Luxury etail giant Net-A-Porter has apologised to disgruntled customers of its recent Karl by Karl Lagerfeld retail activation in Sydney.
Sydney was among five cities around the globe, including Paris, New York and London, to launch the Chanel designer's diffusion line for Net-A-Porter last week.
Branded pop-up stores were erected in each city, however as ragtrader.com.au reported on the day prior to its January 26 debut, there was already confusion surrounding the Sydney location.
Customers on the day were left wondering why a simple address - Beach House, 178 Campbell Pde Bondi (entry via Gould Street) - was not communicated to followers.
"We spent half an hour looking for the 'crowd' as per their tweets, and it was by chance that we saw the window because we were at [nearby designer boutique] Tuchuzy," one shopper said.
In addition to location difficulties, fans at the Sydney store opening told ragtrader.com.au they were disappointed to see a full window decal of the collection on display, with no models or activations showcasing the range.
"There was a curtain, along with velvet ropes and [online] film crews. The curtain dropped and it was essentially a poster. It was all a massive anti-climax."
While four iPads were circulated on the day to encourage online purchases, shoppers had to first access iTunes, buy a special app and log on to take part in the special campaign. Blackberry users were unable to access the campaign through their own phones.
A Net-A-Porter spokesperson defended the initiative to ragtrader.com.au, stating it had been met with an "overwhelmingly positive" global response.
"Not only were the first 50 people in each city rewarded with either a pair of gloves or a Karl collar from the collection, but hundreds of collectable tote bags and tee shirts were given away to the fans who joined us.
"In addition, multitudes of prizes were won by those using either our or their own personal iPhones and iPads, so we had many delighted winners as well.
"We are sorry to learn that not everyone had as much fun as we had hoped, but the reaction from those who engaged with the technology, walked away with a gift, won a prize or had the experience of exploring the site and shopping the Karl collection on line has been resoundingly affirmative.”
NET-A-PORTER SYDNEY LAUNCH: "Essentially a poster," one shopper said.
