dexinwin September 29, 2026— Luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. is facing growing attention in China following a dispute involving a Mid-Autumn Festival gift box promised to a customer at its Chengdu store.
The customer said she had spent more than RMB 200,000 at a Tiffany store in Chengdu and was later contacted by a sales representative who offered to send her a Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake gift box. After the package was not delivered as expected, the dispute escalated on social media. Tiffany's China retail head subsequently contacted the customer by email on September 28 and apologized, according to reports.
According to the customer's account, she purchased more than RMB 200,000 worth of jewelry at a Tiffany store in Chengdu earlier in September. A sales representative later contacted her and offered a branded mooncake gift box for the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Because the customer was overseas at the time, she provided a domestic address where the package could be received by her family.
However, the family reportedly did not receive the gift box by the Mid-Autumn Festival. After the customer contacted the sales representative, she was reportedly told that the gift had been mistakenly sent to another customer. The sales representative allegedly suggested that another gift could be provided when the company had one available in the future.
The dispute subsequently attracted attention after the customer shared her experience online. Reports said the controversy later expanded beyond the missing gift itself, focusing on how the store handled the complaint.
Several media reports said the sales representative later suggested sending locally purchased loose peach pastries as compensation. The proposal generated further discussion online, particularly because of the contrast between the compensation and the customer's reported spending. Some other claims surrounding the incident, including allegations concerning requests to remove online posts and restrictions placed on the customer's social media account, remain based primarily on the customer's account and online reports and have not been fully explained publicly by Tiffany.
A new development came on the evening of September 28, when the customer said Tiffany's China retail head had sent her an email apologizing for the incident. Reports said the company executive described the matter as important and said it would be investigated and handled. The executive also offered to communicate directly with the customer regarding the resolution.
As of September 29, Tiffany had not issued a comprehensive public statement explaining the incident. The information currently available has largely come from the customer and media reports regarding the communication between the customer and Tiffany's China retail team.
The dispute has attracted attention because the issue extends beyond a single gift box. For luxury brands, customer service, after-sales communication and personalized client relationships are closely connected to the overall brand experience.
The customer said she had spent more than RMB 200,000 at the Chengdu store. While the mooncake gift was an additional service rather than the primary product purchased, the handling of the delivery problem became a significant part of the customer's experience with the brand.
The incident also illustrates the challenges luxury brands face in the social-media era. A relatively small service problem can quickly become a public discussion when customers share their experiences online. In such situations, the company's response to the complaint can attract as much attention as the original mistake.
Tiffany's decision to involve its China retail leadership marks a shift from a store-level customer service issue to a matter being handled by the brand's regional management. Further attention is likely to focus on whether Tiffany releases additional information about its investigation, compensation arrangements and any internal measures taken in response to the dispute.
For now, the confirmed development is that Tiffany's China retail team has contacted the customer and apologized, while the final resolution of the dispute remains pending.
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