A Canada Goose retail store Photo:VCG

Canadian retailer Canada Goose ignited public anger in China again over its reported policy of no returns for products sold in stores in the Chinese mainland. The topic has been trending on Chinese Twitter-like social media Sina Weibo on Tuesday evening, attracting more than 140 million views. 

Chinese netizens have strongly condemned the company, saying the reported policy "discriminates" the Chinese market and consumers, and also called for an immediate boycott against the winterwear maker. 

The rising sentiment came after media reported that a Chinese costumer, who bought a  down jacket at a Canada Goose store in Shanghai on October 27, claimed she could not return the jacket after finding the logo was wrongly embroidered. 

The costumer said that she was asked to sign a product exchange waiver when she bought the jacket. The waiver states that, unless otherwise stipulated by relevant laws, all products sold in Canada Goose retail stores in the Chinese mainland cannot be returned. On October 28, the costumer filed a complaint with the store but the manager said that she could not return the product and had to take her request to upper levels of the company.

Regarding the non-refundable policy, a staff at the Canada Goose store in the Sanlitun area of Beijing, confirmed that products cannot be returned if bought in the retail store but they can be exchanged within 14 days of purchase, according to a report from online news outlet bjnews.com on Tuesday.

Another staff at a Canada Goose pop-up store in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality said that all products sold in retail stores in the Chinese mainland cannot be returned, adding that this is a "general policy" in China, according to the report.

However, the Global Times found that products bought on Canada Goose's online store can be returned or exchanged without reason within seven days.

"It is an excessive policy," a Chinese netizen named Shen-2021 said on Weibo, calling for the authorities to step in. Some also asked to kick the firm out of China.

The news comes only months after the company was fined in China for using misleading advertisement about goose down. In September, Xiji (Shanghai) Trading Co, Canada Goose-related company in China, was fined 450,000 yuan ($69,750) by the market regulator in Shanghai for falsely advertising goods or services, deceiving and misleading consumers about parka material.

Canada Goose said in early November that it is expecting a strong holiday season this year, as the winterwear maker benefits from surging demand for its luxury parkas in China and remains insulated from a global supply chain crunch across the sector, according to a report by Reuters.

The company is forecasting annual earnings above estimates after topping Wall Street expectations for Q2 revenue. Known for its bright red parkas, Canada Goose also benefited from Chinese consumers who continued to purchase its products, helping the company beat revenue expectations for the tenth consecutive quarter, the report said.

The firm did not reply to the Global Times request for comment over the matter as of press time.