Introduction: Counterfeiting is considered as the crime of the 21st century. A highly affected market of counterfeits is the market of luxury branded goods. These goods are bought by consumers who want to express their social class and belonging by being admired, recognized and accepted by other people. The counterfeits of luxury brands that flourish on the market makes it possible for anyone to be a luxury brand user which is against the core of luxury brand, which strives for a low distribution to keep the demand high to be able to keep the consumer associations of luxury brands.   Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to create knowledge of how counterfeit products affect the consumer perception of luxury brands. Methodology: The research approach was a deductive, quantitative research and the data was collected through a questionnaire distributed through Facebook and the internal e-mail of the Linnaeus University. The sample frame was generation Y in Sweden. A total of 432 completed questionnaires were collected and was the foundation for the analysis and result.   Conclusion: The consumers' perception of counterfeit products have a negative effect on the consumer perception of luxury brands. Both the consumer's brand associations and how consumers perceive the quality of luxury brands are affected by counterfeit products. However, what the consequences are of this negative relationship cannot be answered by the result of this thesis.

Purchasing counterfeited luxury products and downloading pirated items have becomemore common nowadays. Fashion and IT industries are affected negatively by consumers’supportive attitude towards piracy and counterfeits. Many luxury branded companies havetheir exclusive brand names stolen by counterfeits producers. Likewise producers ofcomputer software, music, and movies are affected by individuals who download/streamtheir items for free. Consumers’ attitudes towards counterfeiting and piracy are importantto examine as to understand their acceptance and rejection towards counterfeits and piracy.The purpose of this thesis is to examine consumers’ attitudes towards counterfeits andpiracy. What is accepted and rejected by consumers? To answer the research questions, aqualitative method is used. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews with12 consumers of both/either counterfeits and piracy. The study is performed in Skåne(Scania), Sweden, mainly in Malmö, Perstorp and Kristianstad.We implemented the Theory of Reasoned Action, Theory of Moral Reasoning, ConsumerTheory and different attitudes for analysing the empirical presentation. The result of thestudy showed that the interviewees had a more accepting attitude towards piracy while themajority of them had a rejecting attitude towards counterfeits. Due to the fact thatcomputer and IT have become a part of the everyday life for many individuals. However,the interviewees who buy counterfeits consume the items while they are on vacationabroad since the supply of counterfeits in the Swedish market is not very big. When itcame to piracy and counterfeited products, the age of the interviewees did matter to someextent. Also, price was one important element why consumers are interested in counterfeitsor download piracy.This study contributes to fill the gap in the lack of studies of consumers’ attitudes towardsboth piracy and counterfeits. The conclusions can be used as a guideline and tool forcompanies to be aware of consumers’ attitudes towards illicit products. Keywords: Counterfeit products, Piracy, Consumer attitude, Physical products, Digitalproducts, Luxury brands, Genuine luxury brand, Illicit forged products

Denna studie utforskar faktorer som påverkar Svenska konsumenters beslutsfattande vid konsumtion av plagiatprodukter. Förfalskade produkter är imitationer av populära märken som erbjuds till betydligt lägre priser än originalprodukterna. Syftet med studien var att få en djupare förståelse för de faktorer som påverkar konsumenternas beslut att välja förfalskade produkter. Forskarna använde sig av en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och genomförde intervjuer med nio respondenter i åldern 21-27 år. Alla deltagare var svenska medborgare och bosatta i Sverige. Genom tematisk analys undersöktes och analyserades den insamlade datan för att identifiera faktorer som påverkar konsumenternas val av plagiatprodukter. Resultaten av studien identifierade fem huvudsakliga faktorer som påverkade konsumenternas val av plagiatprodukter: pris, kvalitet , sociala aspekter, etiska och tillgänglighet. Pris var den mest framkommande faktor och var den främsta drivkraften bakom beslutsfattandet. Alla respondenter valde plagiatprodukter på grund av det betydligt lägre priset jämfört med äkta lyxvaror. Sammanfattningsvis visar denna studie att priset, kvaliteten och sociala faktorer spelar en viktig roll i konsumenternas val av plagiatprodukter istället för äkta lyxvaror i Sverige. Medan faktorer som etik och tillgänglighet spelade en mindre betydelsefull roll i köpbeteendet. Det lägre priset är den främsta anledningen till att många konsumenter väljer plagiatprodukter, medan vissa även tar hänsyn till kvaliteten och de sociala aspekterna i sitt beslutsfattande. Studien visade också hur svenska konsumenter har mer gemensamt med västländer vad gäller faktorer än östländer. Denna forskning ger insikt i konsumentbeteendet kring plagiatprodukter och kan vara användbar för företag och marknadsförare som vill förstå och nå denna specifika målgrupp. / This study explores factors that influence Swedish consumers' decision-making when consuming plagiarized products. Counterfeit products are imitations of popular brands offered at significantly lower prices than the original products. The purpose of the study was to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that influence consumers' decisions to choose counterfeit products. The researchers used a qualitative research method and conducted interviews with nine respondents aged 21-27. All participants were Swedish citizens and resident in Sweden. Through thematic analysis, the collected data was examined and analyzed to identify factors that influence consumers' choice of plagiarized products. The study's findings identified five main factors influencing consumers' choices of counterfeit products: price, quality, social aspects, ethical and availability. Price was a factor mentioned in all cases and was the primary driving force behind the decision-making process. All respondents opted for counterfeit products due to their significantly lower prices compared to authentic luxury goods. In summary, this study demonstrates that price, quality, and social factors play significant roles in consumers' choices of counterfeit products instead of authentic luxury goods in Sweden. While factors such as ethical and availability played a lesser significant role in the purchasing behaviour. The lower price is the primary reason why many consumers opt for counterfeit products, while some also consider the quality and social aspects in their decision- making process. The study also learned that Swedish consumers have more in common with western countries in terms of factors than eastern countries This research provides insights into consumer behavior regarding counterfeit products and can be valuable for companies and marketers seeking to understand and reach this specific target audience.