When you launch your brand in a new country it’s always an exciting time, your social media team working around the clock to drum up interest and get people talking.

Whoever is in charge of fashion retailer H&M’s South African launch has certainly done that, although not in the way they would have hoped. The drama started with this tweet below from a consumer with a rather valid question.

And then here’s H&M landing their foot firmly in their mouth:

A few things stand out there – ‘essential for us to convey a positive image’, ‘show our fashion in an inspiring way’ and ‘to convey a positive feeling’. So what are the implying, that featuring black models would somehow compromise that? Twitter didn’t let this slide…

Then, of course, came the public apology.

Proceed with caution H&M, people will be waiting to pounce on your next gaffe and you might want to better understand South Africa and our people before you reveal your ignorance.

[source:women24]