Asics has issued an apology amid reports that pornographic content was shown on screens outside its Auckland, New Zealand flagship.
“We would like to apologise to anyone who may have seen this,” the Japanese sneaker giant wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “We are working with our software and online security suppliers to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Asics said “objectionable content” was played after hackers gained access to the screens above the store. The shop is located on Queen Street, in the heart of Auckland’s busiest shopping district.
Graphic sexual material reportedly played on large screens outside the shop for several hours on Sunday before employees came to open the shop around 10 a.m. local time, according to a report from the New Zealand Herald. Workers shut off the screens upon arriving.
Tanya Lee, a witness who saw the screens while en route to breakfast with her 7-year-old child, called the content “totally inappropriate.”
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“I took a second look because I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” she said. “[It’s] not something you want kids exposed to and it’s also embarrassing for Auckland as a tourist destination.”
Asics has contacted the police and Netsafe, a N.Z. nonprofit online safety organization, about the issue, the Herald reports. The sportswear company sent an email to customers of the Auckland flagship apologizing for the incident.
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