The Sk-Ii’s Problem

The background of SK-II's "heavy metal" cosmetics problem

The furor started in 14th September 2006 when China's quality watchdog discovered trace amounts of chromium and neodymium that can cause skin allergies and other health problems, in several SK-II products such as whitening agents and facial creams. All the problem products were made by P&G in Japan. On that day, the owner of SK-II denied it had added the substances to its products. A television news group in Hong Kong also conducted lab tests on the samples it had collected and the result shows they contained the two substances.

Until 17th September, 3 days after the ChinaЎ¦s quality watchdog report, SK-II finally declare on Hong Kong several major newspapers, said that the neodymium and chromium detected in SK-II cosmetics came from raw materials and only posed a minor hazard to consumers' health if used properly so they did not conduct a product recall in Hong Kong.

The return policy of SK-IIЎ¦s products in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, after the research from China, SK-II said they wonЎ¦t test all the prodcust and stop to sell their products in the markets. After that, some of the shop in Hong Kong like Manling, Watsons, SaSa etc. stopped to sell SK-IIЎ¦s products. SK-II started the return policy for Hong Kong customers and it lasted for 14-day, it only limited to nine of its skin-care products which contains chemical substances, chromium and neodymium. Customers who have passed the return deadline can call the company hotline, and the managing director of SK-II owner Procter and Gamble (Hong Kong) said "special exceptions" will only be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Suggestions to solve the problem

In the press conference, SK-II will make it clear to declare that they are still in good condition. After the China Government are identified the products with neodymium and cranium chemical materials. They feel sorry about it makes the worry to the customers and the public. So they make apologize to any worries that arouse by the public.

Customer needs are the most important issue in SK-II and the major focus is the respect to consumers. In order to build up the customerЎ¦s confidents to their products, SK-II make sure that neodymium and cranium will not damage customerЎ¦s body in both short-term and long-term. Many loyalty customers use their products for several years, but they do not find any problems. SK-II think that the media have overstated