Auckland Night Markets: 'Accident Waiting to Happen'

Auckland Night Markets is under fire after a small clothing brand shared a negative experience in a viral TikTok video, alleging mistreatment and exploitation by the markets organiser. The post has sparked widespread concern online, and a former employee has come forward with serious concerns about safety failures and mismanagement behind the scenes.

In the video, stallholder Yuli Wang details how her brand was mistreated by the Auckland Night Markets. After booking a stall, Yuli says she was told to contact the markets owner, Victoria, who instructed her to “set up anywhere.” However, when she followed the direction, she was later confronted by Victoria, who yelled at her and demanded additional payment to stay.

@yuliwang1 Our first time experience with the Auckland Night Market as a stall owner. #auckland #nz #aucklandnightmarket ♬ original sound - Yuli Wang

“I was very stunned by her attitude,” Yuli says in the video. “We felt like she was trying to scam us for extra money after following her vague instructions.”

Feeling disrespected and intimidated, the small brand ultimately packed up and left following what Yuli describes as aggressive and escalating behaviour.

In response to the viral video, Auckland Night Markets released a public statement claiming that Yuli’s actions made the markets “unsafe” and “unmanageable.”

“All stallholders are always allocated specific spaces,” the statement reads. “If I am not personally onsite, there is always a team member present to guide new stallholders to their correct location.”

“There’s No Real Communication, No Real Professionalism”

A former employee contacted Craccum to challenge Auckland Night Markets' recent public statement, saying: “I think most of these statements are incorrect — the night market seems to be run very unprofessionally. There are no clearly allocated zones.”

They also claim to have witnessed incidents similar to what Yuli described in her viral TikTok. “I saw [the markets owner] yelling at multiple stallholders as well as yelling at me and other workers."

Both Yuli and the former employee told Craccum in follow-up interviews that they were never received formal contracts from Auckland Night Markets.

“I wasn’t necessarily refused,” the former staff member explained, “but it was always delayed or brushed off with excuses. They just kept pushing it back.”

Yuli echoed the experience: “I thought it was just the way they did things.”

"I Almost Died Twice"

Their concerns went far beyond paperwork. At the Mt Wellington Market site, the former employee says the safety conditions were dire, citing exposed electrical wires that once shocked a stallholder , luckily without serious harm. “Someone did get electrocuted while I was there,” they recalled. “It wasn’t life-threatening, but it could have been.”

Even basic fire safety, they claim, was lacking. “Normally, about two out of three of the fire extinguishers aren’t even gassed. We were told that if there’s a fire, we’re supposed to run toward it and put it out — but how are we meant to do that if half the extinguishers don’t work?”

The presence of flammable materials like butane tanks made the situation even more concerning. “If a fire breaks out and the extinguisher fails, that’s not just dangerous — that’s potentially deadly.”

One of their final straws was the condition of the market’s work vehicle. “The ute looks fine from the outside, the tyres look good, but in the rain, I’ve tried braking at just 40km an hour, and it still slid. I almost died twice driving back from West Auckland at night. That’s what made me decide to stop working there.”

The former employee also raised concerns about hygiene standards at the markets, describing food court areas as “a breeding ground for illness.” According to them, tables were rarely cleaned properly after being used, often wiped down with dirty rags and reused water rather than sanitised. “They don’t even really try,” they said. “The tables are covered in food, people eat off them, and then they just smear it around with the same dirty cloth. If we were in a time like COVID again, it would spread to almost everyone there. And the worst part is — they know. They know it’s dirty, but they still do it.”

"I really feel sorry for Yuli and any other stallholders who are experiencing this on a recurring basis," the former employee told Craccum, "no one deserves to be treated like this".

“Action Needs to Be Taken Before It’s Too Late”

The former employee told Craccum they reported the health and safety risks to the Commerce Commission, but were met with silence.

“I reported it twice and even followed up by email,” they said. “But I never got a reply. No updates, no follow-ups. So I believe they’re not too worried about it.”

They say the lack of urgency from authorities is alarming, especially given the scale of the risk.

“They should’ve at least referred me to someone or responded. We’re talking about a situation where, if a fire breaks out, people could be seriously injured — or worse.
And that truck? If a worker loses control in the rain because the brakes don’t work, someone could die. This isn’t just mismanagement. It’s a major health and safety issue.”

Craccum has reached out to both Auckland Night Markets and the Commerce Commission for comment. This story will be updated if further information becomes available.