1. A Chinese company, Little Swan Dongshan Franchise Shop, is facing a potential loss of 30 million yuan (around ₹35 crore) due to a significant pricing error.
2. The error occurred on August 28, when a mistake by an employee led to exceptionally low prices being listed for washing machines on the company’s online store.
3. The error prompted a frenzy of activity, with Little Swan’s online shop receiving over 40,000 orders within just 20 minutes.
4. The company, which operates in Jixi county, Anhui province, has apologized for the mishap and is urging customers to cancel their orders.
5. The issue arose when washing machines were mistakenly priced much lower than their actual cost, leading to a massive influx of purchases.
6. If all orders had been processed, Little Swan would have incurred a loss of 30 million yuan, given that the total value of the orders was 70 million yuan while only 40 million yuan was paid by customers.
7. Affected customer Ms. Wang reported purchasing three washing machines at significantly reduced prices after seeing the deal on social media.
8. The company has expressed deep regret over the incident, acknowledging the confusion and disruption caused to the market.
9. With only six employees, the small business has been struggling financially and views this incident as a major setback.
10. The company has publicly apologized and is requesting customers to withdraw their orders, promising to process refunds promptly.
11. Local authorities are investigating the incident, and legal experts suggest that if the pricing error was genuine, the company might be able to cancel contracts and issue refunds without delivering the goods.