China Business Daily (Reporter Yu Jiaxin) "Dear members, your stored value balance may not be able to be used in the near future, it is recommended that you go to the nearby MJstyle direct stores in time before April 30, 2024 to use it." On April 23, consumers of MJstyle, a domestic fast-fashion clothing brand, received such a message.
According to Aiqicha, MJstyle's parent company, Shanghai Jianshang Garment Co., Ltd., has been enforced many times so far, and there are eight bankruptcy review related information. As of press time, many consumers said that the requirement that "the stored value balance can only be consumed in directly operated stores within a time limit" is unreasonable, and in the process of returning the actual balance, the brand has problems such as the stagnation of the refund progress.
"It is recommended to go to the directly managed store to spend the stored value"
On April 23, many consumers, including Xiaojing (pseudonym), received text messages from MJstyle, a domestic fast fashion brand.
If there is still a balance in the card, it is recommended to go to the local brand store before April 30 to avoid unnecessary losses.
MJstyle's message to consumers on April 23. (Photo provided by the surveyed consumer)
Xiao Jing told a reporter from China Business Daily that her first reaction when she saw this news was "very pitiful", because in Rizhao City, Shandong Province, where she is located, MJstyle's directly-operated store had been withdrawn as early as two years ago, "You can't go to a direct-operated store in other places in order to spend the balance." ”
On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, many consumers have shared their similar experiences.
Ms. Wang, a consumer in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, told reporters that on April 15, she also bought clothes at a MJstyle store near her home, and the amount in the stored value card could still be used normally. After receiving the message from the brand, she went to the store again on the same day (April 23) and found that there was no explanation related to the stored value balance in the store, and the staff did not make relevant inquiries. It wasn't until I chose my clothes and was ready to pay with a stored-value card that I was told by the staff: "The store is not a directly-managed store, and the franchise store and the directly-operated store operate separately, so the stored-value card cannot be used in the franchise store." ”
Search for "MJstyle" on the Xiaohongshu platform, and the latest content is related to "refund", "bankruptcy" and so on. (Picture from Xiaohongshu App)
On the Dianping platform, the reporter searched for a total of six MJstyle physical stores in Beijing whose status was displayed as "in business". Through telephone contact, the sales staff of MJstyle Beijing Hualian Huilongguan store told reporters that the store is a directly operated store and can currently use the stored value balance normally. In other stores, calls were not answered or hung up.
The return of stored value balances is slow
Some consumers said that they immediately opened the MJstyle official mini program mall to buy after seeing the text message sent by the brand, and "picked and bought more than 500 yuan of things", and most of the goods were shipped the next day after payment. The reporter contacted the customer service of the Mini Program and learned that at present, the stored value balance of the MJstyle Mini Program can still be used normally, and the goods can be shipped normally.
The "Stored Value Card Balance Usage Period" column of the MJstyle Mini Program's online customer service displays: "The stored value balance of the member user will not be automatically cleared or expired, and it can continue to be used in the future." After the reporter asked the customer service, "what time does it refer to", and the customer service said that "there is no corresponding notice at present." ”
The picture shows part of the chat records between the reporter and the customer service staff of the MJstyle Mini Program.
Some consumers also believe that they don't like the existing clothing styles in physical stores and mini programs, and the brand's requirement to force the consumption to be completed within the time limit is unreasonable, and they hope that the brand can refund the balance in the stored value card. However, when the consumer consulted the local store, the sales staff said that the refund could only be completed through the mini program channel at present.
Xiao Jing said that her stored value balance in MJstyle is 4342.60 yuan, of which the refundable part is 2895 yuan, and the 1447.6 yuan given by the previous recharge cannot be refunded. After the incident, she has been trying to contact the manual customer service on the Mini Program. At about 17 o'clock on April 23, the customer service agreed to register the refund for Xiaojing, but also said that "the current time limit for the refund processing of stored value cards may be long, and the specific time limit cannot be confirmed for the time being." After that, Xiao Jing asked for the bank card number to be refunded many times, but the customer service only said that "at present, I have checked that you have registered, and there will be a commissioner to deal with it later", and then there was no next step feedback.
Part of the chat records of Xiaojing's communication with the manual customer service of the MJstyle Mini Program. (Photo provided by the surveyed consumer)
The reporter saw on the Xiaohongshu platform that as of press time, some consumers have completed the registration of bank card accounts through the manual customer service of the mini program, and are currently waiting for the balance to be refunded. However, more consumers who apply for refund registration are still in the state of "manual customer service cannot be connected" and "only personal balance is registered" at this stage.
Enterprises may face bankruptcy reorganization
Xiao Jing believes that the reason why a large number of MJstyle consumers are facing the problem of balance refund may be related to the great discount of the stored value activity launched by the brand a few years ago.
"About 2 to 3 years ago, the brand had a stored value activity, and you could get 500 yuan for recharging 1,000 yuan. Everyone should also think that this is more cost-effective, so they recharged a lot of money at once. Xiao Jing said.
However, Xiaojing and other consumers generally reported that in recent years, the brand has become "less and less good" from style design to workmanship, so many consumers "buy less" even if they still have stored value balances.
In fact, before the incident, MJstyle had a lot of influence in the field of domestic fast fashion. In the Tmall flagship store, the brand has 3.91 million followers.
According to public information, MJstyle is affiliated to Shanghai Jianshang Clothing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Jianshang Clothing), which is a fast fashion retail brand integrating R&D, production, sales and other services, and also sells products such as family wear, creative home furnishings, trendy accessories, and boutique bags.
It is also understood that Jianshang clothing was established in November 2011, and the founder and former legal representative of the company is Yuan Bayuan. MJstyle was once very fast at the beginning of the brand's establishment, with a store opening growth rate of 52% in 2017, the first store in Tokyo, Japan in 2018, and the second fastest fashion brand in 2021 with a growth rate of 59 new stores, second only to Uniqlo.
However, since 2022, the operating conditions of the brand and the parent company seem to have gone "downhill". In May 2022, the legal representative of Jianshang Clothing was changed to Ying Junyang. In June of the same year, due to the failure to fulfill the payment obligation on time, the company and its former legal representative Yuan Bayuan were restricted from high consumption.
According to the Aiqicha, Jianshang Clothing has a total of 783 own risks and 300 associated risks, and the company is a dishonest enterprise publicized by the Supreme People's Court. Since September 2023, the company has been enforced several times. On the 24th of this month, the company added a new piece of execution information, and the execution target was 938141 yuan.
As of press time, there are a total of 783 self-risks of Jianshang Apparel, and the latest execution information occurred on April 24. (The picture is taken from the official website of Aiqicha)
In addition, since November 5, 2022, there have been a total of 8 bankruptcy cases and bankruptcy review cases in Jianshang Apparel. The latest publication date is April 11 this year, the applicant is Nanjing Hanbo International Trade Co., Ltd., and the economic court is the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People's Court.
On April 11, Jianshang Apparel added a new bankruptcy case information (picture screenshot from the official website of Aiqicha)
At present, in addition to the problem of prepaid card recharge, consumers are also very concerned about whether stores will be closed. The sales staff of MJstyle Beijing Hualian Huilongguan store told reporters on the phone that they are also waiting for arrangements for whether the store will face withdrawal after April 30. According to the reporter's understanding, offline sales staff in other cities said that they were told not long ago that the store was about to close and that they could no longer continue to work in the store.
"The balance in everyone's stored value cards adds up to a lot of money, and hopefully we can successfully receive a refund. Xiao Jing said.