Balenciaga Issues Second Apology Over Treatment of Chinese Customers at French Store

After apologising last week, the outrage over Balenciaga‘s treatment of Chinese customers at Parisian department store Printemps has continued with the fashion house forced to issue a second apology. Since a short video surfaced initially on Weibo, users of the social network have been calling for a boycott of the Kering-owned label.

Responding to this campaign, Balenciaga acknowledged the “seriousness” of the issue and announced that the management staff present during the incident had been suspended with an investigation underway. The statement also reveals that Balenciaga will “introduce a new system for product launches” in order to make sure this doesn’t happen again. You can read the full second, more detailed statement from Balenciaga below:

The House of Balenciaga is firmly committed to the values of equality and diversity, and stands strongly against any kind of discrimination. As such, the House takes the incident that happened on Wednesday April 25th at its corner shop in a Paris department store very seriously.

Working in collaboration with the department store, Balenciaga is investigating the matter thoroughly and taking steps to prevent similar reoccurrence. First, given the seriousness of the incident, Balenciaga has decided to temporarily suspend the management staff present during the event pending the results of this investigation. Balenciaga will take any necessary measures after the investigation is concluded.

Secondly, in order to offer to its customers a shopping experience aligned with the House’s values, Balenciaga will implement a new standard operation procedure. The House will introduce a new system for product launches and reinforce procedures for security staff, seeking to improve the experiences of all clients and limit waiting time.

Balenciaga sincerely apologizes to all Chinese customers and all other customers present at that time. The House is endeavouring to reach customers impacted by the incident in order to individually apologize. Balenciaga reiterates its utmost respect for each and every customer, and demonstrates its strong commitment to providing the highest service.

In related news, Balenciaga’s lace-up Speed Trainer now comes in “Tonal Navy.”