Woolworths issues product recall on Country Road top

The retailer said concerns lay with the press studs on the garment during routine safety tests, but that to date Woolworths had not received any customer complaints.

"The safety of our customers is our priority. We have therefore, as a cautionary measure, taken the decision to voluntarily remove the garment from our stores," it said.

The recall only applies to the Country Road Elephant Crew, ages 0-24 months, colour indigo, style number 60197318.

Woolworth said 19 units had been sold in SA and that all existing stock of the product had been removed from its stores. It asked customers who had purchased the product to return it to either a Country Road or Woolworths store for a full refund.

"We know that South Africans trust Country Road for quality and we would like to apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused," it said.

Woolworths’ fullyear results released in August showed that Country Road’s comparable store sales were 3.9% lower on the prior year.

This came despite promotional activity and a reduction in prices. Gross profit margins declined 1.5% to 59.4% for the Country Road group, while store costs rose 8.5% due to the increase in trading space.

In 2014, Woolworths acquired the full shareholding of Country Road, and bought David Jones for A$2.15bn (about R23.6bn).