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Tag: wego

  • Wego Scraps My Hero Academia Line After Backlash in China

    Wego Scraps My Hero Academia Line After Backlash in China

    Tokyo-based fashion brand WEGO has scrapped plans to launch an exclusive apparel range in collaboration with hit anime and manga franchise My Hero Academia in September 2026 following an angry backlash from Chinese consumers.

    Shoppers across Chinese social media condemned the planned launch, prompting the Japanese apparel retailer to cancel the release immediately.

    Controversy Over Wartime References

    WEGO had announced an exclusive clothing line based on the popular franchise, but Chinese users quickly cited a 2020 controversy involving a character linked to lethal human experiments that killed thousands of prisoners.

    Chinese audiences previously condemned the anime in 2020 over a storyline featuring a character who conducted lethal human experiments. Viewers linked the narrative to Unit 731. That covert Japanese military medical unit ran fatal biological warfare experiments on thousands of prisoners, most of whom were Chinese.

    Outrage centered on the character’s original name, Maruta Shiga. In Japanese, the word maruta means log. It served as the wartime code name for human subjects used in the unit’s experiments. Social media users also connected the surname Shiga to bacteriologist Kiyoshi Shiga.

    Brand Risk in Cross-Border Retailing

    Licensing domestic intellectual property carries acute reputational risks for Japanese apparel brands selling into Greater China. Fast-fashion chains rely heavily on anime collaborations to draw younger demographics. Even so, historical sensitivities in China frequently cut through commercial campaigns.

    Retailers that misjudge consumer sentiment in mainland China face rapid boycotts and online delisting. WEGO pulled the entire collection early to limit commercial fallout before production and distribution expanded.

    Previous Franchise Fallout

    Distribution for the My Hero Academia franchise previously broke down in China after the 2020 character name dispute. Chinese streaming platforms and digital manga distributors removed the series from their catalogues once that controversy emerged.

    WEGO has halted marketing for the collection across its retail network while clearing out promotional materials.

  • Twitter searching for new Indonesia boss as Rick Mulia quits to move back to Wego

    Twitter searching for new Indonesia boss as Rick Mulia quits to move back to Wego

    Rick MuliaRick Mulia, who joined Twitter to launch its Indonesian operation just eight months ago, has left the company to move back to his former employer, Wego.

    Mulia joined Twitter from Wego in November, five months before the official opening of the Jakarta office in March.

    Twitter told Mumbrella that Mulia was leaving for personal reasons and is searching for a replacement to lead what is one of the micro-blogging service’s most important strategic markets.

    He is to stay with the company until the end of this month.

    “First, we would like to thank Rick Mulia for his contributions and leadership for opening Twitter’s office in Indonesia, one of our largest and most important markets in the world. Rick is based in Singapore and the role of Indonesia Business Head requires him to move to Jakarta,” Twitter told Mumbrella in a statement.

    “However, he is unable to make the move now due to personal reasons. So we are actively looking for his replacement in Indonesia and will have some news shortly to share with you. We remain committed to Indonesia and will continue to invest in our operations there as we have many exciting plans for the rest of the year,” Twitter said.

    The highly regarded former Microsoft and Yahoo! executive was brought in to lead a team to turn Twitter’s “local popularity into revenue” in Indonesia.

    Mulia was previously running Wego’s media and advertising solutions function and oversaw the firm’s global real-time bidding function.

    He rejoins Wego in the role of chief advertising and media officer, Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. His role is to lead both direct and programmatic sales for the firm.

    “I’m extremely pleased that Rick Mulia will be rejoining the leadership team at Wego and managing our fast growing advertising & media business,” said Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder of Wego in a statement.

    “Rick is a well-respected digital professional with a rare combination of technical, sales and managerial skills that make him the perfect choice to develop and deliver advertising solutions for Wego’s travel industry clients.”

    Mulia commented: “I am looking forward to returning to Wego and helping the company achieve the next level of growth. In the time I’ve been away I’ve been highly impressed to see the company’s growth in emerging regions such as the Middle East and Southeast Asia, and in particular, explosive growth in their mobile audience. These are both a boon for the ad tech space where these types of audience data are in high demand.”

    “My focus is to make Wego and its audience data a must-have purchase for any travel advertiser investing in Direct Performance or Programmatic Ad Buying,” he said.