Lancome has come under fire from supporters of singer and activist Denise Ho, as well as the artist herself, after a concert it was sponsoring in the Sheung Wan neighbourhood was cancelled for “safety reasons”, following negative comments on social media site Sina Weibo about “Lancôme hiring ‘Hong Kong poison’ Ho”. “The China factor in the commercial world has a direct impact on the freedom of speech and creativity in Hong Kong,” musician and critic Adrian Chow wrote on his Facebook page (in Chinese). The cancellation came just days before Ho had to cancel her performance at an event organised by the Hong Kong-based pro-democracy group Scholarism because she could not get into the venue. There have been calls on social media to boycott Lancome products. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region for Lancome rose by 19.7% in 2015.
Lancome has come under fire from supporters of singer and activist Denise Ho, as well as the artist herself, after a concert it was sponsoring in the Sheung Wan neighbourhood was cancelled for “safety reasons”, following negative comments on social media site Sina Weibo about “Lancôme hiring ‘Hong Kong poison’ Ho”. The cancellation came just days before Ho had to cancel her performance at an event organised by the Hong Kong-based pro-democracy group Scholarism because she could not get into the venue. There have been calls on social media to boycott Lancome products. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region for Lancome rose by 19.7% in 2015.