For MeUndies, it’s a lesson in how quickly the pop-culture landscape can shift, even for a longtime hit like “Harry Potter.” In its Instagram apology, the brand explains that its initial decision to create a Harry Potter-themed line originated in 2018 when consumer research indicated that Harry Potter prints were at the top of consumers’ wish lists. The brand states that it began talks with Warner Bros. that same year to develop the line which ended up taking two years in total to develop.
Still, MeUndies indicates in its apology that it expected at least some backlash from Rowling’s tweets, even months later.
“It was honestly a very difficult decision to release this product,” the brand says in the post. “Ultimately, we chose to move forward and hoped the values of the Happy Potter story (acceptance, diversity, equality) would shine through.”
One of the questions MeUndies addressed in its apology was why the brand can’t simply take down the items or donate the profits. The company explains that it is essentially trapped in the collaboration.
“While we have plenty of successes to celebrate, we are still a relatively small company. Our Harry Potter collection was slated to be our biggest release of 2020. Given our investment and the revenue we initially planned from this release, pulling this collection would have been devastating to our company and had significant implications for the future.”
MeUndies is no stranger to collaborations. Limited-time collabs like the “Harry Potter” line have been a large part of the brand’s sales strategy, along with selling monthly memberships. Most recently, MeUndies collaborated with Steelers’ player JuJu Smith-Schuster on a collection, and last month sold a line of “The Office” loungewear and underwear.
Despite the apology, the Harry Potter collaboration is still being promoted at the top of the brand’s site and across its social media platforms. MeUndies declined to comment on the line’s current sales or if it anticipates sales to do well.
