A mother has been left horrified after discovering a set of ‘sexually inappropriate’ childrens’ knickers in Poundland – and has since demanded they be pulled from shelves.
Nicola Prichard, 40, from Cannock, Staffordshire, visited her local Poundland in January, where she’d purchased a £2.50 of knickers from the Pepco range for her 10-year-old daughter.
When she’d arrived home, she was left ‘gobsmacked’ after discovering a pair featured the Japanese symbol for “PUSSYCAT” emblazoned across the front.
The mother-of-three revealed she only became aware of the design after her baffled daughter asked her what the symbol meant.
Using Google, Nicola searched up the symbol printed on the front of the pants, and soon uncovered its meaning of ‘cat’ or ‘pussycat’ in both Chinese and Japanese.
She explained: ‘I had previously bought some [knickers] for my daughter with a different design and she had said how comfortable they were.
‘I thought she would like these ones. They were in a pack of four and you could only see the front pair was gingham.
‘None of them had anything to do with Japanese symbols apart from this random one in the pack.
Nicola Prichard, 40, from Cannock, Staffordshire, visited her local Poundland in January, where she’d purchased a £2.50 of knickers from the Pepco range for her 10-year-old daughter
Nicola continued: ‘When I took them home, she asked me “What does this mean Mum?” I said “I don’t know, I didn’t notice it.”
‘So I put into Google Translate and Google Lens and it said that the symbol on the front of her knickers is the slang term for cat. In other words, it’s ‘pussy, puss, moggy’, something like that.’
Nicola immediately contacted Poundland to complain about the ‘inappropriate’ clothing item, which is sold as part of the store’s Japanese-themed range.
She believes the knickers were incorrectly processed, and has since called for them to be immediately pulled off the budget retailer’s shelves.
The mother said: ‘If the pants had anything to do with cats, like pictures of cats or something like that [that would be fine] but there’s no correlation as to why this symbol should be on there, especially on children’s pants.’
‘I was absolutely gobsmacked. These [even] come in ages three to four in Poundland.’
When she’d arrived home, she was left ‘gobsmacked’ after discovering a pair featured the Japanese symbol for “PUSSYCAT” emblazoned across the front
Using Google , Nicola searched up the symbol printed on the front of the pants, and soon uncovered its meaning of ‘cat’ or ‘pussycat’ in both Chinese and Japanese
After issuing the complaint, Nicola claims the retailer responded aptly, ensuring her they would launch a full investigation into the underwear.
However, when the mother returned to the store days later, she was astonished to find the pants were still on display in the high-street store.
Nicola believes her complaint is not being ‘taken seriously’ after discovering the underwear is still available to purchase.
She said: ‘The fact that these are on girls’ knickers is baffling.
‘How it was able to get through production, I can’t get my head round how it managed to get through and to sale.
‘It’s got no place on children’s knickers. I think there’s sexual connotations to it. It’s not even the proper name for cat, it’s the slang name.
‘I can’t see any reason why they should be on girls’ knickers. It’s completely inappropriate. The idea that that’s printed on the front of knickers for children turns my stomach.’
Nicola is now calling for the knickers to be shelved before more unsuspecting parents purchase the ‘inappropriate’ children’s garment.
When the mother returned to the store days later, she was astonished to find the pants were still on display in the high-street store
She said: ‘They should be recalled. I truly believe that Poundland didn’t know and there was a problem in manufacturing but that it has been missed somewhere along the line. I don’t think they’ve done it intentionally.’
Poundland said that although they were part of a wider Japanese-themed cat range they ‘understand why’ Nicola questioned one item out of context and apologised.
A spokesman said: ‘While these are part of a wider Japanese-themed cat range that includes socks and vests, we understand why Nicola questioned one item out of the context of the whole range.
‘It goes without saying we apologise for that, and we appreciate her getting in touch with us.’
