New York PR firm Public Group and the U.K.’s Bright Consultancy are advising stroller maker Maclaren amid a global recall of about one million of its products after news broke that 12 children in the U.S. lost fingers in hinges on the products.
Maclaren stroller |
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall on Monday, noting nine models of China-made Maclaren strollers dating back to 1999 contain a hinge mechanism which “poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard.”
Maclaren is offering consumers a free kit to cover the problematic joint on the strollers. The 42-year-old company is stressing that the problem has not occurred because safety standards were not met, but is the result of users not following directions that warn to keep children away from the strollers when folding.
Company representatives are being dispatched to baby products stores in New York to hand out hinge covers. It is using Facebook to highlight news stories and disseminate information about the recall and its products.
Tricia Chan heads Public Group and picked up the Maclaren USA business in 2006. She is working with Maclaren’s strategic marketing manager, Charlotte Addison, in New York.
News of the recall initially crashed Maclaren’s website prompting Time.com to headline Maclaren’s “Stumbling Response Online.” Time called the recall “stunning” and a “nightmare” for the company. |