‘Customers are still telling us they didn’t know we had moved’
FEARFUL FOR FUTURE WITH LACK OF SIGNS ABOUT MARKET MOVE AND SOME LOOKING TO TAKE SECOND JOBS
TRADERS at Leicester Market have said they are fearful for the future of their stalls after relocating to a temporary site during the £7.5 million revamp of their usual location.
Stallholders told the Mercury that footfall had dropped “significantly” since they were forced to move to Green Dragon Square in November.
They said Leicester City Council had promised it would advertise the market’s new location before the move, but vendors said that, in their opinion, not enough had been done to let the public know about the market’s new pitches.
Business had suffered as a result, they said.
Pav Singh has run a smoking accessories stall on the market for 12 years.
He said the council had initially told traders the relocation would take place in April 2023, but the date was pushed back to November.
“By the time it got to November, no advertisement had been done. To this day there are no advertisements on billboards, buses, or electronic billboards,” he said.
“There are two little signs which you can barely see, and not many people have heard of Green Dragon Square, so no one knows we have moved.”
Pav said traders were calling for rent cuts.
“These issues are crippling businesses one by one, and a lot of longstanding traders have had no choice but to let their businesses go because they are not making enough money,” he said.
“Some of us are looking at other avenues to make money because we just don’t have any other choice.”
Amit Memi, 38, said he had had to take on a second job at Tesco to make ends meet. Amit has worked on a birthday and occasion card stall since 2003, and his father has owned the business since 1991.
He said: “It’s just shocking because you just don’t know what you’re going to take home at the end of the day – that’s how bad it is.”
Amit said before the market relocation, business was slowly picking up after the pandemic, but now, it was continuing to decline.
“After the Christmas and new year period, things have become so bad,” he said. “The lack of advertisement has had a domino effect, and now footfall has been my biggest problem.
“We’ve spoken to management and the council to put our issues across, and we were promised more advertisement, but only small, little signs have been put up. We still get customers telling us that they didn’t know that we had moved.”
Mohammed Ali has worked in the market for 21 years and said he was tired of being “ignored”.
“The traders are here every day, so I don’t understand why no signs are being put up,” he said.
“All of us desperately wait for
time, because that’s when we get the most customers, but we were forced to move just before Christmas to a place people aren’t even aware of, and we just aren’t getting customers.
“We work so hard and aren’t being listened to.”
Mohammed Mahmood, who sells clothes and underwear on the market, said he had lost nearly everything in the wake of the market’s move.
“We are no longer getting customers and last week I worked for four days from 8am to 4pm and only took home £100 profit. I have a family to look after and it’s now a struggle to provide for them. “Sometimes you can stand for one hour and you’ll only get one customer.”
J Yuseffi, 36, said he had been trading on the market for 20 years. “On Saturday, I took only £95 home,” he said. “With that, I have to pay rent, and my storage is £300 on top of that. We just want the council to be fair. The rent is far too much and we are struggling here. “Saturdays are known for being the busiest day of the week, but now our weekends are so quiet.”
He said he had had no choice but to start looking for another job to make ends meet, because the income he is bringing in from the market is just not enough. He said: “No one comes around here, and we are just being told that if we don’t like the changes, we can just leave.
“But after 20 years, how can I just leave my job like that?”
Mike Dalzell, Leicester City CounChristmas cil director of tourism, culture and inward investment, said some of the signs advertising the location of the market had been stolen.
He said new signs had been commissioned and would be going up in the next couple of weeks.
“We have also been using social media and advertising screens across the city centre to help drive customers to the new market, and have had adverts on buses as promised,” he said.
“We need a partnership with traders who can also help with promotion, particularly through social media, to help bring more people to the market.
“Everyone who has moved to the temporary market was offered a significant rent reduction – typically 40 per cent. We also have compensation available for when the weather affects trade.
“These are temporary arrangements that are needed while we carry out a major and much-needed redevelopment of Leicester Market.
“We are working closely with traders and are happy to take their concerns on board where we can.
“I would encourage everyone to visit the temporary market, which is just 30 seconds away from the old market which is now hoarded off.”
We were forced to move to a place people aren’t aware of, and we just aren’t getting customers Mohammed Ali, left