Friday 10 June 2022 03:25 PM MPs call for investigation of entire network of American candy stores across ... trends now

Friday 10 June 2022 03:25 PM MPs call for investigation of entire network of American candy stores across ... trends now
Friday 10 June 2022 03:25 PM MPs call for investigation of entire network of American candy stores across ... trends now

Friday 10 June 2022 03:25 PM MPs call for investigation of entire network of American candy stores across ... trends now

American candy stores were today branded 'the modern day childcatcher' amid calls for an investigation into similar stores that have cropped up on high streets across the country.  

MailOnline today revealed a huge £7.9million tax scam investigation has been launched into scores of the themed shops on Oxford Street and the West End of London including the major Kingdom of Sweets chain. We also revealed the brand and some of its rivals are using TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to lure children into their store. 

Some London candy shops are also selling sweets that are so sweet they would be illegal to manufacture in the UK. 

Nickie Aiken, Tory MP for the Cities of London and Westminster – which includes Oxford Street - branded the stores 'sinister'. She told MailOnline: ‘I think they are wrong on a number of levels - what they're offering and the way they entice young people and children into their stores with these bizarre marketing strategies. They are a bit like the modern day childcatcher.

‘I think the other point to make is the landlords on Oxford Street obviously want to keep their premises open with tenants. But these shops don't really do much for the ambiance of Oxford Street. They bring it down really.

‘So it is a bit of short termism by landlords I would suggest. They really want to be investing in their buildings and investing in the type of tenants that will draw more people in the long term.’  

Ms Aitken said she was sure there were similar issues in other parts of the country, but the ‘concentration’ in Oxford Street made it obvious.    

There has long been concern about the deluge of tacky, overpriced US-themed sweet and souvenir shops that have been taking over traditional high street retailers on one of the world's most famous shopping streets, including HMV's old flagship site.

There are now at least ten candy stores between Marble Arch and Tottenham Court Road stations alone - equating to roughly one every 200 yards - with some offering other services like foreign currency exchange. 

There has been a boom in videos where youngsters try super-sour or sweet American treats and drinks for the first time. Others filmed staff giving visitors, including some apparently still in primary school, free sweets just for popping in and giving a fist bump.

Campaign group Action On Sugar said the stores are exploiting a loophole that means imported US chocolates and candy do not face the same restrictions on sugar content as UK-made products. It means the American-themed superstores sell products containing almost treble the amount of sugar a British child should consume daily, even in a small single serving. Action On Sugar called the targeting of children 'appalling'.

Wera Hobhouse, Lib Dem MP for Bath, said there were three American candy stores in her city, and called for the government to investigate the 'loophole' that allowed super-sweet US candy to be imported into Britain. 

Officials probing retailers' tax affairs are understood to be concerned about a purported tactic whereby bosses using a single store name set up numerous limited companies to serve as its legal owner, before closing the companies prior to them being liable for business rates. Two companies which share directors with Kingdom of Sweets - Croftray Limited and Old Green Limited - have already been wound up owing £2million in rates. 

The council is also understood to be concerned about another alleged tactic used by rivals of Kingdom of Sweets which sees shops set up in empty buildings to avoid the landlord having to pay business rates on an empty premises, before closing and leaving before the shopkeepers become liable for the tax themselves. There is no suggestion Kingdom of Sweets has been doing this. 

Kingdom of Sweets has been approached for comment. There is no suggestion any of the shops pictured in this article are under investigation. 

The new Candy World store is located next to Bond Street station in the old HMV building which was opened in the 1920s

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CANDY STORE TAKEOVER OVER THE WEST END - BEFORE and AFTER: HMV's flagship store has been unceremoniously turned into a 'Candy World' 

Among the sweet shops that can be found on Oxford Street are 'American Sweets & Souvenirs' and 'American Candy'

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CANDY STORE TAKEOVER OVER THE WEST END - BEFORE and AFTER: The 'American Sweets and Souvenirs' shop on Oxford Street (right) was once a Ryman stationery shop (left). There is no suggestion any of the shops featured in MailOnline's article are being investigated by the council

The New West End Company group has criticised the shops for not being in keeping with the 'evolving face of the high street'

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BEFORE and AFTER: The 'Candylicious London' store on Oxford Street (right) was once a Schuh shop (left)

The trend began with the opening of the first Kingdom of Sweets store in Barnsley in 2004. A London store is pictured

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BEFORE and AFTER: A Coast clothes store on Oxford Street (left) was once in the place of what is now Kingdom of Sweets (right)

Children are being targeted with TikTok videos such as this one, which shows a child trying super sour sweets outside an American Candy Store in central London

Children are being targeted with TikTok videos such as this one, which shows a child trying super sour sweets outside an American Candy Store in central London

Children are being targeted with TikTok videos such as this one, which shows a child trying super sour sweets outside an American Candy Store in central London

In another social media film, this child was shown winning a competition to get 'free candy' 

Two children dancing with excitement outside a Kingdom of Sweets store, which has been compared to a theme park for candy

Westminster's Trading Standards team are also looking at inflated prices at a range of chains including up to £20 for a single bag of sweets and £10 for a cereal box of Lucky Charms. This is in addition to claims some stores have no prices on their goods at all.

Some of the stores are also accused of selling out-of-date food and counterfeit products, with the planning department also looking into whether these premises are advertising illegally.

Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: 'Anyone walking down Oxford Street is struck by the ever expanding number of US style sweet shops and poor quality souvenir outlets. They are not only an eye sore; they are a threat to the status and value of what is supposed to be the nation's premier shopping street.

'The problem is that owners of buildings are turning a blind eye to those who sublet them as it means they are not liable for business rates. That's why we have a rash of US candy stores in prestige locations.

'This needs to stop and we will be stepping up pressure on landlords to make it clear they are responsible for Oxford Street being overrun with these kinds of stores. The people selling overpriced sweets are cheating the UK taxpayer and very often swindling their customers into the bargain.' 

The 'American Candy Shop' is one of the sweet stores that has popped up on London's Oxford Street in recent years

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BEFORE and AFTER: The 'American Candy Store' on Oxford Street (right) is in a shop that once housed a Footasylum (left)

Figures from the Local Data Company revealed that there were 73 more sweet shops in Britain in 2021 compared to 2020

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BEFORE and AFTER: The 'Americandy' store with Wonka branding (right) is in a former Accessorize and Monsoon store (left)

One of the shops claims that the average customer spends between £25 and £30 on six to seven items

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BEFORE and AFTER: 'American Sweet Dreams' (right) is on the site of a smaller Holland and Barrett next to an Ann Summers (left)

The American candy shops have said that the much-criticised expensive prices of stock are due to high import fees

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BEFORE and AFTER: A Phones 4U store (left) used to be on the site of what is now a 'Welcome London' souvenir shop (right)

The 'American Candy Shop' is one of ten US sweet stores which customers can visit along London's Oxford Street

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BEFORE and AFTER: A Boots store (left) used to occupy the space where the 'American Candy Shop' is now located (right)

Sweet shops and souvenir stores are becoming a more frequent site along Oxford Street in London's West End

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BEFORE and AFTER: A JD Sports store (left) was once in the retail space now used by a store called 'Candy Shop' (right)

'Vape shops’ are also popping up across London, such as in front of the old St Anne’s Church entrance on Shaftesbury Avenue

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BEFORE and AFTER: 'Vape shops' are popping up, such as in the old St Anne's Church entrance (left) on Shaftesbury Avenue

Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: 'Anyone walking down Oxford Street is struck by the ever-expanding number of US style sweet shops and poor quality souvenir outlets. They are not only an eye sore; they are a threat to the status and value of what is supposed to be the nation's premier shopping street'

Councillor Adam Hug, leader of Westminster City Council, said: 'Anyone walking down Oxford Street is struck by the ever-expanding number of US style sweet shops and poor quality souvenir outlets. They are not only an eye sore; they are a threat to the status and value of what is supposed to be the nation's premier shopping street'

How American sweet shops took off in Britain thanks to Chase Manders's pick 'n' mix stall in Barnsley

Chase Manders is behind Kingdom of Sweets

Chase Manders is behind Kingdom of Sweets

The American sweet shops found across Oxford Street are following in the footsteps of a pick 'n' mix stand located in a shopping centre in Barnsley.

Chase Manders started importing American sweets to Britain in 2004 and found they were a massive hit with locals in South Yorkshire. 

Companies House now lists Mr Manders as the sole director of London-based Kingdom of Sweets Ltd which was incorporated in 2017. 

The 40-year-old opened his first Kingdom of Sweets Oxford Street shop in 2012 and his stores were very much the main player in that market for the next few years with five other shops opening across the capital.

Around the same time the M&M's World in Leicester Square - owned by the confectionary giant Mars - opened in 2011, which was 14 years after the company's first outlet was launched in Las Vegas.

But by 2018, competitors such as 'Candy Shop', 'American Candy' and 'American Candy World' began to emerge - with Kingdom of Sweets claiming that rivals were visiting their stores and taking photographs.

There was then a surge of openings during the pandemic as people made the most of being able to avoid shutting during lockdowns because they were classed as 'essential retailers' for selling food. 

Now, a range of the shops operate under different names but offering almost entirely the same products and very similar decoration - and perhaps the most controversial one is at the old HMV flagship store which unceremoniously turned into a sweet shop in February.

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It comes amid concerns the rash of American candy stores is harming the West End's status as an attractive shopping destination.

The boom in the colourful shops filled with loud music and bubblegum smells has swallowed other stores struggling to survive - with many famous retailers such as Topshop, House of Fraser and Debenhams closing their doors.

The New West End Company business group pointed out that the shops were not in keeping with the 'evolving face of the high street, nor modern shopping habits'.

The present-day American sweet

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