Canal Street: Over?

Feb 27, 2008 @ 9:30am

The NYPD raided an enormous counterfeit operation on Canal Street yesterday, reports WWD.

The facts:

1. 32 illegal storefronts were shut down.

2. $1M of knockoffs - from handbags to perfumes - were confiscated.

The reality:

This isn't the first time the city has staged a huge crackdown on counterfeit sellers, and the market for them has bounced back every time.

We'd like to think that this is the beginning of the end - with yesterday's raid, the NYPD has targeted the landlord that seems to be behind the majority of the buildings involved - but we think it's likely that the operation may just move elsewhere. We've seen a lot of sellers by the South Street Seaport and near the World Trade Center, in hopes of catching the Saturday afternoon tourist foot traffic.

But if Canal Street really does go through a change, what will it look like? Could this be the beginning of actual shopping on Canal? We wonder if Steve Madden is looking for a new location...

posted by sarahchivonne

Feb 27, 2008 9:45AM

"Could this be the beginning of actual shopping on Canal? We wonder if Steve Madden is looking for a new location..."

very cheeky. it would be even lovelier if steve and nine west stopped knocking off all the higher end designers as well. i can't tell you how annoying it is whenever i'm proudly wearing my ferragamos and some chick points to them and exclaims "are those steve maddens?! how cute!"

ughhhhhh....

posted by guest

Feb 27, 2008 10:16AM

^ lamest comment ever

posted by guest

Feb 27, 2008 10:21AM

This isn't just Canal. I used to work in an office with a counterfeit operation in the basement in a nice part of SoHo (totally unrelated to the place I worked for). We were on the ground-level so every once in awhile tacky Russian tourists would wander in looking for goods and being confused by an office. We would ignore them until someone from the basement came up and directed them down.

I also knew a girl who went to a tourist stall on Broadway and Canal and was looking at a fake Chanel bag for laughs. When they told her it was $500 and she refused (she could easily afford a real one and who would a fake for more than $15??) they physically forced her to go to the ATM and draw out money.

A lot of counterfeit places are run by various Asian gangs. I would stay away from the whole mess.

In other news, Alice Roy is on Canal and Essex...

posted by lentil

Feb 27, 2008 10:30AM

steve maddens make me want to barf (excuse the colorful language).

posted by guest

Feb 28, 2008 4:33AM

my male, unfashionable freind went to dubai and i told him to get me the classic chanel or the gucci indy bag fake. he did buy me a bag, for about 50 euros i.e. 35 dollars (im guessing) and it looked absolutely hideous!! like a feetwhiping mattcarpetything with times new roman font dolce gabana scribbled all over it and yuck!! if id buy a fake, like my fake wayfarers i baught from a fleamarket cuz the seller had no idea they're so fashionable and timeless, they have to look real.. and if they do, why not buy the fake.. i mean you buy it for the design and not only cuz of the name