Winter clothing firm Canada Goose has finally opened its first Mainland Chinese store in Beijing.
In a launch rumoured to be delayed due to political tensions between China and Canada – and dismissed by the firm as the result of construction delays – extensive queues saw shoppers waiting for over an hour for the opportunity to purchase the CNY9000 (US$1300) parka jackets.
The brand has previously enjoyed significant popularity in Hong Kong.
An email from the firm to news agency Reuters read “We are proud of our newest store in China and look forward to welcoming our fans”.
Calls to boycott the brand were made on social media following Canada’s arrest of Huawei Technologies’ CFO Meng Wanzhou, a situation that has sparked a 37 per cent drop in the value of Canada Goose shares in Toronto.