Chinese consumers are boycotting Canada Goose over Huawei

China is furious with Canada right now over the arrest and detention of a high profile tech executive in Vancouver—and it's somehow tanking the stock of a Toronto-based winter clothing brand.

With this whole mess going on in Canada, my bet is on the patriotic brand China Goose to overtake Canada Goose as the practical winter status-signaling brand du jour in the Chinese market! pic.twitter.com/t9wZRxOs2j

— LFC (@goldencaskcap) December 11, 2018

Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer (and daughter of the founder) of the consumer electronics giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., was detained by Canadian police during an airport layover on December 1 at the request of U.S. authorities.

The 46-year-old CFO is accused of violating trade sanctions and has been charged with "conspiracy to defraud multiple international institutions," according to lawyers working on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice.

She could face decades worth of jail time if extradited to the United States following court proceedings in Vancouver—something that China's government wants Canada to prevent by releasing her immediately.

China's People’s Daily newspaper warns of "serious consequences" should the Canadian authorities fail to immediately release Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou https://t.co/dPlwJoiwEG

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 9, 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintains that Canada's involvement in the case is not politically motivated, and that Canada will continue to respect the independence of our judicial process (in other words, "Sorry China, but no").

Displeased with the decision, government officials in Beijing reportedly told a Canadian ambassador on Saturday that Canada would face "severe consequences" if our federal government does not comply.

Those consequences, it would seem, include calling for a boycott of all Canadian brands through China's state-owned media outlets (among other potential activities).

This is China's repercussions towards Canada🇨🇦? Boycott of Canada Goose Apparel that Alibaba knocks off? I thought they were gonna cyber attack our banks but stay tuned.#RoadToWar https://t.co/KkRl8cxGb6

— Daniella 💚⚡ (@TreeHugginLovin) December 11, 2018

An official Weibo account for the Global Times, a daily newspaper owned by the Communist Party of China, is currently calling upon Chinese citizens on social media to stop buying Canada Goose parkas and other products from Canada.

Bloomberg reports that Canada Goose was singled out, in part, "because its name so clearly announces its roots."

The impacts of the boycott campaign on sales numbers have yet to be seen, but the apparel brand's stocks have plummeted by almost 20 per cent since Meng's arrest.

Here is another short crash course with Canada Goose on how China hurts brands and foreign cos when shit goes south with another country. @globaltimesnews also ups its ante https://t.co/Ff4uvjPfJF

— Soundarya Jayaraman (@Soundarya9615) December 11, 2018

Meanwhile, Hong-Kong based "down clothing" competitor Bosideng has soared to a five-year high, up 13 per cent on news of the tensions between China and Canada.

It's unfortunate timing for Canada Goose, Bloomberg points out, as the company just recently announced major expansion plans into Greater China.

Other Canadian brands in China, such as Tim Hortons and IMAX, have not yet felt much of a trade burn, nor have they been publicly decried by the Chinese government.