Canada’s high-end winter clothing brand Canada Goose has recently drawn another round of criticism by the Chinese regime’s official media. The brand’s store in China was accused of refusing to accept product returns from Chinese consumers and causing controversy. The outside world believes that Canada Goose has become the latest foreign brand in the Chinese regime ’s sights amid political tensions between Beijing and the West.
According to the Shanghai Morning Post, a few days ago, a woman surnamed Jia from Shanghai bought a down jacket at the Canada Goose store in the Shanghai International Financial Center shopping mall for 11,400 yuan ($1,790.17). After returning home, Jia found that the company logo was embroidered wrong: there was an extra arc at the center of the sun.
According to the report, Jia’s request to return the coat was rejected because she signed a “Replacement Clause” when shopping at the Canada Goose store: all products sold in specialty stores in mainland China are non-refundable.
On Dec. 2, after the China Consumers Association, the Shanghai Consumer Protection Committee, and other official departments intervened, the Canada Goose company publicly responded, “All products sold in specialty stores in mainland China can be returned for refund.” On the same day, Jia returned her coat for a refund.
However, the Shanghai Municipal Consumer Protection Commission said it’s not satisfied with the company’s response and would meet with Canada Goose Holdings Inc. company officials next week.
The incident caused fierce criticism from the Chinese regime’s official media. On Dec. 2, the Workers’ Daily published an article saying Canada Goose “has been fed by Chinese consumers and now is being ungrateful.”
The regime’s mouthpiece network CCTV claimed that Canada Goose is making money in the Chinese market, while treating the Chinese mainland and the international market using a “double standard,” and asked “Who gave the Canadian Goose such arrogant confidence?”
The Economic Daily, which is part of the Chinese regime’s State Council, published a commentary on the company, inciting nationalist sentiment, “The moon in foreign countries is not rounder, and the foreign down jackets are not warmer.
Since Canada Goose was accused of having a “double label,” the company’s stock price dropped by 7.42 percent on Dec. 1. The cumulative decline in the last 10 trading days reached 22.23 percent, and the market value shrank by a maximum of $1.32 billion.
According to public data, Canada Goose Holdings Inc. was founded in 1957, specialized in outdoor clothing, and has become a luxury brand. In the fall of 2018, Canada Goose entered the Chinese market. There are currently 13 stores in mainland China, accounting for one-third of its global stores. Although its down jackets cost more than 10,000 yuan ($1,500) apiece, people in mainland China are waiting in line to buy them.
In September, the Canada Goose company was fined 450,000 yuan ($70,572) by the Chinese regime for “false propaganda, deceiving and misleading consumers,” and was heavily criticized by the official media. Bloomberg reported that “Canada Goose has become the latest foreign brand targeted by local regulators amid political tensions between Beijing and the West. ”
