In the eye of a storm, the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton is facing global outrage over its controversial refund policy in the South East Asian markets. The latest attack comes from China that has accused the company of maintaining a ‘double standard' in its refund policy.
According to the latest reports, the refund policy, which recently got exposed is likely to deepen Chinese consumers' anger toward international brands' discriminatory policies.
This comes after Canadian luxury parka maker Canada Goose ignited a backlash among Chinese consumers for its discriminatory return policy in the Chinese market.
In addition to Canada Goose, a number of other international brands also have adopted different after-sale policies between China and other markets, which have cited Louis Vuitton as an example.
As per the latest reports, in the US and Canada, merchandise can be returned for a full refund within 30 days from the date of purchase. However, a customer service employee of the brand in the Chinese mainland said that merchandise purchased at their Chinese stores is non-refundable, and only those purchased online are refundable within seven days of receipt. Both can be returned for exchange within 30 days of purchase in other global markets.
Moreover, on Louis Vuitton's official websites in the US and Canada, its returns and exchanges policy reads that returns will be accepted for exchange in any freestanding Louis Vuitton store around the world, excluding Brazil, China, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, India, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, etc.
The brand's different return and exchange policies have also triggered fresh anger among Chinese consumers. “You contribute greatly to its market revenue, while it takes discriminatory policy against you. What's the problem with you?” a Chinese netizen said on Weibo.
There are also netizens calling for the revision of market regulations in China to better protect the rights and interests of Chinese consumers, the report added.
