South African shoppers hoping to support local sports teams and purchase high-end goods like Le Creuset should be wary of receiving counterfeit products through online marketplaces like Temu.
A MyBroadband reader recently discovered that Temu was listing products from several well-known brands, including Springbok and Blue Bulls merchandise and Le Creuset–branded cookware.
As a test, the reader purchased a Blue Bulls–branded cup, a cap with the Springboks logo on it, and a Le Creuset oval spoon rest.
MyBroadband contacted the organisations with photographs of the items, and they either confirmed that the item was fake or that their authorised resellers were not selling through Temu.
Blue Bulls chief commercial officer Stefan van der Merwe confirmed that the cup was counterfeit, saying the outdated logo was a dead giveaway.
“To the best of my knowledge, none of our licensed partners have an agreement in place with Temu,” Van der Merwe said.
SA Rugby communications chief Andy Colquhoun also confirmed that the cap was not a licensed product.
“We alert Temu whenever we see such an infringement,” Colquhoun told MyBroadband. “No official product is being made available through Temu.”
Colquhoun said that people should beware of fake websites and e-commerce platforms flooding social media that offer replica kit at discounts.
He warned that online shops selling counterfeit and knock-off goods is a clear clue that the site is fake and that customers’ money is at severe risk.
Le Creuset South Africa CEO Ben Paine said they would need to physically examine the product to provide a definitive assessment of its authenticity.
However, while he could not confirm whether the item was counterfeit from photos alone, he did state that Le Creuset does not sell its products on Temu in South Africa.
He also highlighted that the South African Police Service recently raided a freight depot in Durban, where they seized counterfeit Le Creuset products (pictured in the article thumbnail).
It should be noted that the Le Creuset spoon rest bought on Temu was incredibly convincing. Fortunately, we had access to a genuine product with which to compare it.
The spoon rest from Temu was somewhat lighter and smaller, and the print underneath the genuine product was completely different.
Temu blocks search results
After receiving feedback from SA Rugby, Le Creuset, and the Blue Bulls, MyBroadband contacted Temu for comment about merchants selling counterfeit goods on its platform.
Temu initially requested links to the individual offending listings. MyBroadband instead provided screenshots of the results when searching for “Springboks” and “Blue Bulls” on Temu.
The Chinese e-commerce platform has not provided further feedback. However, searches for “Blue Bulls”, “Springboks”, and “Le Creuset” now return no results.
Unfortunately, this fix appears to be a manual intervention, as searching for “Sharks rugby” and “Stormers rugby” still returns products misusing the teams’ logos.
It’s important to note that Temu is a marketplace allowing third-party merchants to sell their goods worldwide. It does not directly sell the items.
Other platforms offering third-party marketplaces like Amazon and Takealot have also faced challenges dealing with counterfeit goods.
However, one significant difference is that Temu provides a more direct channel from the buyer to the factories that produce the knock-off and counterfeit goods.
Counterfeit goods dangers in South Africa
While counterfeits sold through well-known marketplaces is one matter, Le Creuset’s Paine warned that scammers also use respected brands to defraud people through too-good-to-be-true deals.
Paine said scammers often create professional-looking websites that mimic the official Le Creuset site or authorised retailers.
These sites advertise massive discounts — sometimes up to 80% off. Once payment is made, customers either receive counterfeit products or nothing at all.
“Online marketplaces like Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, or even lesser-known e-commerce platforms may list Le Creuset items at suspiciously low prices,” said Paine.
“These are often counterfeit products that mimic the look but lack the quality and durability of genuine Le Creuset cookware.”
Paine said customers should always verify the seller’s reputation and reviews before making a purchase. “If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is,” he cautioned.
Search for Springboks on Temu — before and after
Search for Blue Bulls on Temu — before and after
Searches for Sharks and Stormers still active on Temu
