Wandsworth Council and Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd say 'No!' to Counterfeit Goods

Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd and Wandsworth Council join forces to become the first private market operator and the first London Borough to sign the Real Deal national markets' charter

Friday 4 December 2009

A major development in the Real Deal national markets campaign took place on Tuesday 17 November when Wandsworth Council's Trading Standards Division signed the Real Deal charter with Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd, the operators of New Covent Garden Sunday Market. This is the first Real Deal charter signing by a London borough and a private market operator and is hailed by the campaign's partners as a major step forward.

The Real Deal charter is part of a nationwide initiative to keep dealers in counterfeit and other illicit goods from UK markets and car boot sales. It encourages local authority trading standards and market operators to work closely together, and to share information, so that local markets remain free from criminal activity and are a safe and fair environment in which to shop and to trade.

In Wandsworth, the Trading Standards service, copyright and trade mark owners and Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd have been working closely together to identify, and remove, traders in counterfeit goods from the New Covent Market Sunday Market. For years there have been problems at this market. Like many in the country, it had been infiltrated by organised criminal gangs selling counterfeit clothing, tobacco, DVDs and other goods. Legitimate traders and market workers were being intimidated, and the reputation of the market and law-abiding traders was becoming tarnished.

Wandsworth Trading Standards has worked very hard over the last few years, trying to combat the counterfeit problems at New Covent Garden Sunday Market. As part of its approach they have been encouraging the market operators (Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd) to take more responsibility in running the market and to assist in identifying illegal traders.

Measures that have been introduced include identification of stall holders, prompt information sharing and proactive warning, or banning, of known illegal traders. In addition, Trading Standards has, wherever possible, taken enforcement action against traders selling infringing goods and has carried out multiple vehicle check operations. Partnership with immigration services and the police has also proved effective, resulting in many prosecutions. As a result of this combined activity, the level of counterfeit goods in the market has reduced dramatically over the last six months. Wandsworth Trading Standards Officer, Russell Bignell, who has been instrumental in working with Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd to tackle the problems at New Covent Garden, said, "Problems still remain at the market but by working together consistently, illegal traders are being significantly reduced and their days are numbered."

Mr Bignell has played a key role in developing the Real Deal campaign. Working alongside industry groups and other regulatory bodies, he has been heavily involved in developing the national charter and a template code of practice, as part of a strategy to provide a nationwide, consistent approach to dealing with the sale of counterfeit goods and any other illegal products at markets.

The Geraud Group of Companies is one of the leading operators of markets in the private sector and is a leading sponsor of the National Association of British Market Operators (NABMA) which has hundreds of members and has been closely involved in the development of the Real Deal campaign. Graham Wilson, Chief Executive of NABMA, says: "NABMA is delighted to be associated with the Real Deal initiative and we are encouraging all our members to participate. It is important that both local authority and private market operators are involved and NABMA is particularly pleased that Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd is the first private market operator in the UK, and the first in London, to sign up to the Real Deal."

Commenting on Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd's adoption of the Real Deal charter, Liz Bales, Director General of the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, which initiated the campaign said: "The partnership between Wandsworth Council and Geraud New Covent Garden Ltd is a shining beacon of good practice. The challenges here have been particularly tough for all parties to overcome but it shows that coordinated teamwork can successfully keep the counterfeit con-men at bay. I hope that other local authorities and private market operators across the country will follow the excellent example set here."

Andrew Burnett, UK Chief Executive of Groupe Geraud said: "We are delighted to be the first private market operator in the UK to adopt the Real Deal charter in conjunction with the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is our intention to adopt the charter at all our markets throughout the UK and we would urge all private sector market operators to do the same. In signing-up to the Real Deal we are sending out a clear message to all unscrupulous traders that they are not welcome at any of our markets. It also goes a long way to securing the future for the professional, hard working trader and also for the market industry in general and we obviously welcome this."

"We believe that the problem of counterfeit goods can only be eradicated by the close co-operation and support of all stakeholders in the markets industry and the regulatory authorities. We believe that the close working relationship we have created with Wandsworth Trading Standards Officers has enabled significant progress to be made in tackling what is a serious and UK-wide problem. I would encourage all professional market operators to work closely with their local trading standards department with a view to moving this initiative forward on a national basis"

New Covent Garden Sunday Market will now be able to display the Real Deal logo, which signals that the organisers of the market are committed to tackling criminality so that consumers can shop with confidence.

Anyone who wishes to report information on the sale of counterfeit goods should contact Wandsworth Trading Standards on 0208 871 7720 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Partners in the Real Deal Charter gathered at Wandsworth Town Hall (pictured left to right): Russell Bignell, Trading Standards Officer, Wandsworth Borough Council, Gareth Llywelyn-Roberts (Head of Environmental Services and Community Safety), Graham Simpson (Chief Inspector Safer Neighbourhoods), Cllr Paul Ellis, Cllr Sarah McDermott (Executive Member for Environment and Leisure Wandsworth Borough Council), Andrew Burnett (Group Chief Executive - Groupe Geraud), Frederick Bonnet (Groupe Geraud Managing Director), Tony Fraser (Groupe Geraud), Susie Winter (Alliance Against IP Theft), William Myers (Director of Technical Services - Wandsworth Borough Council), Paul Browne (Team Leader - Trading Standards)