Who knew what in the Kliemann case? The influencer, who allegedly had protective masks produced in Europe for dumping wages in Asia, claims that his major customer About You knew about it. The fashion retailer denies this. Now an email could prove otherwise.
The German fashion retailer About You was informed early on that the masks from the textile company Global Tactics, which were advertised by the Youtuber Fynn Kliemann, were not made in Portugal, but partly in Bangladesh and Vietnam. This is reported by the “Spiegel” after joint research with the “ZDF Magazin Royale”.
Accordingly, in August 2021, an intermediary involved in the delivery asked for confirmation from About You that masks from Global Tactics had been received by the fashion retailer for a legal dispute. Attached: a document entitled “Notification Vietnam -1 partial delivery Vietnam 453.100”. The paper contained all the details of the delivery. In further mail traffic, the agent About You drew attention to a possible crime by the influencer Fynn Kliemann and his business partner Tom Ilbruck. One email reads: “I think the gentlemen cheated on About You too”.
The online fashion retailer, which sold most masks as a major customer, publicly distanced itself from Kliemann after the allegations became known and stopped the sale. “To this day, we were not aware that some of the masks were not produced in Europe,” wrote About You company boss Tarek Müller on Twitter. He disagreed with Kliemann, who previously said the company knew the shipments were coming from different countries, including outside of Europe.
New documents also show that Global Tactics asked for donation receipts for thousands of suspected defective Kliemann masks that were shipped to refugee shelters on the Greek islands of Samos and Lesvos. Global Tactics had previously received the insufficient rejects free of charge. In at least one case, the organization “Doctors Without Borders” issued a donation receipt. Neither Fynn Kliemann nor managing director Tom Illbruck wanted to comment on the allegations.
Recently, numerous companies had ended their collaboration with the influencer and musician. After About You, Viva con Agua, EWE, Sanity Group and Nordpool, the DIY chain Toom recently announced the cooperation. According to a report in the “Lebensmittelzeitung”, the beverage manufacturer Berentzen is also distancing itself from Kliemann.
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