skII案例-危机公关

Case: SK-II China: Managing Public Relations (Adapted from Case IB-81, 11/20/07 Stanford Graduate School of Business)
案例：中国SK - II：公共关系管理（改编自案例IB- 81 ， 11/20/07斯坦福大学商学院研究生院）
When SK-II officially entered the China market in the late 1990s, it already had a loyal following of users. Prior to SK-II’s official launch, mainland China users already had been heading to Hong Kong on shopping trips to stock up on SK-II products. As China opened up its markets to international retailers, global luxury cosmetic and skincare brands - including SK-II - quickly grabbed beauty counter spaces in premium department stores. By 2007, the China skincare market was the second largest in Asia, just after Japan; it had been growing at 35 percent each year since 2000.
在20世纪90年代末, 当SK - II正式进入中国市场时，它已经有了忠实用户的追随。

SK - II正式推出之前，中国大陆的用户已前往香港购物，以储备SK - II 产品。

随着中国向国际零售商开放市场，全球高级化妆品和护肤品品牌-包括S K- I I-迅速抓住在高档百货公司的美容柜位。

到2007年，中国护肤品市场成为亚洲第二大，仅次于日本。

自2000年以来每年已增长35 ％。

SK-II was Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) only high-end skincare brand in China and sales accounted for an estimated 7 percent of SK-II global revenue in 2005. China was also P&G’s fastest-growing market for skincare products and among the top markets in value worldwide. Consistent with SK-II’s global branding strategy, these ultra premium skincare products were priced at over $100 and up, not a small sum considering the average income of white-collar office workers in major Chinese cities was $300-$500 per month in 2006. In comparison to other luxury skincare brands such as Lancome and Estee Lauder, SK-II was priced at a 20-30 percent premium. For many years, P&G China enjoyed high revenue and margin growth from SK-II and it was clear that this product could be a star. However, two consecutive public relations (PR) debacles in China in 2005-2006 resulted in a dip in SK-II’s performance. As of 2007, P&G China was still trying to rebuild SK-II’s prestigious brand image and to regain consumers trust.
SK - II是宝洁公司在中国的仅有的高级护肤品品牌，在2005年销售估计占的SK - II全球收入7 ％。

中国也是宝洁公司护肤产品增长最快的市场，也是在全世界市场价值最高的之一。

与SK - Ⅱ的全球品牌战略一致，这些超高价护肤产品的价格超过100美元以上，考虑到在2 006年中国各大城市的白领阶层上班族才有每月300元- 5 00美元的平均收入，这并不是一个小的数目。

与其他豪华护肤品牌比较，如兰蔻和雅诗兰黛， SK - II的价格高出20-30 ％。

多年来，中国宝洁公司从SK – II中获得高收入和利润增长，很明显，这个产品可能是一个明星产品。

不过，在2005-2006年在中国两个连续的公共关系（ PR ）的事
件影响了SK - II的表现。

截至2007年，宝洁中国仍然试图重建SK - II盛名的品牌形象和恢复消费者的信任。

Debacle 2005: One Unhappy Customer
2005年的崩溃：一个不愉快的客户
“Continuous usage for 28 days reduces wrinkles by 48 percent and makes skin look younger by 12 years” was SK-II’s advertising claim for its line of anti-wrinkle products. It was in pursuit of this beauty promise that a Ping Lui from the Chinese city of Nanchang decided to buy a bottle of SKII’s anti-wrinkle cream in February 2005. Lui was a real estate agent making around $550 per month. Similar to many urban working women in wealthy Chinese cities, she decided the $115 SKII cream was an excellent investment to improve the condition of her skin.
“连续使用28天皱纹减少了48 ％，使皮肤显得年轻12年”是SK - II抗皱产品的广告路线。

正是在追求这一美丽的承诺，在2005年2月中国南昌市的吕萍女士决定购买了一瓶skii的抗皱霜。

吕女士是一个房地产经纪人，每月的收入约550美元。

与在中国的富裕城市的许多在城市工作的妇女类似，她决定购买115美元skii霜是一个改善她的皮肤条件优良的投资。

After using the product for one month, Lui’s skin condition did not improved as promised by the marketing tagline. Her skin became extremely itchy and there were patches of damaged skin on her face. On March 7, 2005, she decided to sue P&G China for false advertising. A case was filed with Nanchang Business Bureau, the local government body that monitored fair and legal business practices. After a few days, Lui and her lawyers discovered the anti-wrinkle cream actually contained sodium hydroxide, a compound known to have corrosive properties that could cause skin allergies. While this ingredient was excluded on the Chinese version of the product label, Lui discovered this ingredient was actually on the original Japanese product ingredient list. This fuelled Lui’s claim that P&G China was intentionally selling unsafe products. As such, Lui also filed a consumer fraud lawsuit with the Nanchang District Court.
使用该产品一个月后，吕女士的皮肤状况没有得到象该产品所承诺的营销口号那样改善，。

她的皮肤变得极为发痒，她的脸上还有长斑。

2005年3月7日，她决定起诉中国宝洁的虚假广告。

案件提交给南昌市商业局，这是监察公平合法的商业手法的当地政府机构。

几天之后，吕女士和她的律师发现了抗皱霜其实包含氢氧化钠，已知有腐蚀特性的化合物，可能会导致皮肤过敏。

虽然这个成分被排除在中文版的产品标签，吕女士发现这个成分，实际上是标注在日文产品的成分清单中的。

这证明了吕女士的说法，宝洁中国是在全球范围内卖不安全产品。

因此，吕女士也向南昌地方法院提交了消费欺诈诉讼。

News of Lui’s lawsuit became headline almost instantly as she decided to disclose information related to her case on , one of the most popular Internet portals in China with 700 million daily page views (as of 2006.) Numerous discussion boards and blogs around the country speculated the safety and efficacy of SK-II, one of the most admired and prestigious skincare brands in China in 2005. One unsatisfied customer’s experience suddenly turned into daily headline news online and in pri nt media.
在吕女士决定在新浪网上披露她的案件相关信息时，诉讼消息立即成为头条新闻。

新浪网是最流行的互联网门户网站之一，（ 2006年）在中国每天的访问量达7.0亿。

在全国各地关于SK - II安全性和有效性几乎有无数的讨论议会和博客在猜测，而2005年其还是中国的最负盛名的钦佩的护肤品牌。

一个不满意客户的经验突然变成了在线和在印刷媒体的每日头条新闻。

The P&G Response宝洁的回应
In the days immediately after Lui’s public announcement, Jia Lu Fung, P&G Greater China PR manager, only offered comments after reporters called his office. In these interviews, Fung offered a few terse statements: “First, we never received any customer complaints from a Ms. Lui from Nanchang. So we did not have direct contact with this person. In addition, sodium hydroxide is found in many skincare and cosmetics items and other brands also have been using this particular ingredient. All of our product labeling had been approved by the Chinese government. As for the advertising claim, the 28-days, 12 years younger claim was tested on 300 Japanese women and SK-II has a lot of scientific data to prove these benefits.
就在吕女士公开声明几天后，贾璐逢，宝洁公司大中国区公关经理，在记者至电他的办公室后只提供了评论。

在这些访谈中，凤提供了几个简短的声明：“首先，我们从来没有从南昌吕女士女士那里收到任何客户投诉。

因此，我们并没有与此人直接联系。

此外，在许多护肤品及化妆品中都可以发现氢氧化钠，其他品牌也一直在使用这个特别的成分。

我们所有的产品标签已被中国政府批准。

对于广告索赔， 28天年轻12岁是对300个日本妇女测试过，SK - II的有很多科学数据可以证明这些好处。

On March 21, 2005, almost two weeks after Lui filed the lawsuit, P&G finally issued the brief three-point official statement addressing the safety of SK-II products. However, it did not directly address the pending lawsuit:
2005年3月21日，吕女士提起诉讼将近两个星期后，宝洁公司终于发出了简短的三点正式声明，解答SK - II产品的安全问题。

但是，它没有直接针对悬而未决的官司：
Our anti-wrinkle cream is safe to use. When the product was imported into Chi na, it had passed the various regulations set forth by China’s Health and
Drug Administration. SK-II products are fully compliant with China and global standards.
•我们的抗皱霜使用是安全的。

当产品进口到中国，它已通过中国健康和药物管理局的各项规定检验。

SK - II产品完全符合中国及全球标准。

∙SK-II products are sold in the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Korea, and various Southeast Asian markets. In the U.S., SK-II is sold only at ultra-premium retail outlets, such as Saks Fifth Avenue department stores.
• SK - II产品销售在美国，英国，澳洲，日本，韩国及东南亚市场。

在美国， SK - II只有在高级的零售店铺才出售，如而Saks第五大道百货公司。

∙SK-II products are sold only at official counters. P&G China does not distribute SK-II products through other retail or online outlets. It also does not offer any discounts so customers should not get fooled by buying discounted SK-II products. P&G China recommends consumers to purchase SK-II products only at authorized counters.
• SK - II产品只在正式的柜台销售。

宝洁中国不通过其他零售或网上店铺出售SK - II产品。

它也没有提供任何折扣，客户不应该购买所谓折扣的SK - II产品受到蒙蔽。

宝洁中国建议消费者购买的SK - II产品只能在授权的柜台。

Many online discussion groups commented that these terse statements, combined with prolonged periods of silence from P&G China, seemed “odd considering P&G historically had been very public and responsive to consumers.” A former SK-II assistant brand manager explained, “P&G has a very gl obal and standardized way of managing PR. Similar to the way all decisions are made in the firm, PR communication to the public is always fact-based, logical, and transparent. Managing this SK-II issue in China was no different than how it would handle PR issues in other parts of the world.” Until the ruling on the lawsuits, P&G made no contact with Lui and did not issue any additional public statements regarding the safety of the products.
许多新浪网在线讨论小组评论说，这些简短的声明，加上中国宝洁长时间的沉默，似乎是“过多考虑宝洁历史上已经非常公开和给消费者反应。

”前的SK - II 的助理品牌经理解释说，“宝洁有一个非常全球性和规范化管理方式的公关。

所有决定都是在该公司类似的方式，公关向公众传播始终是基于事实，逻辑，和透明的。

如何处理公关问题的管理在中国SK - II的问题与在世界其他地区是没有什么不同的。

”直到诉讼裁决，宝洁公司没有与吕女士接触，也没有发出任何额外关于该产品安全的公开声明。

The Ruling规则
The SK-II case brought on by Lui had two parts: false advertising and consumer fraud. The Nanchang Business Bureau oversaw the false advertising case while the Nanchang District Court oversaw the consumer fraud case. The Nanchang Business
Bureau, in mid-April 2005, ruled that the claim of wrinkle reduction by 48 percent and younger skin by 12 years was misleading and fined P&G China $24,000 payable to Lui immediately. In addition, P&G was required to withdraw its advertising brochures from all outlets in Nanchang and to revise the marketing tagline in all future communication. Given the national exposure, P&G decided to recall all brochures in China that made the same advertising claims. However, for the consumer fraud case, the Nanchang District Court ruled in favor of P&G. According to Nanchang District Court’s records, the
rationales were:
由吕女士所带来的的SK - II的案件有两部分：虚假广告和欺骗消费者行为。

南昌商业服务监督局监督虚假广告案件，而南昌地方法院负责消费者诈骗案。

在2005年4月中旬，南昌商业局裁定宣称皱纹减少了48 ％和皮肤年轻12年是误导，并且中国宝洁被判立即支付二点四万美元给吕女士罚款。

此外，要求宝洁公司从在南昌的所有店铺撤回其广告宣传手册和在所有未来的沟通中修改营销宣传标语。

鉴于案件在全国范围曝光，宝洁公司决定回收所有在中国被作出同样的广告索赔的小册子。

不过，对于消费者的欺诈案，南昌地区法院裁定有利于宝洁公司.据南昌地方法院的纪录，理由如下：
First, even though Lui claimed the product was not effective and damaged her skin, there was no written assessment from a doctor; hence, it would be difficult to establish the link between the product and Lui’s physical reaction. Second, the product had a warning label which clearly stated “stop using if skin allergies should occur.” Finally, by the time Lui file for the lawsuit, she had already used the entire bottle [of the anti-wrinkle cream]; and if the product really caused her skin allergies, she should have immediately stopped using it.
首先，即使吕女士声称该产品无效和损坏她的皮肤，但没有医生书面评估，因此，便难以在产品和吕女士的身体反应建立之间的联系，。

第二，产品的警告标签清楚说明，“如果皮肤过敏发生应该停止使用” 。

最后，吕女士打官司时，她已用整个瓶[防皱霜] ;如果该产品真正造成她的皮肤过敏，她应该立即停止使用它。

Wen Li Huang, general manager of P&G Greater China Skin Care Division, was “obviously pleased with the ruling.” Huang also mentioned, “while P&G respected Nanchang Business Bureau’s ruling on the false advertising claim, we would like to emphasize again that the product was tested on 300 Japanese users and the benefits were proven. SK-II is a prestigious brand in other major developed markets. We have all the data to prove these claims.”
黄文李，宝洁公司大中国区皮肤护理部总经理，是“很明显，很高兴该裁决”黄还提到，“虽然宝洁尊重南昌市商业局对虚假广告的裁决，我们想再次强调，该产品是通过对300个日本用户验证和被证明好处的。

SK - II在其他主要发达国家的市场是一个享有盛誉的品牌。

我们有数据可以证明这些索赔“ 。

The Impact冲击
On the surface, SK-II seemed to have won the case despite a small penalty on its advertising claim. However, the amount of public discussion and scrutiny on the product generated much undesirable publicity. Huang mentioned, “This incident certainly had a negative impact on both top and bottom-line results for SK-II in China.” A former SK-II assistant brand manager estimated a 5-10 percent decrease in SK-II China revenue in 2005 (from 2004) as a result of this incident.
从表面上看，SK-II似乎已经获判胜诉，尽管对其广告有一个小的罚则。

不过，大量公众的讨论和对产品安全性的讨论，产生很多不良的宣传。

黄说，“这件事，当然对SK - II在中国高端和底线造成了负面影响”前的SK - II的助理品牌经理估计，由于这件事SK - II中国的收入在2005年（从2004年起）减少5-10 ％。

Debacle 2006: Government Relations
2006年崩溃：政府关系
Just as SK-II was recovering from its 2005 PR problems, it was hit again with another PR challenge in 2006. Discussions of SK-II product qualities eventually started to subside by early 2006, but the Chinese government issued a product quality warning in September 2006.
SK – II刚从2005年的公关问题复苏，在2006年它被另一公关挑战再次击中。

讨论的SK - Ⅱ产品质量最终在2006年年初开始平息，但在2006年9月中国政府又颁布了产品质量的警告。

Government Announcement政府声明
On September 14, 2006, through Xinhua News Agency, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (Administration of Quality Supervision) announced that chromium and neodymium had been found in a series of SK-II’s powders, foundations and cleansing oils, which were imported from Japan. Upon the government’s health warning, P&G China immediately made a public announcement insisting its products were safe and asked the relevant government departments to retest these products. The company further stated that these claims were simply rumors and said there must have been a mistake. Despite P&G’s firm stance on the safety of SK-II products, the local Chinese media began in-depth coverage of the story, noting the use of chromium and neodymium could lead to skin diseases such as allergic dermatitis and eczema, liver disease, blindness, and irritation of the eye. Within two days, the Chinese government issued another statement confirming that nine lines of SK-II products indeed contained these metallic substances, which were banned from cosmetic products for the China market.
2006年9月14日，通过新华通讯社，中国的国家质量检验检疫总局（政府质量监督部门）宣布，在一系列的从日本进口的SK - Ⅱ的粉末、粉底和清洗油中发现铬和钕。

政府的健康警告后，宝洁中国立即作出了公开声明，坚持其产品的安全，并要求有关政府部门测这些产品。

该公司进一步指出，这些说法只是传言，并表示肯定发生了误解。

尽管宝洁的坚定立场，本地中文媒体开始在深入报道
SK - II产品安全问题的故事，注意到使用铬和钕可能会导致皮肤疾病，如过敏性皮炎和湿疹，肝脏疾病，失明，并刺激眼睛。

两天内，中国政府颁布了另一项声明，证实SK - II9个产品线确实载有这些金属物质，而被中国化妆品市场禁止。

In addition, it had made a public statement urging the Embassy of Japan in China “to strengthen its quality inspection of all Japanese skincare and cosmetic products imported into China.” A spokesperson for the Admini stration of Quality Supervision also said, “The Quality and Quarantine departments will keep a close eye on products that concern consumers’ safety and health. The administration urges Japanese cosmetics producers to follow China’s quality standards to ensure people’s health.”
此外，它作出了公开声明，敦促日本驻华使馆“ 加强所有进口到中国的日本护肤品和化妆品的质量检验”，政府质量监督部门的一位发言人还说，“各质量和检疫部门会继续密切关注消费者的安全和健康有关的产品。

政府当局敦促日本化妆品生产商跟随中国的质量标准，以确保人民的健康“ 。

Sino-Japan Relations中日关系
Many Sino-Japan scholars noted news of SK-II product qualities coincided with breakdowns in Sino-Japan diplomatic relations. While Japan was one of China’s largest trading partners, the diplomatic relation between the two countries in 2006 was on shaky grounds. Several incidents led to this all-time low. For example, despite strong protests from China and other Asian countries, the former Japanese prime minister continued to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors World War II (WW II) Japanese war criminals. Japanese history textbooks did not fully acknowledged the atrocities committed by the Japanese military in various Chinese cities during WWII, an omission that also led to numerous protests around China.
许多中日学者指出， SK - Ⅱ产品质量的新闻与中日外交关系故障不谋而合。

虽然日本是中国的一个最大的贸易伙伴，两国外交关系在2006年摇摇欲坠。

几个事件导致这全面的低潮。

例如，尽管中国和其他亚洲国家强烈抗议，日本前首相继续参拜靖国神社，这是供奉在第二次世界大战（第二次世界大战）日本战犯的地方。

日本的历史教科书没有充分承认在二战期间由日本军队在中国各城市犯下的暴行，这一遗漏也导致了中国及周边的无数抗议。

In addition, in 2006, the Japanese government rejected seafood and other products from China on grounds that they contained unsafe levels of contaminating substances.
A former SK-II assistant bran d manager stated: “SK-II was arguably the most prestigious and iconic skincare brand from Japan. The Chinese government wanted to signal to the Japanese government that it also had the ability to ban Japanese products from entering into China if it wanted to. In some ways, SK-II became a scapegoat in international high politics. In fact, many Japanese brand [skincare] products were tested positive [on containing metallic substances] but only SK-II was pointed out by the government.”
此外，在2006年，日本政府拒绝了中国海鲜和其他产品的理由是，它们含有不安全的污染物质。

前SK - II助理品牌经理说：“ SK - II被认为是来自日本最负盛名的标志性护肤品牌。

中国政府希望的信号是让日本政府知道，如果它想它也有能力禁止日本产品进入中国。

在某些方面， SK - II成为在国际高端政治代罪羔羊，。

事实上，很多日本品牌[护肤]产品测试呈阳性反应[对含有金属物质] ，但只有SK - II由政府点名“ 。

While the claim that SK-II was a victim in strained Sino-Japan relations was unsubstantiated and were purely speculative by unofficial (non-government) entities, P&G nonetheless had to confront one of its worst PR problems in China since the company entered the market.
而声称SK - II是一个紧张的中日关系受害者，是由非官方的（非政府）的实体没有证据证明，纯属揣测，但宝洁公司不得不面对它在该公司进入中国市场以来的一个最糟糕的公关问题。

Conditional Refund Policies有条件退款政策
By September 16, 2006, the government issued a list of SK-II products containing the potentially harmful metallic ingredients. While the Administration of Quality Supervision did not order an immediate suspension of product sales, many department stores already decided to remove these products from their SK-II counters. At the same time, customers swarmed SK-II counters requesting refunds.
到2006年9月16日，政府发表了一份SK - Ⅱ产品含有可能有害的金属成分的名单。

虽然政府质量监督并没有下令立即停止产品销售，许多百货公司已经决定，从他们的SK - Ⅱ专柜撤下这些产品。

在同一时间内，顾客蜂拥SK – II专柜要求退款。

By September 19, 2006, P&G finally agreed to provide refund for the products that were on the government’s watch list. However, the refunds were conditional on several terms. According to the company website, customers needed to “provide a medical history of allergies validated by a government hospital, provide the original receipts for the products, the actual products (unopened or at least 70 percent full), an d a valid bank account number.” P&G China continued to insist the products were safe, and therefore required customers seeking refunds to sign waivers absolving the company of blame. By signing this waiver, customers essentially acknowledged their purchases were safe for use. Once P&G confirmed the validity of these returns, it refunded the customers via the provided bank information. Huang said “These steps were necessary given the amount of counterfeit products in the market and we believed criminals coul d use this opportunity to cash out on their counterfeit goods.”.由2006年9月19日，宝洁公司终于同意对政府的观察名单产品提供退款。

不过，退款是有几个条件的。

据该公司网站，客户需要“提供了由政府医院审定的过敏病史，提供产品原始收据，实际产品（未开启，或至少百分之七十的未用），以及一个有效的银行帐户号码。

“宝洁中国继续坚持产品安全，因此需要寻求
退款客户签署豁免开脱该公司的责任。

通过签署这一豁免，顾客基本上是承认他们的购买产品可以安全地使用。

一旦宝洁证实这些回报的有效性，它通过客户提供的银行帐号退款。

黄菊说，“这些步骤是必要的，由于有大量假冒产品在市场上，我们相信，犯罪分子可以利用这个机会，把他们的冒牌货品套现” 。

This sparked a slew of criticisms and many newspapers published editorials criticizing P&G. For example, a well-known journalist wrote an editorial piece, .The Arrogance of Procter & Gamble, in Southern Metropolis Daily, a popular newspaper serving China’s southern region. The article pointed out that under China’s consumer protection laws, P&G should provide unconditional refunds if its products were proven to contain dangerous substances. Hence, requiring customers to sign the agreement was not legal.
这引发了一系列的批评，许多报纸发表社论，批评宝洁公司.举例来说，一位著名的记者在南方都市报写了一篇社论，题为“宝洁公司嚣张气焰”，该报纸是服务中国的南部地区每天的热门报纸。

文章指出，根据中国的消费者保护法，如果其产品被证明含有危险物质宝洁公司应提供无条件退款。

因此，要求客户签订协议是不合法的。

The author also noted that even though many consumers did not agree with what was in the refund agreement, many eventually signed it just so they could get their refund. The article also referenced the 2005 Nanchang issue, commenting that P&G’s crisis management was “immature and irrelevant for the China market.”
作者还指出，即使许多消费者不同意退款协议，许多最终签署它只是使他们可以得到退款。

文章还引用2005年南昌的问题，他评论说，宝洁的危机管理是“不成熟的和与中国市场不相干的” 。

Complete Shutdown of SK-II
完全封杀SK-II
In just one week after the government’s official announcement, SK-II’s usually elegant beauty counters were swamped by angry customers who were getting frustrated by the lengthy refund process. In some areas of China, SK-II premises and staff also experienced "a high volume of cases of physical abuse," said vice president of external relat ions, Chris Hassall. For example, crowds surrounded P&G’s Shanghai office one afternoon and smashed portions of the building’s glass exterior. As another example, an angry customer in the city of Wuhan also damaged glass at a SK-II beauty counter. Chen Liu, one of SK-II’s beauty consultants in Shanghai, said, “A lot of the anger was not motivated by concerns over product safety but more by P&G’s decision not to apologize [to the customers] and make speedy refunds.”
在政府的正式声明短短的一周后，SK - II的通常是优雅的美容柜台，被淹没在愤怒的顾客日益感到气馁冗长的退款流程。

在中国部分地区， SK – II公司和工作人员也经历了“大量的肉体上的虐待，”对外关系副总克里斯哈索说。

举例来说，一个下午人们包围了宝洁公司的上海办事处，粉碎了部分该大厦的玻璃
外墙。

另一个例子是，在武汉市一个愤怒的顾客也破坏了SK - II美容柜台玻璃。

柳陈， SK - II在上海的一个美容顾问，说：“有很多的愤怒，没有关注产品安全动机，但更多是由于宝洁公司的决定不道歉[客户] ，并且没有迅速退款“ 。

Finally, on September 22, 2006, P&G China decided to suspend sales of SK-II products indefinitely and withdraw from China until it could determine how these metallic substances got in the products. All of its 96 beauty counters in China were to shut down immediately. Charles Zhang, a P&G spokesperson, said in a public announcement on that day: “Although P&G decided to suspend product sales, the company believes the SK-II products were not faulty. We are waiting on the final testing on these products to understand what might have caused the suspected contamination. The only reason the company had agreed to provide refund[s] was not out of obligation but rather to provide superior customer services in order to maintain goodwill. However, the company no longer processes refund applications through its sales counters and offices and all refunds applications will be processed via a newly set-up dedicated SK-II refund hotline.”
最后，于2006年9月22日，宝洁中国决定暂停销售SK – II，该产品无限期退出中国，直到它可以决定这些金属物质如何混入产品。

其所有的96个在中国美容柜台被立即关闭。

，宝洁公司发言人张查尔斯说，在那天公开宣布这一消息：“虽然宝洁公司决定暂停产品销售，该公司相信， SK - II产品没有问题。

我们正在等待最终测试这些产品，以便了解可能造成怀疑受到污染唯一的原因。

该公司已同意提供退款不是出于义务，而是要提供优良的客户服务，以保持善意的表现。

然而，该公司不再通过其销售柜台及办事处处理退款申请，所有退款申请的处理会通过一个新成立的专门的SK - II退款热线办理”。

This further inflamed public anger as crowds unexpectedly discovered completely empty SK-II counters when they showed up for refunds on the morning of September 22, 2006; the only thing they found was the above announcement.
这进一步激起公愤，人们意外发现，当他们06年9月22日上午出现完全是空的SK - Ⅱ柜台办理退款时，他们发现的唯一的事情是上述通告。

From September 22 to October 24, 2006, some customers persistently called the
SK-II’s refund hotline and some received a refund after several weeks. Many gave up trying to get through the constantly busy hotline and instead vowed never to buy
SK-II products again.
9月22日至2006年10月24日，一些顾客在坚持拨打所谓的SK - Ⅱ的退款热线，一些人几个星期后收到退款。

许多放弃了试图通过不断繁忙的热线获得退款，而是发誓，从此不再购买的SK - II产品。

Brand Re-launch重振品牌
On October 24, 2006, just over one month after its initial announcement of potential quality issues of SK-II products, the Administration of Quality Supervision and
China’s Department of Health jointly released a statement, saying: “Our further investigation found that SK-II contained only low levels of chromium and neodymium, which actually are byproducts of the original ingredients. The products contained small traces of these substances and are not harmful to humans in low dosage. While chromium and neodymium are banned substances in China’s cosmetic and skincare products, they are only illegal if these substances are used as original ingredients. These substances were not original ingredients in SK-II products and the company did not intentionally add these substances to their products; therefore, all SK-II products are safe for consumption in the China market.”
2006年10月24日，其最初公布的潜在质量问题的SK - II产品刚刚超过一个月后，政府的质量监督及中国的卫生署共同发表了一份声明，说：“我们进一步调查发现， SKII只载有水平低的铬和钕，这实际上是副产品的原始成分。

产品小型的痕迹，在低剂量这些物质并没有对人体有害。

而在中国的化妆品和护肤产品铬和钕是禁用物质，如果这些物质是用来作为原始成分的药物他们仅是非法的。

这些物质不是SK - II产品原来的成分，该公司没有故意添加这些物质，因此所有的SK - II产品在中国市场是安全的消费”。

On the same day, P&G China also released a public statement “thanking the government for its hard work in confirming the safety of the SK-II products and that SK-II would resume sales in China in a few weeks.” By early November 2006, SK-II’s elegant counters reopened at various premium retail department stores but there were significantly fewer customers, according Liu, who resumed her work as a SK-II beauty consultant in Shanghai in the same month.
就在同一天，宝洁中国也发表了一份公开声明：“感谢政府辛勤工作，确认SK - Ⅱ产品是安全的，SK – II产品将在数星期内恢复在中国的销售” 2006年11月初，各种高档零售百货公司SK - II优雅的专柜重开，但据在上海在同一个月恢复作为SK - II美容顾问的刘女士说，明显顾客比较少。

Conclusion结论
As of May 2007, almost six months after SK-II re-entered the China market, P&G was still recovering from the PR debacle. For the January to March quarter in 2007, SK-II saw a 40 percent decline in net sales [from the previous quarter] in China. In a survey of 20,000 people run by China Internet portal giant, , nearly 96 percent said they would never buy SK-II despite the fact that the products were proven to be perfectly safe to use. Although SK-II might have been an unfortunate political scapegoat in China’s complex regulatory and political system, many editorials in both Chinese and Western publications commented that P&G’s handling of the situation proved to be a public relations disaster, leaving behind many angry and dissatisfied consumers.
截至2007年5月，几乎在SK - II重新进入中国市场六个月后，宝洁公司仍然在从公关的崩溃中恢复。

在2007年一月至三月季度， SK - II在中国下降40 ％。