Canada Goose agrees to pay refund to aggrieved consumer
The Shanghai Consumer Council orders the Shanghai subsidiary of Canada Goose to provide an explanation following the no-refund policy incident involving a consumer surnamed Jia.
Canadian clothing brand Canada Goose, which enraged Chinese consumers over its no-refund policy on China's mainland, has finally agreed to offer a refund to a consumer after its initial refusal to her request triggered a buzz following media exposure.
The refund consensus was reached at 4:30pm on Thursday after half an hour of talks between the Canada Goose store at Shanghai IFC Mall in the Pudong New Area and the consumer surnamed Jia.
In a written explanation submitted to the Shanghai Consumer Council on Thursday afternoon, based on the council's order, the Shanghai subsidiary of Canada Goose said it would actively handle the request under the guidance of the council and market regulators.
It also promised to provide refund or return services for all products sold at Canada Goose retail stores on the mainland based on the country's regulations and implement a seven-day unconditional refundable policy for online shopping orders.
The explanation, however, did not clarify why Jia's request for refund was refused, nor give details on how the company would handle the request.
The Shanghai Consumer Council said the explanation was ineffectual.
The Canada Goose logo is incorrectly embroidered on the coat bought by the customer.
Rough stitching on the coat.
It did not explain why the company has different refundable policies on the mainland and overseas, where it allows 30-day unconditional return, said Tang Jiansheng, deputy secretary-general of the council.
The China Consumer Council also criticized the company for setting up unreasonable clauses over consumers' reasonable demand pertaining to product quality problems, which infringed consumers' legal rights and interests.
It is the duty of businesses to respect and protect consumers' rights and interests, and no company or brand has any privilege in that, the council said on Thursday.
Businesses with double standards or discriminatory actions and those which bully consumers would certainly lose trust and be abandoned by the market, it said.
Jia told Chinese media outlets on Tuesday that the Canada Goose down jacket that she bought at Shanghai IFC Mall had quality problems, and her request for a refund was refused.
The coat, on which she spent 11,400 yuan (US$1,792) in late October, had a pungent smell and rough stitching, Jia claimed.
Moreover, the Canada Goose logo was wrongly embroidered with one extra arc in the sun, she said.
Jia said she was not aware that the product could not be returned before payment because she was not informed as such by staffers.
She was asked to sign an exchange policy after payment, which stated that all products sold at Canada Goose retail stores on China's mainland are strictly non-refundable unless otherwise provided by applicable laws.
Jia said as she was told that she could not take the clothing unless she signed the paper, which she duly did.
Jia tried different ways to fix the problem, such as calling the company's hotline and sending emails, but all methods failed.
Following media reports, the company said in a statement on Wednesday that it now allows a return and a refund for products sold at all Canada Goose retail stores on the mainland under applicable laws.
