Consumer Affairs Victoria launches bid to shut down Panda Mart

Consumer Affairs Victoria has launched a fresh Supreme Court bid to shut down budget retailer Panda Mart indefinitely. 

The department said it has had enough after the Cranbourne and Preston outlets were busted allegedly selling unsafe products again.

“We’ve found more products that we allege don’t comply with product safety laws,” Consumer Affairs Victoria director Nicole Rich said.

The budget retailer, dubbed the “real-life Temu”, has already been in trouble since opening last February. 

Just a month in, a public warning was issued about its products.

In December, a court injunction forced Panda Mart to stop trading for 72 hours, before another public warning was issued early this year.

However, shoppers are divided about the push to close down the retailer.

“To be honest, I don’t really think about that,” one shopper said.

“I think it’s amazing,” another shopper said.

“Get a life,” a third person said.

Another Victorian said she “can understand why” the government was trying to shut them down.

The owner of the Cranbourne store has already been in court, hit with 147 charges over alleged product safety breaches. 

Each one of those offences carries a maximum $50 million fine and Consumer Affairs Victoria is warning more could be on the way. 

“We feel that time has come to seek a more serious injunction that shuts the store,” Rich said.

If the court agrees, Panda Mart won’t be able to operate until it can prove its products are safe, unless more fines don’t force them out earlier.

“I don’t see how any business is able to continue with that kind of liability,” Consumer Affairs Minister Tom Richardson said.