During an event in China where Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A8s with an in-hole camera display, the company also announced that it is partnering with iconic fashion brand Supreme. This was followed by two Supreme executives coming to stage and highlighting how the company coming to China was a big deal. But as it turns out, Samsung has partnered with a company that sells fake Supreme products under the same moniker.

Instead of partnering with the iconic NYC-based Supreme, Samsung has partnered with Supreme Italia. The Italian company has the same logo as the original Supreme and manages to get away with it since it has its trademarks registered in Italy. The company plans on opening a seven-story flagship store in Beijing and also hold a runway show at the Mercedes-Benz Cultural Center in 2019.

Since the announcement, Samsung has been heavily criticized for its collaboration with a knock-off brand. The original NYC-based Supreme has also been quick to clear the matter and clarify that it is not entering the Chinese market anytime.

Supreme is not working with Samsung, opening a flagship location in Beijing or participating in a Mercedes-Benz runway show. These claims are blatantly false and propagated by a counterfeit organization.

Despite the criticism, Samsung intends to continue working with Supreme Italia, with the company’s digital marketing manager for China confirming that Samsung has indeed partnered with Supreme Italia.

Supreme NYC has no sales and marketing authorization in China, but Supreme Italia has obtained product sales and market authorizations in the Asia Pacific region (except Japan).

Given the stature and size of a company like Samsung, it is definitely odd to see it collaborate with a knock-off brand which will end up tarnishing its own brand image. And rightfully so, this move has also led the company to receive a barrage of criticism from its supporters and fans.