Dischem Has Quietly Removed TRESemmé Products From It’s Store

Dischem Has Quietly Removed TRESemmé Products From It’s store, all TRESemmé products previously listed on it’s online store are now yielding error messages such as “We can’t find products matching the selection.” 404 Something went wrong, The page you requested was not found.

Whilst the pharmacy has not released an official statement yet, it joins its competitor ( Clicks) and other retailers such as Shoprite, Pick n Pay and Woolworths who have all removed the products from their shelves.

This was a sentimental echoed by both the EFF and The Minister for Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who said in a detailed press release that she “rejects the apology by the management of the retail store Clicks as meaningless. Clicks misses the point that the offense is not only about the images that are insensitive but the fact that it represents the views of TRESemme that are racists and reflects the continued undermining of the beauty of African women and the violence they suffer when they are deemed not meeting certain superficial standards. Therefore to pull down the advert and issue a public apology cannot cut it. Clicks must remove the TRESemme product from its shelves as an expression of their disassociation with suppliers who promote racist and insensitive marketing.”

DA however has however chosen a different stance with a press release that read;

The DA believes that both TRESemme’s parent company, Unilever, and Clicks should be rightly held accountable for their insensitivity as it relates to this deeply problematic advert. It is unfortunate, however, that consumers and SMME’s, that form part of the value chain, are being punished.

We also find it regrettable that both Clicks and Checkers have now succumbed to political pressure from both the EFF’s violent destruction of property, as well as comments from Small Business Development Minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.

In her response to the controversy, the Minister called for TRESemme products to be removed from Clicks shelves.

While it is correct to champion more inclusivity and diversity in the retail offering of hair care products, particularly those made by SMMEs, it is quite another matter, and ill-advised, to advocate for the removal of current products.

This decision by Clicks and the Minister’s support of this move will not only constrain consumer choice, but the adverse upstream effects of such a move could be harmful to the small businesses that feed into the value chains of those removed products.

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