Safe to say the management team at Maclaren is having a terrible week. On Monday its U.S. subsidiary issued a press release announcing a recall of every baby stroller it has sold in the United States in the past decade — which means about one million units. The purpose is to install a cover for the stroller’s hinge mechanism, which is sharp enough to cut through a baby’s fingers should they happen to be in the wrong spot as the stroller is opened. In fact, this has happened on at least twelve occasions.
This quote, taken from the Harvard Business Review Editors’ Blog, sums up one of the largest product recalls ever, which, unfortunately for Maclaren, comes right before Black Friday and the holiday season. The luxury children’s manufacturer has been quick to take crisis management measures, including fast-tracking the recall through the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, but with a crisis of this scale there are a multitude of other issues, both internal and external, that remain.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/