The CEO of an iconic Australian fashion label has issued an apology after a disastrous warehouse sale on the weekend where temperatures nearly hit 40C.
The CEO of an iconic Australian fashion label has issued an apology after a disastrous warehouse sale on the weekend.
Showpo held a massive sale boasting of prices as low as $5 on Saturday and Sunday in Chullora in the western suburbs of Sydney.
People flocked to the event, leading to long queues outside in the searing sun as thrifty shoppers waited to be let inside the warehouse.
And the timing couldn’t have been worse as a heatwave swept through the state, with parts of Sydney’s west climbing to 38C degrees on Saturday.
On top of that, a “rogue batch” of low-quality production samples were also sold at the sale.
Frustrated shoppers took to social media over the conditions. One even complained that the long wait wasn’t worth it as the stock on sale was low quality and not worth parting her from her money.
Showpo founder and chief executive Jane Lu released a heartfelt apology over where she admitted she had underestimated the level of interest in her products.
“I’m so sorry for anyone who had a bad experience at our warehouse sale. As the CEO, this kills me,” Ms Lu posted on TikTok on Monday night, under her moniker @thelazyceo.
People queued up before the sale began.
“Who knew a warehouse sale would be such a rollercoaster of emotions?” she asked her followers.
“So when we first put up this Facebook event it said like no-one was coming and we were panicking.
“Turns out just no-one uses Facebook anymore.
“Then when I get to the sale there was more people than we’d ever had, five times or more, it was insane.”
On the Facebook event, less than 400 people ticked they were going.
“I was so excited until the morning progressed and the queue didn’t get shorter. It got even longer,” Ms Lu continued.
“And so I am so sorry for everyone who had to wait in the line.
“Next time, rest assured, we’re addressing all the issues. More racks, way more clothes, more changing rooms, more EFTPOS machines and way more staff on.
“But thank you for everyone who did come, I am so grateful.”
Showpo shoppers took to social media as the warehouse sale unfolded. One woman said she arrived at 8.30am in the morning and the temperatures already felt like 40 degrees as she waited in line.
“It was honestly the worst warehouse sale I’ve ever been to,” said someone else on social media.
Another TikTok user under the handle @odryden said there was no water or sun cream provided despite the lines “being really long”.
She added that when she finally made it inside the warehouse, a lot of the stuff was “bad quality”. “You can’t even wear any of these,” she said.
The young woman said although the clothes didn’t grab her attention, the accessories were a steal, including $15 Tony Bianco shoes that she snapped up.
Ms Lu saw this post and left a personal apology, writing in the comments section: “Hi lovely, Showpo CEO here. So sorry you had a bad experience – we did not expect that many ppl (sic). It was 10X what we’d had before”.
A third disgruntled customer claimed on social media that “the majority of clothes were unwearable” with marker stains and dodgy stitching.
Ms Lu also addressed this person, rejecting their claims. “I genuinely don’t think that’s true,” she wrote. “We sold more than ever so lots of amazing stock in there.”
She did admit to a “rogue batch” of production samples that made their way into the sale.
They “should’ve never been there, so we’re looking into how that happened and ensure it definitely doesn’t happen again!”
Some “rogue” clothes had permanent marker drawn on them.
Ms Lu said she was investigating the low-quality batch of clothes.
News.com.au has contacted Showpo for additional comment.
People were impressed Ms Lu’s apology, with one commenter saying: “We are all human and we sometimes make mistakes”.
“Love that you’ve done this post. It’s all a learning curve and the next event will be a million times better,” said another.
Ms Lu is in Australia’s young rich list, amassing a $47 million fortune from Showpo by the age of 35.
She used to work an ordinary finance job at EY but quit to strike out on her own and become an entrepreneur in 2010.
Instead of telling her parents she had quit her job, she pretended to go to work, wearing a suit and even carrying around an empty laptop bag.
Showpo eventually took off and Ms Lu’s personal net worth now sits at $53 million, according to the most updated version of the AFR’s Rich List.
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