[InPhinity]

Remember that really lavish art deco living room set you bought? The one imported all the way from Italy? Yeah, turns out there's a good chance it wasn't actually made in Italy, and probably came from a warehouse just down the street. CCTV recently reported that Davinci, a furniture manufacturer whose products are all listed as being "Made in Italy", have in fact been producing their products in China and then sending them back to Italy, only to then import them back into the China in order to obtain an ‘import certificate’.

Davinci has 3 outlets in Shanghai, each advertising their furniture as “made of high-class pollution-free wood material…. a very rare wood found only in a small Italian town.” However, a manufacturer called Jinfenghuang in Shenzhen admitted not only to creating Davinci’s furniture, but also being explicitly told to use lower quality materials.

One customer surnamed Tang had this to say:

[I] had bought about 40 pieces of furniture from the company, valued at more than 2.8 million yuan (US$700,000). The furniture gave out a strong chemical smell, and the size of a single bed, which cost 100,000 yuan, was 30 centimeters shorter than advertised.... the company told [me] the size difference was because of "the standard difference between China and Italy.....[when she] sent the furniture to the country's furniture inspection center for tests, it found that a television set cabinet was made from high density boards instead of solid wood.
You can view this Made in Italy by way of Shenzhen furniture at three different Shanghai Davinci locations:

1. No. 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu (中山东一路3号)

2. No. 433 Yan'An Xi Lu (延安西路443号)

3. No. 1174 Huaihai Zhong Lu (淮海中路1174号)

sauce: http://shanghaiist.com/2011/07/11/re...lavish_art.php

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Shanghai investigators have said Singapore luxury furniture retailer Da Vinci deceived its customers about the origin of its products.

Local media had reported that the company's furniture was made in China, and not in Italy as claimed.

Preliminary investigations by Shanghai's Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau showed that for the first half of this year, nearly 10% of Da Vinci's so-called "imported goods" were actually made in China.

They were made in Chinese factories, exported to a logistics park, then re-imported on the same day to its warehouse in Shanghai.

Customers have been turning up at Da Vinci's flagship store in Shanghai for refunds. Many of them had paid 5- or even 6-figure sums for the furniture. But none of the products had the label "Made in China".

The Shanghai Consumer Protection committee said this amounts to deceiving customers. It planned to get Da Vinci to offer full refunds.

Customer Wang Jun said: "I bought it for the brand. But with all the controversy these few days, I don't trust it anymore. Regardless of whether it is really manufactured in Italy, I don't feel like buying it anymore."

Mr Qi, another Da Vinci customer, said: "We bought a sofa set at 450,000 renminbi (US$70,000). We'll be more careful when buying furniture in future and not buy it just because it is expensive, it also has to be right."

A Da Vinci's spokesman would not comment on whether furniture purchased a while ago can be returned and refunded.

Daisy Wu, a marketing supervisor at Da Vinci Shanghai, said: "We will offer due compensation in accordance to the country's legal regulations."

When asked what documents a customer needs to produce for a refund, she said: "Whatever documents as stipulated in the law."

sauce: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...141133/1/.html

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A Shanghai-based furniture company has defended the authenticity of the origin of its high-end products, insisting that most of the items were purely Italian-made.

The statement followed an investigative report that challenged the company's claims and the shabby quality of its luxury products.

The Da Vinci Home Corporation manufactured furniture in Guangdong Province before shipping the items to Italy and then bringing them back to China, where they were labeled as imported foreign-branded goods and sold for ten times the price of domestic brands, a report based on insider accounts by China Central Television (CCTV) revealed Sunday.

The company denied the charge but conceded Wednesday at a press conference that its products were not 100 percent Italian-made. Rather, some were manufactured by domestic contractors and do not carry false or misleading labeling, it said.

Doris Phua, Da Vinci's founder and CEO, admitted that the company uses 30 Chinese furniture-producing contractors, including Dongguan Changfeng and Golden Phoenix Furniture (International) Group in Guangdong Province, and sells their products as domestic brands.

However, her remarks fell short of satisfying enraged customers, who paid prices for furniture carrying fake foreign brands that were more than ten times higher than the average market price for domestically-produced furniture.

Phua said that all Italian-branded furniture sold in Da Vinci outlets nationwide were indeed manufactured in Italy.

"But some US furniture brands in our stores, such as Hollywood Homes and Ralph Lauren, are made in countries including China, Vietnam, India, the Philippines and Indonesia," she said.

Founded in 2000, Da Vinci Home Corporation made its name by selling top international brands such as Versace and Armani and claiming that all its products were imported items.

The company's outlets in Beijing and Guangzhou have begun accepting refund applications, reports said Wednesday.

However, stores in Shanghai are still refusing to offer refunds.

One order returned to the Guangzhou outlet was worth over two million yuan ($309,234), one of the biggest returns so far.

Sales staff revealed that most of the refund requests come from customers who have not yet received their furniture because most orders take at least four months to be delivered.

A couple from Shanghai who declined to reveal their names told the Global Times at the press conference Wednesday that they bought five pieces of Cappelletti brand furniture at the Da Vinci outlet for more than 1 million yuan in late 2009 in Shanghai.

"After hearing about this news conference, we thought it was an opportunity to ask Da Vinci's management about refunds and compensation. It's a fraud," said the man, who was unsatisfied by the company's explanation.

False claims as to the furniture's origins were not the only accusations contained in the CCTV report.

Consumers also complained about pungent smells coming from the furniture and poor quality.

The furniture featured by CCTV failed to meet national standards after it was tested by the National Center for Quality Supervision and Inspection of Furniture and Indoor Environment.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has asked its Shanghai branches to launch an investigation into Da Vinci's import and export records, according to the Beijing Times.

The administration was not available for comment Wednesday.

The Da Vinci scandal is the latest in a series of cases that have seen domestically-produced goods masquerading as high-end overseas brands.

Scient Baby formula, which was revealed to have added excessive quantities of melamine into milk power in 2009, claimed it was a US company. But no details of its registration have ever been found in the US.

Order, a flooring brand that claimed to be German, was exposed in a CCTV report as a domestic brand.

China has over 200 million luxury consumers and more than 60 percent of them purchase luxury goods at least once a year, according to statistics from the World Luxury Association (WLA).

Counterfeit items are appearing more frequently as demand for luxury goods soars, Ouyang Kun, chief representative of the WLA's China office, told the Global Times.

More government restrictions and inspections are urgently needed to regulate the market, he added.

Qiu Baochang, president of the legal panel at the China Consumers' Association, told the Global Times that the law allows consumers to ask for a full refund and additional compensation equal to the goods'retail price.

"Some homemade products become more expensive and are better received in the domestic market under the guise of fake foreign brands," Qiu said, adding that the public should show a rational attitude toward luxury goods and not blindly worship foreign brands.

He said that the authorities should intensify supervision and market-entry management.

sauce: http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid...ure-fraud.aspx

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Since national broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) aired a report alleging that "Made in Italy" products sold at luxury furniture retailer DaVinci are actually made in China, the company, which retails such top brands as Armani Casa, Fendi Casa and Versace Home, has become a target of national scorn.

Yesterday, DaVinci's Singaporean founder and CEO Doris Phua, hosted a press conference in Beijing that was simulcasted to Shanghai and other key cities in China where the retailer has a presence.

Despite being backed by about 20 representatives of Italian and American brands, some of whom took the microphone to assure the media that DaVinci is selling their original products, Phua failed to clear the air of doubt that now casts a shadow on her company's future.

Phua's only message at the press conference was a plea for the public to believe her claims that all products labelled "Made in Italy" are actually made in Italy, and for "another opportunity to serve". While the company had worked with the Jinfenghuang and Changfeng factories in Guangdong Province mentioned in the CCTV report, those products were for a Chinese brand that no longer existed, and neither was the furniture sold in DaVinci, said Phua.

The event was interrupted by an angry customer who claimed that he had bought over 10 million RMB worth of furniture from DaVinci, and just wanted to know if he should believe the CCTV report or DaVinci. When Phua refused to take his question, asking to finish her statement, the customer walked out in a fit, and the event quickly went downhill from there.

By the end of the media conference, Phua was an emotional wreck, making a quick exit from the venue before any of the journalists could ask questions, and leaving the presser in chaos.

The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau has since issued a statement saying it found DaVinci had gone through customs procedures for some China-made furniture which stayed at the Waigaoqiao Bonded Zone for a day, and then became "imported" the next day.

sauce: http://shanghaiist.com/2011/07/14/da...conference.php

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[gundamz]

who knows?

definitely cheaper to make in china

[dqwong]

For the first time:
Sinkie 1 AT 0

[lax]

dqwong wrote:

For the first time:
Sinkie 1 AT 0

近朱者赤，近墨者黑, that is the result of Sinkie land being invaded by Alpha Tangos all the bad habits we are learning. Grand Emperor should be happy that we are now as innovative and hungry as the Alpha Tangos.

[Shutterx]

china guy said he bought US$70,000 sofa...

doesnt it sounds like deceiving customers into paying high price?

[jazdrive]

Even though they pwned the tiongs, Davinci is an international disgrace now.

[Smartypants]

Now then they noe 达文西 is made in China ?

[widman01]

Sinkie 1 AT 0

[InPhinity]

[widman01]

once again, should give DR Doris Phua enterpreneur of the year...


scamming china for so long.....

[jazdrive]

Boss of the company so sad..

[cannotliao]

also can be Made In Italy by FT China Workers?

[commie_rick]

Shutterx wrote:

china guy said he bought US$70,000 sofa...

doesnt it sounds like deceiving customers into paying high price?

da guy is very lich !

[widman01]

http://www1.szdaily.com/content/2011...nt_5845138.htm

Quote:

A TEARFUL but unrepentant Doris Phua on Wednesday begged the media and consumers to give her luxury furniture chain Da Vinci another chance saying the company had acted honorably.

Da Vinci is under investigation for allegedly selling fake imported goods.

Customs investigators demanded the company show import and export certificates following allegations it passed off furniture made in Guangdong as being made in Italy. The company has outlets in six cities.

An initial investigation by the Shanghai Entry-Exit Quarantine Inspection Bureau found 11 shipments of Chinese-made goods by Da Vinci had been moved into bonded areas of the port then brought back into the country, China Central Television reported Wednesday night.

As the goods had gone through export procedures, they had technically been re-imported into China. The investigation was sparked by a CCTV program Sunday that claimed Da Vinci had been shipping furniture made by Changfeng Furniture in Dongguan to Italy, then re-importing it to China and declaring it had been made overseas.

The scandal provoked strong reaction from wealthy consumers because of the company’s popularity with those who flaunt their wealth.

The Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau conducted quality tests on the company’s products, with the results due in a few days.

Da Vinci mainly sells gaudy, ornate Italian-style furniture favored by the nouveau riche, and at prices only they can afford. Media reports said that a number of high-priced items were not clearly labeled and sales staff were often unable or unwilling to provide details.

At a press conference in Beijing and simultaneously broadcast to conference rooms in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chong-qing, Chengdu and Shenzhen, Da Vinci chief executive Phua was backed by 20 representatives of Italian and American brands to reject CCTV’s accusations.

The Singaporean businesswoman initially read out a short statement, followed by comments from three of the Italian manufacturers.

However, when an angry customer interrupted to voice his frustration, she launched into an emotional and rambling 35-minute speech, during which she repeatedly broke down in tears.

“I can assure you as Da Vinci CEO, I will address each and every one of this customer’s suspicions,” she said, but refused to take questions directly from journalists.

Phua admitted she had been naive in her dealings with Changfeng, which she had authorized to produce a line of European-style furniture in Shenzhen and Dongguan from 2002, but insisted they had all been clearly labeled as being made in China.

Cappelletti chief Tino Cappelletti said his company had never used components from outside Italy. (SD-Agencies)

[Mzeria]

so that stretch of luxury furniture shops selling cerruti natuzi at orchard road are also tionged one?