Popular Jacket Brand Canada Goose Puts BJ Flagship Store on Ice
Well-to-do Beijingers eager to spend RMB 7,000 on Canada Goose parkas are sure to be disappointed by what appears to be the latest development in the ongoing China-America trade war.
The upscale jacket company announced via its Weibo account this past Friday that it would delay the opening of its new Sanlitun store, blaming “construction reasons.”
However, numerous media outlets have in fact pinned the real reason for the delay on the brand taking preemptive measures against nationalistic Chinese netizens who may boycott the brand in a move against Canada itself. This would be in retaliation to the recent extradition of Huawei finance chief Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Vancouver at the behest of the US.
The Sanlitun shop would have marked Canada Goose’s debut not only in the world’s second largest economy, but also a market that has long been keen to import the expensive down jacket brand (as well as make shoddy local knockoffs back in less prosperous times).
A sign reading "under construction" at the Canada Goose store in Beijing
Business news outlet Bloomberg went on to report that Canada Goose “didn’t give a date for when the store would open. When contacted for a comment, it reiterated [that] the delay was due to construction and said it looked forward to launching in the near future.” The company’s stock price took a 4.9 percent dip on Friday, which Bloomberg counts as the sixth decline in seven trading sessions since news of Meng's arrest broke. In all, the stock has dipped 24 percent.
People tend to forgive and forget easily as there is always new gossip and speculation every day.
Despite the bad news, the parka company’s goose isn’t quite cooked just yet. A number of Beijing fashion experts say the company needs only to wait until memories of Meng’s arrest fade before a thaw finally sets in. Julia Liang, a Beijing fashion and travel blogger via Heels On the Go (heelsonthego.com) tells the Beijinger: "The controversy will die down sooner or later, in my opinion. People tend to forgive and forget easily as there is always new gossip and speculation every day."
"Canada Goose should do well in China as the products are of decent quality, and the brand is quite strong," Liang adds.
Shoppers walk by the unopened Canada Goose store in Sanlitun
This is certainly not the first time their nationalism has spilled over into commerce. As we reported earlier this spring, Korean chain Lotte Mart shut down all 21 of its Beijing branches after enduring a year of a plummeting sales. That boycott came after South Korea allowed the US to build a protective missile system, the so-called THAAD, to ward off any potential attacks originating from China.
However, this new retail tit-for-tat might be different. BBC points out that, although there certainly was anti-Canada Goose sentiment on Weibo, most netizens are instead griping that the jackets were unaffordable for most Chinese patrons.
Regardless, Canada Goose has remained steadfast through it all, at least in a statement to Bloomberg. They said they still plan to open the Sanlitun shop before long. The company can only hope not to ruffle more feathers before then.
READ: When Populism Wins: Lotte Mart to Close All 21 Beijing Stores
Photos: BBC, Reuters (via asia.nikkei.com), globaltimes.cn
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