold: "They are counterfeits, and commercializing a counterfeit product can be both a criminal offense and a civil infringement," explains Montoya, noting that brands typically resort to criminal action.
What can companies do about it? "In this case, if they are outside of Spain, it would be difficult to initiate criminal legal actions against them because you have to go through judicial mechanisms, such as requesting the court to contact the courts in the country in question, such as China or the United Kingdom," explains Montoya.
In other words, location plays a key role in initiating claims against, in this case, Hacoo. The affected firm, if it has factories or headquarters in China, can try to take legal action against them within the same country.
However (beyond the treasure map of bargains), Hacoo is not without mysteries: no one knows where it is located, not even the popular faces on social media who collaborate with this platform and advertise its products.
"They contact you via email and tell you their conditions. And they give you a mobile number to contact them via WhatsApp," explains one of the (many) content creators collaborating with Hacoo. This young woman, who prefers not to give her name, explains in a call with EL MUNDO that the person in charge of these collaborations is a Chinese girl named May: "She contacts you as campaigns come up. Once a month." Through these affiliate accounts, collaborators have access to products (both from the Hacoo brand and imitations) as well as links to advertise the products. "I have a Telegram group with about 8,500 people. I share the links there," explains this Hacoo collaborator, who mentions that, in addition to receiving clothing for personal use from the Hacoo brand, "you get a 5% commission per sale, which is profitable because the work you are doing is minimal."
But she herself doesn't know who pays her: "I have no idea who they are. It used to be Saramart [another platform for buying and selling products], but it was banned from TikTok. In fact, when the products arrive, you receive guidelines to follow when making the videos, and one of them is that you can't mention the old brand, Saramart, because it's prohibited."
In this sense, brands also can't do much: "They can file a complaint with TikTok, Instagram..., for infringement of industrial property rights. And warn that infringing and advertising infringing products on this platform. It's not clear that content creators are infringing, but they are contributing in some way," explains Montoya. And in the case of consumers, they are not breaking Spanish law when they purchase imitations.
"More and more people, especially young people, are using it," explains Jaime, noting the high presence of Hacoo on social media. "In my case, it was footwear, but on the app, you can buy everything from coats, jewelry, watches, handbags... and the product quality is amazing. Why spend 200 or 300 euros on a North Face coat when you can get it on Hacoo, equally high quality, for 40 euros?" he reflects.
"The economic impact of Hacoo on affected firms is difficult to quantify precisely. The companies affected by the sale of counterfeit products on Hacoo vary greatly in size and sectors, from large multinational corporations to small businesses," state the Association for the Defense of the Brand (Andema), representing nearly 100 companies in Spain. "We should not only focus on the economic impact of counterfeits for firms, such as loss of sales, but also on other damages they suffer, such as damage to the brand's reputation or the legal costs associated with fighting counterfeiting."
In line with this reputational damage, Adidas (one of the affected brands) tells EL MUNDO that they collaborate "closely with the relevant authorities to systematically pursue brand infringements." Other firms consulted, in this case Spanish ones like BimbayLola, choose not to comment on the matter.
Sources from the Economic Crimes Group of the Civil Guard insist that measures are being taken in this regard, but their impact is, once again, difficult to quantify.
Andema recalls the role of the Digital Services Act (DSA), European legislation that came into force in November 2022 to create secure digital environments. "The DSA imposes on online platforms, such as Hacoo, the obligation to act diligently to remove illicit content, including counterfeit products. Thanks to the DSA, Hacoo could face economic sanctions if it fails to meet its obligations regarding counterfeiting prevention," they warn.
The latest data from the Ministry of the Interior, based on the latest activity in 2023, estimate that in Spain, more than 3.6 million counterfeit products were seized, which could have reached an estimated market value of 149 million euros. The previous year, in 2022, over 2.6 million counterfeit products were seized, this time valued at 121 million euros. This situation reflects, according to Andema, "an upward trend in the volume of seized counterfeits and their economic value," noting that "these figures represent a minimum, as many counterfeits are never detected or intercepted before being purchased by consumers."