AUGUST TRADE NEWS Bad weather blamed for shopping centre delay Chester council  not supporting retailers New rules 'won't help save retail centre' Irish shoppers look abroad for bargains British consumers spend more on beauty products Yorkshire town gets behind plastic bag reduction scheme Rising obesity prompts calls for VAT rule changes eBay restructures fee scheme to make fixed-priced sales cheaper Online sales boom despite slowdown Music retailer goes out of business Matalan named and shamed for how it treats wholesalers BCC slams higher parking charges proposals Booming wholesaler moves to new warehouse Market traders told to only 'shout quietly' London's retailers show growth despite gloom Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison UK's smallest town protests supermarket plan More retailers and wholesalers going out of business Online retail sector predicted to expand rapidly Henley retailers protest development plans Retail sales continue to slow Tiffany appeals US court's eBay ruling Report criticises electricity suppliers' treatment of small businesses MK retailers protest Tesco expansion plan Yorkshire retailers protest supermarket move Manchester wholesaler shut down over fraud worries Businesses welcome plans to reduce red tape Rate hold accepted by small businesses Internet sales put pressure on the high street Huge counterfeit goods haul in Somerset Irish entrepreneur online retail plans Wholesaler sector set to struggle Staycations could help British retailers Retailers 'gloomy' about economic outlook Retailers report footfall continues to decline as consumers cut back Hidden door reveals huge counterfeiting operation in Manchester shop No recession for the UK this year East London wholesaler goes into receivership London mayor reveals plans to support small retailers Toy retailers defy gloom Retailers urged to embrace online sales Trade News Archive August 08 July 08 June 08 May 08 April 08 March 08 February 08 January 08 Subscribe to our newsletter   Go to The Wholesaler UK Directory 14th August 2008 Counterfeit goods dealer sentenced to prison The Chinese man who masterminded what is believed to be one of the biggest counterfeit shoe operations in the UK has been jailed for three years. Zheng Liang had pleaded guilty to trademark offences after officers found over 17,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike and Y-3 trainers at various self-storage units across the UK. If the products had been genuine, experts believe they would have been worth in excess of £1 million. Trading standard officers described Mr Liang as one of the biggest wholesalers of counterfeit goods in the country. They explained that he imported vast quantities of fake trainers into the country and used a sophisticated distribution network to supply them to market traders. Sentencing the man, Judge Bernard Richmond acknowledged that Mr Liang had probably endured a "very tough" life back in China and that he had wanted to "do the best for you and for your young family". However, he added: "You came here illegally and what you have done over the last few months has effectively deceived everybody and that cannot be tolerated. "I'm afraid it seems to me that a message must go out that the courts will not tolerate this sort of activity from anybody." Simon Legg, assistant head of trading standards at Harrow Council, added to the Daily Mail: "I hope that this sends a clear message to others who think that they can make a quick buck from selling counterfeit goods."     (c) 2008 Adfero Ltd. Sponsor of August Trade News Ultraslim TV Brackets   Comment on this news story To comment on any story please click on the above link, put the story title in the subject line and please provide your name, trading style ie. retailer or wholesaler and the town where you trade.