With the varying prices of Anello Bags in Singapore and China’s (if you shop at Taobao) e-commerce scene, how would you know if the Anello Bag you’ve purchased is authentic?
This week at Airfrov, we received a suspicious looking bag that was visibly different from the hundreds of Anello bags we’ve received in recent months. We did a thorough examination and comparison with other Anello bags of the same model and found several “manufacturing discrepancies”. The result was drastic and gave us sufficient reasons to doubt it’s authenticity. We eventually rejected the item and refunded the full amount to our shopper.
To help our travellers, requestors and Anello bag lovers identify the authentic Anello bag, we’ve put together this guide based on our experience and comparison of multiple bags.
Disclaimer: The below comparison is based on our own views and comparisons. As we could not reach Anello Official in Japan and they do not have an outlet in Singapore, we could not guarantee that the bag we’ve received is an imitation. Manufacturing also vary by models; we cannot guarantee that what we’ve seen here applies to all models of Anello bags.
The bag in question was for Anello Regular Boston Bag – which carries the official model code AT-H0852. The biggest takeaway from the suspicious Bag B, was the incorrect code printed.
The code labelled on Bag B – HT0851, belongs to the Anello Mini Boston Bag. Besides the model number, the retail price was also different from the official retail price of 3900 Yen. That said, shoppers should also take note of the value of the bag. If the offer price is significantly lower than the official retail price, it’s a flashing red sign.
So assuming you’ve found a reputable source, with a reasonable price. What else should you look out for?
#1 Tags / Cards attached to the Bag
Typical Anello Bags that are brought back by travellers in Japan comes with 3 cards attached to the bag via tag fastener.
Card 1: ATTENTION – Written in Japanese, we assume this is the details on how to take care of your bag. Includes 2 liner address and production country “made in China”
Card 2: Anello Branded Card printed on a white, rough surface card. The back of this card has Anello official social media accounts and website carrot-co.com
Card 3: Tag with Model Name, colour, price, bar code and 2 liner address. Text are printed on the card.
On Bag B, we found these differences:
– Only 2 tag instead of 3
– Anello Branded card is off white instead of pure white
– On the back of the Branded card, product information & social media accounts are sticked on the card instead of printed on. The card on Bag B also includes the telephone number of the Carrot Co, which is usually not present on other Anello Bags
The rule of thumb is to ensure the model number and colour printed on the tag matches that of your bag. For example, if your bag is Navy in colour, the colour stated would be “NV”.
#2 Logo & Typeface On Brand Tag
This one’s not easy to tell unless you place 2 bags side by side. The bag on the right has a bold, larger font as compared to the one of the left. The font on Bag A is thin and well spaced.
If you examine closely, the print is also not centralised on this Bag B.
We’ve read on other Taiwanese websites that the lines forming 2 intersecting bottles logo must be clear and defined. However, all bags we’ve received so far passed this test. It’s so hard to tell!
The actual logo looks like there is two intersecting wine glasses, with clearly defined lines that form a square in the middle. I’ve seen other bags that are either without lines, or totally different wine glasses.
#3 Round / Flat Rivets
This one’s pretty obvious. The typical Boston bags we’ve received comes with a round head rivet, whereas the suspicious Bag B has a flat head rivet.
Even if your Anello bag has a flat head rivet, do not be alarmed, as we’ve seen other backpack designs that come with flat heads. We’re guessing this feature differs by model.
#4 Hardware
We took a closer look at the hardware and zippers and found that Bag B’s hardware has an inconsistent colour.
On Bag A, both zippers and hardware are in golden colours. On Bag B, the zips are in golden whereas their zippers and round hooks are in rose gold colour. The rim of the round hook on Bag B is also smaller and thicker than that of Bag A.
Did you also realise the brown cloth stitched to the end of the zipper is also much smaller on Bag A?
#5 Shoulder Strap
The Anello Boston Bag comes with a shoulder strap for those who like the cross shoulder style. The manufacturer for Bag B could have done a better job here.
Other Anello models
We do not have a good comparison for other models of Anello bags, but we do have more pictures to share. We hope these will be a good reference for travellers who are helping us to buy!
Mini Boston Bag (scroll to view)
Large leather bag (scroll to view)
So where should you buy authentic Anello Bags?
Anello does not have an official stand-alone store in Japan. We suggest travellers buy them from reputable departmental stores, and avoid the smaller shops that sell it to you below the recommended retail price.
Always ask for a receipt regardless of where you purchased them from.
If you’re in Hong Kong, there’s also an outlet located at Harbour City that is recognised by Anello Bag officially.
Shop 2015, LCX, Level 3,
Ocean Terminal, Harbour City
香港九龍尖沙咀廣東道 9 號 海港城
(+852)2368－4112
(廣東話,ENG）11:00-23:00
If you’re looking for an Anello bag and would like our travellers to help you get one from Japan or Hong Kong, click on “+” to copy the requests! It works like a job ad to our travellers, who are your friendly personal shopper. They will respond to you if they can help!
Also Read: Is VIVAIA Shoes Worth the Money? An Honest Review