So far, Dolce & Gabbana has not issued any updates to its blanket press statement on 8 January: "Controversial statements reported in the Hong Kong press have not been made by Dolce & Gabbana nor its staff, and we strongly reject any racist or derogatory comments. It is regrettable that Dolce & Gabbana has been brought into this matter, but we wish to underline that our company has not taken part in any action aiming at offending the Hong Kong public."
When contacted, D&G told Campaign that it has neither a PR consultancy nor dedicated communications team in Hong Kong, and reiterated that the company has "no further comments".
Offensive behaviour of D&G security personnel was also recorded on video by Sharp Daily, with one of them displaying physical aggression against its reporter. "'Don't take photos, you take away your camera or I will break it,' one guard was quoted as saying.
Napoleon Biggs, senior vice president and head of digital integration of Asia Pacific at Fleishman-Hillard, said the public anger was connected to the lack of freedom of expression in Hong Kong - a spillover of political disgruntlement during a sensitive time ahead of upcoming elections in the territory on 25 March.
Walter Jennings, partner of Kreab Gavin Anderson Hong Kong, added that this incident has escalated to a socio-political issue about rights, freedom and equality. "It seemed [on the surface] that D&G is trying to protect its intellectual property, but it did so in a clumsy manner".
In an earlier report, a protester told the SCMP rich companies had too much power in Hong Kong - a case of "luxury hegemony". The mass protest indicated resentment against big luxury retailers who are "increasingly reliant on shoppers from the mainland and have adopted a discriminatory attitude against locals," according to Dr Chan Kin-man, an associate professor at Chinese University's sociology department.
Luxury goods in Hong Kong have enjoyed significant sales growth in Hong Kong recently, driven largely by mainland tourists from the mainland taking advantage of the fact there is no sales tax in the special administrative region.
D&G should not "simply throw itself at Chinese shoppers, and should be very careful not to spark any further outrage in Hong Kong," Chris Kyme, founder of Kymechow Communications said.
Jennings advised, "D&G needs to put a spokesperson in front of the media immediately, to step in and address the confusion over what security and salespeople have said. We have not seen any representative from the corporate PR department".
Kyme agreed, saying the company should apologise as soon as possible to take responsibility instead of distancing itself from the outlash. "D&G should not take Hong Kong consumers for granted," he said. "They should respect the place in which they do business. They should not underestimate the buying power of Hong Kongers; and also, as the current situation with sales tax in China may not last forever."
In contrast, Harbour City, the shopping mall that houses the D&G flagship store, has apologised for the "misunderstanding". A statement issued on its Facebook page said, “We will learn from the incident and listen to the views of people from different sectors.”
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