Row brews over modeled clothes
Daily Gomiuri
Several apparel makers recently were found to have sold clothes as brand new even though they had been worn by boutique clerks during promotions. Many stores have defended this practice by saying it differs little from when customers try clothing on while shopping. But will customers really buy this explanation? When Pinky Girls, a fashion house brand highly popular among young women, was accused of doing this, an executive of its parent company Sanei-International Co. admitted it had happened. Shinichi Matsuda, the managing director of the Shibuya Ward, Tokyo-based apparel maker, said the practice had been common at all of its boutiques ever since the Pinky Girls brand was launched seven years ago. "If clothes are still thought brand new even after a few customers try them on, then clothes worn by clerks also would be considered new," he said...more...
Rather than keep this a secret, it sounds as if a lucrative variation within the burasera market could be opened.