Uniqlo, GAP hit for poor after-sales service
Japanese casual apparel giant Uniqlo’s shop in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul.
By Rachel Lee
Global SPA brands, such as Uniqlo and GAP, have been criticized for poor after-sales support and allegedly refusing to offer such service to their customers.
According to Consumer Research Tuesday, five giant SPA brands ― Uniqlo, GAP, ZARA, H&M and Mango ― do not operate their own after-sale service centers. SPA brands, or specialty store retailers of private label apparel, produce reasonably-priced clothing and quickly adopt new trends.
“An increasing number of consumers are complaining about the SPA brands’ poor management of their customers with after-sales service,” said a research center spokesman Tuesday. “They said they feel they have been ripped off absolutely by such established brands.”
The consumer research center also said consumers have to pay for the after-sale repair service provided by GAP, Uniqlo and ZARA, but H&M and Mango do not even offer such services, which has caused great inconvenience to fans of the global high street brands.
About 40 percent of the nine stores run by three international SPA brands said such a service is not available.
“I bought a pair of jeans a month ago at a Uniqlo store at a reasonable price and I thought it was a good quality product. But about two weeks later, I tripped over a stone and ripped my trousers. I took them back to the store to have them repaired, but the staff members said they do not offer after-sale support to customers except for length adjustment,” said Kim, a 25-year-old office worker.
In Korea, the five SPA brands and other imported makers dominate the clothing market. The total market was worth more than 1.9 trillion won in 2011, and it has been increasing by 50 percent each year, the report said.
“Considering how fast the market size has been expanded over the years, the level of after service is way below average,” said the spokesman.
SPA brand retailers said they have customer service centers at headquarter offices, which deals with all product inquiries such as refunds and exchanges.
“Customers can take the clothes they bought to our stores and ask for a refund or exchange. This is not a problem at all. Or they can just call our customer service center,” H&M PR manager Cheong Hae-jin said Tuesday. According to the company, customers do not have access to the center operated by H&M.
“Normally what we do is take faulty items and offer exchanges or refunds. In order for us to set up a service center in the country, we need so many things from our head office, which include from A to Z such as fabric and other materials. It’s too complicated,” said a GAP spokesman.