The public relations fiasco that has haunted Nike Taiwan for a week temporarily came to an end when the company's general manager finally showed up to apologize to the public at a press conference yesterday morning.
In front of a packed house of journalists, the country head of the American sportswear maker Hank Lin (
This is an about-face for the branch office, which was criticized by some for having an "arrogant attitude" at an earlier press conference on Wednesday, which was forced to end abruptly after reporters walked out en masse to "protest" Nike executives' refusal to apologize.
"Their crisis management is really laughable," said Horng Shun-ching (
He said this has exposed massive flaws inside the company, as this matter -- which could have been a minor incident -- dragged on for a week, becoming a huge controversy.
"They should have made apologies and offered compensation at the beginning," he said.
As Lin admitted that they had known about Jordan's less-than-two-minute appearance beforehand, Horng said this has greatly damaged Nike's reputation and would definitely be reflected in its sales in coming weeks.
In an effort to show their sincerity, Lin said Nike products bought between May 1 and May 22 could be refunded without condition and the company will sponsor 30 community basketball courts -- in addition to giving exclusive posters and Air Jordan 1 Retro Low shoes to 700 fans.
The Consumers' Foundation therefore canceled boycotts of Nike sportswear it has planned to stage yesterday afternoon.
"Although Nike Taiwan's response was not aimed at the foundation's requests made Tuesday, it has shown goodwill and boycotts are now unnecessary," Cheng Jen-hung (
Cheng said the businesses would secure public support only when they respect consumers' rights and interests.
Although Nike Taiwan has responded to the disappointment of the fans, who were vexed at the basketball megastar's too-brief appearance last Saturday, government investigations are still underway.
Fair Trade Commission chairman Hwang Tzong-leh (
Article 41 of the Fair Trade Act (
In addition, the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office has stepped in to look into the disputes.
"We're collecting evidence and would like victims to make depositions," said Prosecutor Lee Hong-wei (
The office has not ruled out issuing a summons to the company executive to clarify the issue, Lee said.
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