Markets are a great British tradition, bringing many economic and social benefits to local communities. They provide bargains for shoppers, lively attractions for families and visitors, and an environment for legitimate, local businesses to trade successfully.
So what’s the problem?
Markets (which include occasional sales, non-chartered markets and car boot sales) are not uniformly regulated and, therefore, can offer easy opportunities for those who wish to trade illegally, particularly in counterfeit and pirated goods. A market’s reputation as a safe shopping environment can very quickly be undermined if it is infiltrated by unscrupulous individuals selling counterfeits and other illegal products. Sadly this is a problem for many markets across the country. When the illicit traders move in, a whole host of problems follow:
- consumers are ripped off and sold potentially dangerous goods;
- legitimate traders lose sales and go out of business, damaging the local economy;
- an atmosphere of criminality and intimidation can become embedded;
- and there is often a knock-on effect in terms of increased crime in the surrounding area.
- Across the country, local authority trading standards services and many market operators are working hard to maintain local markets and car boot sales as safe and fair environments in which to trade and to shop. But the nature of the counterfeit business means that traders in illicit goods will often move from one market to another to avoid detection. Tackle the problem in one region and it shifts elsewhere.
Read more about the Real Deal Markets Initiative...
