H&M must ‘invest in building bridges’ after racial blunder‚ says communication expert
Swedish multinational clothing-retail company H&M would have to "invest in building bridges" after its blunder involving a racially offensive hoodie‚ says inter-cultural communication expert Jette Kristiansen. Kristiansen‚ who is based in Cape Town but is a guest lecturer at Southern Jutland University in Denmark‚ said customers needed to be respected. "Customers these days are not just people who bring in money‚ but people who want to be respected. They (H&M) need to spend more money on understanding their customers and also think of their black staff who will have to go to work after what has just happened‚" said Kristiansen. EFF supporters stormed into several H&M stores in Gauteng on Saturday‚ days after the company withdrew sales of a green hoodie with the inscription "coolest monkey in the jungle" after complaints that the ad featuring a black child triggered racism accusations. Shops in Sandton‚ Menlyn Park and on the East Rand were forced to close after party supporters tras...
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