Pursuits

To Foil Counterfeiters, Rio 2016 Makes Its Own Knockoffs

  • Rio hosting Games amid Brazil’s worst recession in decades
  • Two-tier pricing gives locals more affordable options
Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg
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At the official Rio 2016 Megastore on Copacabana Beach, a white T-shirt emblazoned with the swoopy, multi-colored logo of the Summer Olympics sells for 95 reais ($29).

A half-hour away in Rio de Janeiro’s sprawling downtown market, a nearly identical shirt sells for just 40 reais. The fabric is thinner, but it’s no knockoff -- the low-cost version also has the blessing of the official Olympic organizing committee.