Beijing Consumers Association Interviews Missfresh
The Beijing Consumers Association announced on August 9 that the organization had scheduled a meeting with Beijing-based grocery delivery platform Missfresh on the afternoon of August 4, regarding the recent situation that the company could not continue its normal operations and which caused many consumer complaints.
At the meeting, it informed the company about the consumer complaints accepted by the 96315 hotline, and inquired about the firm’s current situation and its handling of complaints.
Chen Fengxiang, deputy secretary-general of the association, presided over the meeting and put forward three requirements: firstly, it is necessary for the company to properly handle consumer complaints, announce a refund plan, and effectively protect the legitimate rights of consumers; secondly, the company needs to strengthen communication with municipal and district consumer associations, actively cooperate with their work and jointly safeguarding consumers’ legitimate interests; thirdly, the situation description and rectification plan will be fed back to the Association within three working days.
Since the end of July this year, the company’s has received a lot of negative news about its internal reviews, financing, city withdrawals, and warehouse closures. The company, which is listed on the Nasdaq, has not been profitable yet, and its future remains uncertain.
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Some reports have emerged that Missfresh failed to secure financing on July 28 which subsequently caused operational difficulties and job cuts. There have also been related whispers from different sources which have sparked some debates online. The company has said that under the larger goal of achieving profitability, it has adjusted its business and organization, while businesses such as overnight delivery, smart markets, retail cloud were not affected.
However, after the test, the company’s App could no longer accept new orders. Although products are still displayed and can be added to the shopping cart, the checkout page shows that “the products purchased are out of stock under the current address”. And even though the address can be changed from Beijing to Shanghai, Hangzhou and other cities, all show the products to be out of stock and customer service offline.
The firm claimed on August 1 that the “Notice on Missfresh’s Broken Fund Chain and its Inability to Operate” circulated online was completely false and forged information. The company was actively solving the problems regarding its supermarket business together with its users, employees and suppliers, while other businesses maintained normal operations. Simultaneously, for those who have been a part of propagating rumors about the company’s affairs, the company reserves the rights to pursue legal responsibilities.
