While the Sweden-based IKEA Group promised on Tuesday to recall its Malm chests of drawers and dressers in the Chinese mainland market, certain types of furniture on the recall list were still available on Thursday in Beijing.
One model of the Malm 3-drawer chest priced at 499 yuan ($74.6) and a 6-drawer chest at 999 yuan that were included in the recall list were still on the shelves in one of IKEA's outlets in the Chinese capital's Chaoyang district.
Two versions of the Hemnes line's chests of drawers on the recall list were available as well.
"These drawers of chests are still on sale because they have no quality problem, and consumers could anchor the product to the wall to avoid it toppling over," an IKEA employee in the Chaoyang outlet who declined to be identified told the Global Times on Thursday.
"If consumers do not want their furniture, it can be returned for a refund in form of a shopping voucher. If consumers intend to keep their furniture, IKEA provides free screw sets for attaching dressers to walls, and there is a free home installation service on request," the employee said, noting that these chests and dressers are designed to be attached to walls.
"I bought this Hemnes six-drawer chest about two years ago, but I cannot remember whether the instruction suggested consumers should anchor the product to the wall. These products in the exhibition area are just put on the floor," a 30-something bank employee surnamed Ji in Beijing told the Global Times Thursday.
Ji said that the chest he bought has toppled over once when his son was nearby.
"It scares me to remember that even now. Luckily, my son is fine," he said, noting that he has just finished procedures to return the furniture to the outlet.
Another consumer who declined to be identified said "I bought two Malm chests many years ago and brought them here today for a refund after I saw on the news that IKEA launched a recall in China on Tuesday."
"The employees here told me they will get me refund quickly," she told the Global Times Thursday.
IKEA issued a recall in the domestic market only after relevant government bodies got involved in the matter, experts said.
The furniture retailer on June 30 said that it would not extend a recall of 36 million dressers in North America to China after the products were linked to six children deaths, because the products "complied with regulations in China."
Following pressure from Chinese quality officials, the Sweden-based company launched a recall starting Tuesday on 1.66 million chests and dressers in the country.
The recall covers Malm chests or dressers manufactured from 1999 to 2016, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said Tuesday in a statement posted on its website.
IKEA was forced to announce such a recall under the pressure of public opinion and the involvement of the authorities, so the company's promise is kind of "hypocritical," said Qiu Baochang, a partner at the Beijing-based Huijia Law Firm.
Qui told the Global Times on Thursday that continuing to sell the products is a violation of the consumer law.
"Relevant government bodies could carry out some administrative measures to halt the sale and if IKEA refuses to obey, it could be penalized," Qiu said.
The company is expected to provide equal treatment to consumers worldwide, according to experts.
Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, said that the IKEA case also offers China a lesson that it must do more to protect the rights of its consumers.
"China is expected to enhance the standards of production and product quality," Dong told the Global Times on Thursday.
