Budget retailer Poundland has thrown shade at Boots over its £50 Zoella advent calendar.
A tweet posted by the brand shows Poundland’s offering of similar items to those found in the Boots advent calendar endorsed by Zoella for a fraction of the price.
Here we have The Advent of Amazing Value at Poundland… pic.twitter.com/BAQcf9CZ9P
— Poundland (@Poundland) November 14, 2017
For £13, consumers can get a host of products including cookie cutters, candles, confetti and notebooks.
Poundland jumped on the bandwagon after a flurry of complaints from the public about the price of the star’s advent calendar – which contains 12 “exclusive treats” – and Twitter users reacted with joy at the opportunistic tweet.
@disloyal__order pic.twitter.com/lCgHY55gmZ
— Katy (@argyleanklet) November 14, 2017
— l e w i s (@earthtolewis) November 14, 2017
— DAN (@dancooledaily) November 14, 2017
However, some came to the YouTuber’s defence over the price of her 12-item calendar, saying consumers were free not to buy it.
This #Zoella calendar thing is stupid- why are people so annoyed?! People will pay £100 for a T-Shirt that says “Armani” on it, but FREAK OUT because 1 of the biggest celebrities in the world brings out an advent calendar that costs £50. Think it’s overpriced? Just don’t buy it!
— Alex Baker (@alexbakerman) November 14, 2017
Oh stop dragging @Zoella for making money. If she was a guy in blazer, instead of a young woman online, no one would say anything. Look around at the companies who actually exploit you without you noticing.
— Emma Gannon (@emmagannon) November 15, 2017
If you know anything about retail you know that things are sold are the shops decisions NOT the person who created it or the wholesaler. There fore the blame is on Boots not @Zoella. Please educate yourself about a topic before criticising someone!
— So Simple (@Katlaiird) November 15, 2017
After the controversy about the price of the calendar blew up, a spokeswoman for Zoella Lifestyle said “Zoe is incredibly proud of the Christmas collection and excited to see it in store.
“However, the pricing and in-store promotional strategy of the collection, including the calendar, is at the control of third parties and is not set by Zoe.”
A Boots spokeswoman added: “We always listen to feedback. We will be offering the product at half price during our Christmas promotion, where the calendar will be on sale for £25 from Thursday November 16.”