Chinese retailers have started taking thousands of products from luxury brand Dolce and Gabbana from their shelves in response to the fury over a series of controversial commercials.
Webshops in the country are also boycotting the brand.
In the commercials which cause online furor, a girl tries to eat typical Italian products like spaghetti and pizza with chopsticks. Chinese commenters said that in doing so the Italian fashion brand mocks the customs and traditions of the country. The campaign is labeled both racist and insensitive. You can see it here:
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D&G has apologized for the campaign, which was to have been accompanied by a catwalk show in Shanghai on Wednesday, which was later cancelled.
The designer duo says the show was "something that we created especially with love and passion for China."
"Our dream was to bring to Shanghai a tribute event dedicated to China which tells our history and vision. What happened today was very unfortunate not only for us, but also for all the people who worked day and night to bring this event to life."
The boycott in China could have serious consequences for the company. Among others webshop Yangmatou has stopped the sale of tens of thousands of D&G-products. Other platforms quickly followed suit as the fury among Chinese consumers spread: Koala, JD.com and Tmak (part of internet giant Alibaba) are no longer offering D&G articles.
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Social media had previously called for a boycott of the brand which had produced commercials that were ‘racist, denigrating and not funny,’ according to thousands of online comments.
"Boycott Dolce" has also been discussed on micro blogging site Weibo more than 18,000 times.
The controversy was heightened after screenshots surfaced from an Instagram discussion between star designer Stefano Gabbana and a follower in which Gabbana takes offence to Chinese consumers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No Mr.Gabbana, you don’t love China, you just love the money it generates you. Opinions, culture and habits may differ, but you should show respect! Mr. Stefano Gabbana, I recently just read a article by the Washington Post with the title:”Dolce and Gabbana are rich, extrava… <a href="https://t.co/cLRn7Iy740">pic.twitter.com/cLRn7Iy740</a></p><a href="https://twitter.com/sunny_rain_li/status/1065244777820631040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Dolce & Gabbana later reported that both the brand and designer's account had been hacked and apologized.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Founders of Italian luxury brand <a href="https://twitter.com/dolcegabbana?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dolcegabbana</a> on Friday released a video clip on Chinese social media platform Weibo to "apologize to all of the many Chinese people throughout the world" for making "mistakes in interpreting [Chinese culture]." <a href="https://t.co/pGHkMnqt0g">pic.twitter.com/pGHkMnqt0g</a></p><a href="https://twitter.com/PDChina/status/1065869810192461824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
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"We have nothing but respect for China and the people of China," the apology message read.
China is an important growth market for luxury brands. The Chinese spent over 100 billion dollars last year on such items.
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITf-20Igl38
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The only reason the Chinese like businesses would be so they can create knock-offs.
Is it a knockoff if the company that produces the real deal also makes extras to sell out the back door? My knockoff Callaway golf clubs I dragged home for $70US we’re impossible to identify as fake. They also played as well as they looked.
I would guess the anon who posted after me likes to steal. They used to call that being a thief. Since the Clinton era the justification relies on what your definition of is, is
Dear Leader Comrade Generalissimo Xi Jinping is the immortal ruler of Glorious Invincible China. Gifted with a superior intellect and a willpower to bring everlasting glory to China, Dear Leader Comrade Generalissimo Xi Jinping achieved the great feats in his university days and working at the Communist Party of China. Whenever the criminal jewish US imperialists resorted to high-handedness with China, the Supreme Commander flawlessly put them to shame, smashing their moves. Blessed is the Chinese nation to have such a heroic and gifted leader! Ten thousand years!
Rule #1 Don't insult your customers.