Chinese designer brand Songmont has issued a firm statement clarifying its background and related matters, citing persistent false claims on online platforms that it is a Japanese brand.
Songmont, which produces leather goods, issued the statement on Wednesday (28 October) evening, saying false claims that it is a Japanese brand continued to circulate online, accompanied by malicious and misleading content. The company said it had collected evidence and was preparing to take legal action.
It also explained the origins of its name: both founders are from Shanxi, its co-founder is Fu Song, and its English name Songmont combines Song (Chinese for pine) and Mont (to mean mountain), evoking oriental imagery of “a vast sky and lofty mountains, with pines at their foot”.
The statement said the company would neither remain silent nor back down in the face of coordinated efforts to spread false claims that it is a Japanese brand and will take legal action against those responsible.
Beijing Business Today reported that Shanghai police had earlier announced a case involving the spread of false and negative claims about a bag brand. Media checks confirmed that the brand involved was Songmont.
Amid strained China-Japan relations, both Chinese and non-Chinese brands have become increasingly sensitive to being drawn into political and public-opinion controversies.
On the same day that Songmont issued its statement, Japanese brand Sanrio announced it was cutting ties with the Japanese espionage drama Vivant. The drama’s second season has been criticised for content said to cast shadows on China. Sanrio announced that it would end related co-branded collaborations and subsequent promotions, and pledged to strengthen its review process.
