1997
REACT UK created – the main aim of the company was to share intelligence amongst all Law Enforcement agencies in the UK.
2001
Tony Williams (CEO) joined REACT UK with specific responsibility to develop Business operations and the Brand Protection services.
2009
REACT UK became the official UK partner of the React Network, managing all UK Law Enforcement enquiries, on behalf of Clients.
2014
Stephanie Jackson (Director) joined REACT UK, with experience of former Brand Protection Manager of Cath Kidston.
Today
REACT UK celebrating 24 years and over 100 Clients.
Launched in 1997, React UK is an independent company with over 20 year’s experience specialising in the anti-counterfeiting industry. We aim to provide bespoke services for brands and offer both support and protection by working with official law enforcement agencies to collect evidence of counterfeiting and share the intelligence accordingly. Although React UK lacks the legal powers of such accredited bodies, Trading Standards cannot proceed with a criminal case without the influence and support we provide on behalf of our clients.
React UK recognises that a lot of the brands we work with are situated overseas and therefore need a contact in the UK that they can rely on. In this respect, we hope to become the #1 contact for UK brands where anti-counterfeiting and brand protection is concerned and act as the middleman for a niche and specialist industry that relies heavily on the experience and knowledge of a qualified team.
Since 2009, React UK has worked in partnership with the React Network in order to fight the good fight against counterfeit goods and services. Although we were born through the international React.org service and have a strong-standing affiliation with them, we remain an independent company working on behalf of both UK and Ireland clients in our own right and React UK is considered to be the biggest and longest-standing anti-counterfeiting service in the UK. To put it candidly, there is nobody quite like us operating on UK soil. Like many of our clients, React UK are also proud members of the Anti-Counterfeiting Group (ACG) which holds annual training events for educational development and allows for collaboration to be undertaken with all the members.
We work closely with law enforcement agencies like Customs, Trading Standards, Border Control Forces and the Police as part of our commitment to tackling the manufacturing, importation, supply and sale of counterfeit goods across the country. React UK employs a number of adept services as part of this quality assurance such as brand protection, investigations, training and law enforcement support.
Director
Before joining REACT UK, I worked as a Trading Standards Officer in the North West of England for 21 years. During my time, I caried out many investigations, into the supply and manufacture of counterfeit goods. I also took one of the first successful confiscation cases under the Proceeds of Crime Act and was recognized for this work in 1996 by receiving the ‘Individual Excellence in the field of Anti-Counterfeiting’ award, from the ACG (Anti-Counterfeiting Group).
In June 2001, I joined REACT UK as the Director of UK Operations. Now, the Chief Executive Officer, I continue to oversee the development of the company, as one of the primary Brand Protection providers in the UK.
Director
In 2011, when I was a sprightly University graduate, I started my career as a Brand Protection Intern, at the popular Global Fashion Retailer, Cath Kidston. A few years later, I’d worked my way up to the role of European Brand Protection Manager, managing the department and the company's Intellectual Property.
It's now a decade later where I find myself Director of React UK. It's great to be working with such a well-established company, within the Anti-Counterfeiting field, with so many reputable and loyal Clients. I hope to continue to drive React UK and use my in-house Brand Protection knowledge to help the Company and its Clients, on their Anti-Counterfeiting journey.
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React UK is available to clients 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, however there simply aren’t enough of us to deal with every single inquiry we receive. The last thing we ever want to do is refuse to take an anti-counterfeiting complaint which is why we have an essential investigation and support team on stand-by that are fundamental to the day-to-day running of the company.
There aren’t enough workers in Trading Standards and the area is grossing under resourced. React UK works to combat the growing demand for anti-counterfeiting support by outsourcing claims, complaints and investigations to a pool of trusted investigators that must meet certain industry standards. This means that the vast majority of React UK investigators are ex-Trading Standards workers, ex-police officers and even private investigators with a familiarity in the anti-counterfeiting field, Intellectual Property and evidence gathering procedures.
Likewise, our support team located at Head Office is responsible for a select number of important administrative tasks such as processing Customs and Trading Standards cases and handling evidence packs for criminal cases that have been carried out in collaboration with Trading Standards.
React UK strives to support and protect as many brands as possible with the help of our Investigation and Support Teams, and it is thanks to their continued efforts managing day-to-day enquiries and working collaboratively with Law Enforcement agencies that React UK is able to maintain its industry status and a positive relationship with each and every client.
