Astonishing scenes at Shin Kong Place this morning: Whilst the rest of the mall was as eerily quiet and empty as ever, those who made it up to the third floor were greeted with rows of security staff, frantic Shin Kong Place personnel, and perhaps the hippest-clad rabble imaginable, who were screaming, shouting, and at some points, throwing punches at the security staff.

They were all there trying to get their hands on a pair of Diesel’s limited and special edition “Dirty Thirty” jeans. Perhaps it was the extremely limited run of the jeans that caused panic (a mere 30,000 pairs have been released worldwide). Maybe it was the hyper-trendy style that everyone wanted a piece of. We’re putting our money, however, on the fact that these jeans were being sold at RMB 390 – the low price tag is apparently a gesture to thank Diesel’s fans for their loyalty over the past 30 years.

Hundreds of shoppers queued outside Shin Kong Place early this morning. When the doors were flung open at 10am, there was a stampede to get inside. After managing to push past 20 security guards, customers sprinted inside, even running up the “down” escalators, trying desperately to get to the third floor store. Around 200 people managed to push past the additional security guards at the doorway to the store, where panic ensued. “It was a total mess,” recalls one shopper. “There didn’t seem to be any queuing system whatsoever. There were no barriers set up and no ticketing system in place.”

Another punter revealed that sales staff were terrified. “All they saw was this wall of crazy people coming at them. They thought there was going to be a mass riot. Mannequins went flying, people were getting crushed up against the cash registers, then the staff started pulling all the stuff off the shelves and shoving it in the back room. To be honest, I’m surprised none of the customers were pulling stuff off the shelves and making a run for it.”

One frazzled customer fumed, “I can’t believe this – it’s total chaos. There’s no organization whatsoever, they’re not even selling the jeans, and they’re blaming the consumers for this mess!”

A Diesel staffer looked every bit as frustrated as the customers. “We weren’t allowed to implement a queuing system outside the store, as the mall management were worried this would impede access to the other stores nearby. Shin Kong Place and the police won’t let us sell anything until the crowds are controlled, and people won’t leave the store until they’ve got the jeans.” Shin Kong Place’s official spokesman declined to comment.

Shop staff tried to get the crowds to leave by offering everyone VIP cards (10 percent discount on all products), something they were told in no uncertain terms where to shove. The situation was eventually resolved when a draw was held, and 40 lucky customers were able to purchase the jeans they’d fought so hard to get their hands on. Everyone else however, left empty handed. Perhaps not the best start to Diesel’s “Dirty Thirty” celebrations. The brand will be hoping that if tomorrow night’s (invite-only) party is a success that may provide some PR damage limitation. However, with tickets to the event not even available during the scrum this morning, placating their disgruntled customers may prove even harder.

Links and Sources
Diesel: Dirty Thirty Party
Sina: Hong Huang’s Blog
The Beijinger Forum: Near riot in shinkong place to buy diesel jeans