Aussie brand Peppermayo accused of prioritising influencers over orders amid delays
Australian fashion brand, Peppermayo, has spent the past week in damage control, but instead of easing the backlash, the controversy has intensified. Here’s why.
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An Australian fashion brand has spent the past week in damage control, but instead of easing the backlash, the controversy has intensified.
Last week, Peppermayo issued a public apology following a wave of backlash from customers who claimed they never received their orders or refunds.
The outrage erupted after the brand sponsored a luxury influencer trip to Coachella while order delays mounted.
But instead of easing tensions, the brand has further stoked anger with another brand trip to Texas over the weekend, prompting customers to question the company’s priorities.
Aussie influencer Sophia Begg, 21, was among those on the American trip, which she revealed came together at the last minute.
“Not me saying I wasn’t travelling and settling down for a bit and now I’m flying to Texas and I found out like 30 hours ago,” Begg said in a TikTok video.
Vlog posts suggest the influencer flew first class, with social media users assuming the costs have been covered by Peppermayo.
This follows yet another lavish campaign where influencers were also sent to the Miami Grand Prix after Coachella, including American influencer Katie Fang, British reality star Lucinda Strafford, Lily Rowland and Hallie Batchelder.
The Adelaide born brand attempted to address the growing controversy on April 30, releasing a seven-slide apology on Instagram, two weeks after the initial complaints gained traction.
“Firstly, we want to sincerely apologise for the recent delays experienced by our amazing customers in receiving their orders, and for our lack of transparency during this time,” the statement read.
“We know we let you down, and for that, we are truly sorry.”
The brand blamed the crisis on “external macroeconomic factors,” including a change in U.S. government policy that allegedly forced them to relocate operations to Los Angeles and work with a third-party warehouse. They also cited ongoing supply chain disruptions and production upgrades as reasons for the backlog.
Peppermayo acknowledged that decisions made in response to these challenges were “rushed,” leading to “major technological and integration challenges” that delayed order fulfilment.
The company claimed it has since expanded its customer service team and said the Coachella campaign, which drew much of the controversy, had been planned months in advance.
“We understand these campaigns were upsetting during this period,” the statement read, adding that they take “full ownership” of their mistakes.
As of the latest update, Peppermayo said it had cleared 85% of its backlog and was expected to be fully caught up by the end of last week.
Still, many customers aren’t convinced.
“So many complaints though,” one TikTok user commented under a Peppermayo video.
“Paying influencers to travel over prioritising refunds/orders for loyal customers,” said another.
“It’s a shame seeing influencers associate themselves with this brand, if they look at every post the comments are filled with customer complaints,” a third added.
Others pleaded for responses to longstanding issues: “Can you guys respond to my email about the order I placed in February?”
Despite the mounting criticism, Peppermayo responded to several complaints with the same message, “We’ve just sent you a DM to sort the issue you might have!”
Some customers have escalated their complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Confidential has contacted Peppermayo for further comment.
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