Pacific Mall, a mall located in the Greater Toronto Area, has been listed as a notorious market for pirated and counterfeit goods in a 2017 report from the United States Office of the Trade Representative. The mall has been recognized as one of the largest Chinese mall in the Western world. It consists of over 270,000 square feet of retail space with more than 500 small shops.
The mall is considered a popular tourist destination for many visitors in Toronto. It operates year-round including holidays, as it is classified as a certified tourist attraction. The mall was exempted from the Ontario’s Retail Business Holidays Act, which does not allow regular businesses to operate on public holidays with a few exemptions.
Pacific Mall was opened in 1997, and stood on the original site of Cullen Country Farm. Cullen Country Farm consisted of a farm-themed complex with shops, restaurants, and a theatre inside of it. The complex was damaged by fire in 1988, and was finally demolished in 1994.
For over a decade, Pacific mall has had a reputation for selling counterfeits and pirated products. The recent American report has listed Pacific Mall as one of the 18 physical markets notorious for counterfeit goods. It was the only Canadian location that was listed.
According to the report, the goods at Pacific Mall are “sprawling and pervasive” and that vendors “operate largely with impunity and requests for assistance from local law enforcement have reportedly gone unanswered.” In addition, the report has also stated that many of the counterfeit goods including cosmetics, sunglasses, and fragrances pose a risk to public health and safety.
However, there have been crackdowns and investigations of the vendors conducted by the RCMP and the York Regional police over the last 2 decades. It is said that the electronics, DVDs, video games, and other goods that were seized were worth millions of dollars.
In 2015, one case of counterfeiting at Pacific Mall was the selling of fake Chanel products in a Pacific Mall vendor “Lam Chan Kee.” The case ended with court action taking place where the judgment included $250,000 in punitive and exemplary damages against the owner and the store.
The other physical locations that were listed as major counterfeiting centers included markets from across the world. The following other countries that have their markets listed in the report: Argentina, China, Mexico, India, Italy, Paraguay, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
Representatives of Pacific Mall were not immediately available for comment.
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