There was a similar happening with the American candy stores in London.

The setup is simple: You, a person from another land, lease a shop in London and buy a load of stuff that has a value that is perceived to be high both due to scarcity and the fact it's imported. That way you can charge a ridiculous amount for what little sales you make.

You skimp on the bills - for example you don't pay the business rates and pay the electricity / water bill late and keep changing supplier. Maybe even fold the company a few times so people are asking for money from a company that doesn't exist anymore. When the risks of messing with HMRC for tax / business rates outweigh the benefits of pure profit (around the 11 month mark), you leave the keys in the door and go back to whatever country you came from.

This is the clincher - if you've made off with, say, £20,000 profit and gone back to a country where the average annual wage is £5,000 then you've got four times the annual average salary to do with as you please. For perspective, if you went somewhere and came back with four times the minimum wage (say 4x £24K = £96,000), then that money would serve as a solid base for your future, be it a legitimate business, a deposit on a property, or a really nice car.

And who says crime doesn't pay?