Hikitag Information

Hikitag was launched in November, 2015 by John Candillier and Cristian Stenstrom. Based in London, Paris and Miami, the company set out as its mission to help brands and consumers protect themselves against the threat of counterfeit, with a special focus on the luxury industry. Fake has become the new real, at least on the internet. For the new generation of e-shoppers, buying luxury goods from online resellers means running the risk of being sold a mere copy for the price of the original. Such is the scale of the problem that research estimates counterfeit goods cost European luxury brands EUR26bn in annual sales, of which EUR3.5bn for France and EUR4.5bn for Italy. Hikitag is a peer-to-peer authentication platform, designed to help brands outsource the fight against fakes directly to consumers. Given the exponential growth in online luxury sales, the ability to check what one is buying before committing financially is essential. So what if tomorrow, consumers could be equipped with self-check tools allowing for the remote authentication of new luxury goods sold online? Hikitag works as a digital passport for luxury goods, giving resellers the ability to substantiate their asking price and buyers the ability to verify the origin of an item before confirming their purchase. Brands cannot win the fight against counterfeit on their own. The battlefield is global and ever-more complex given physical and online fronts. Legal channels have delivered little results for a cost estimated between 1-5% of annual sales. Only via the adoption of scalable yet secure technology will brands be able to spend less while achieving more. Thankfully an army of consumers stands ready to help, once given the right weapons. For more information, please write to contact@hikitag.com.