Greenhills Shopping Center (GSC) is making a major push to eliminate counterfeit goods from its flea market.
GSC unveiled its 10-year roadmap aiming for a complete shift to legitimate products by 2027 in a recent dialogue with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), brand owners and enforcement agencies.
The GSC reported about 80 percent of traders already transitioned to selling local products, Halal items and other authorized goods, while the number of stalls was reduced to 1,412 from 1,771.
The mall suspended nearly 300 stores for violating IP rules, effectively weeding out repeat offenders.
“What we have done so far is really to educate our traders along the way, to tell them that it’s time to change and that there are other products to profit from,” said GSC assistant vice president and trade fairs and exhibits head James Candelaria.
The mall also stopped accepting applications for categories notorious for counterfeiting, with exceptions for locally made or labeled items.
Legitimate businesses are incentivized through access to premium locations for stores selling local products.
Representatives from luxury brands also participated in the dialogue, discussing improved store monitoring strategies with GSC.
While GSC is the only physical market on the U.S. Notorious Markets List, Cartimar, Baclaran and Divisoria are on the EU Watch List. IPOPHL seeks Metro Manila mayors’ support to fight market counterfeiting.
IPOPHL director-general Rowel Barba reminded stall owners at the GSC of the importance of selling original products.
“We appreciate the GSC’s commitment to working with its merchants to create a fairer, more IP-conscious business environment. We look forward to seeing more positive results from this transition program,” he said.
IPOPHL said it would soon conduct an intellectual property briefing to help store owners shift to selling legitimate goods.
