Lancôme is facing heavy criticism after canceling singer Denise Ho Wan-see’s concert in China.
In response, brand managers have opted to close several shops throughout Hong Kong.
French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, which owns the Lancôme brand, decided to cancel the concerts after China’s state-run newspaper—The Global Times —accused Ho of being sympathetic to the Hong Kong and Tibetan independence efforts.
Protests began popping up at Lancôme sellers’ locations, including Lane Crawford department stores and Lancôme outlets across Hong Kong this week.
Lane Crawford closed its Lancôme booth ahead of the protests.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATORS: Join our new LinkedIn group and get FREE tips and strategies to improve leadership communications.
Lancôme’s crisis department didn’t exactly help its image when it issued this statement on Saturday:
And then followed up with this statement a day later:
Ho issued a statement to reporters, which claimed that the whole situation "seriously misled the public and jeopardized my personal reputation."
"When a global brand like Lancôme has to kneel down to a bullying hegemony, we must face the problem seriously," she said in the statement.
Columnist Alex Lo from the South China Morning Post said that Lancôme only had itself to blame for the PR mess:
What’s a definite no-no is to hire someone like Ho and then promptly ditch her after an official mainland newspaper complains. That not only makes you look spineless and unprincipled, it shows you are incompetent, which is more unforgivable in the corporate world.
Protestors have vowed to continue and possibly heighten their actions until brand managers apologize for what they perceive to be self-censorship.
(Image via)from PR Daily News Feed http://ift.tt/1UpN6Vc
No comments:
Post a Comment