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Retail Marketing Racism

Protesters trash H&M store in South Africa over 'coolest monkey' product image

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By Gillian West, Social media manager

January 14, 2018 | 3 min read

The backlash over a ‘racist’ product image featured on the H&M website has continued for the retailer as protesters stormed - and trashed - an outlet in South Africa this weekend.

H&M has faced a backlash over a 'racist' product image

H&M has apologised for the 'racist' product image

Hitting headlines earlier this week, the image of a black child model in a hoodie featuring the quote “coolest monkey in the jungle” saw the likes of The Weeknd and G-Eazy cut ties with the brand.

According to local media reports, an opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), called for shopping centres to evict the Swedish retailer.

The majority of the protests were peaceful, but footage from the Sandton City store in Johannesburg shows protesters kicking and knocking down in-store displays and clothing racks.

Floyd Shivambu, EFF deputy president, tweeted in response to the protests congratulating those involved claiming they had “physically confronted racism”.

H&M has apologised for the image, admitting it “got this wrong” and was “deeply sorry”. The mother of the child model, Terry Mango, has spoken out in defence of the retailer telling those offended to “stop crying wolf all the time” and “get over it”.

Retail Marketing Racism

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