Officeworks who appears to have been betting on cheap Chinese products to drive margin growth, is now facing another recall, this time its three Comsol products that the ACCC claim could “Cause injury or death”, the ban has led to a massive supplier shake up at the retailer.
ChannelNews understands that Comsol could lose a large part of the Wesfarmers owned Officeworks business with new management at the big retailer moving to introduce new compliance and certification conditions which several suppliers have told us will see several drops out of supplying goods to Officeworks because it will affect margins and do their business with the Wesfarmers owned Company unprofitable.
“They should have been doing this years ago, (Checking certification) their processes had become incredibly slack” said one insider.
We have also been told that new Officeworks management and a shakeup of their buying teams has led to a major review of their house brand products and their certification and compliance practises.
Officeworks has been selling the banned Comsol chargers for more than six years with thousands now affected by the recall with questions also raised as to why the ACCC not picked up problems with these products earlier.
One major supplier said, “Officeworks claims to have certification checks already in place but the problem is they have not been adhering to their own policies and cheap products that have not been checked or comply with standards are hitting shelves”.
Questions are also being raised as to why the ACCC took six years to identify the risks associated with the Office works products and more so Comsol manufactured products with one insider claiming that “Comsol could lose up to 80% of their Officeworks business”.
With one of the recalled COMSOL 20W USB-C Wall Charger the product has been on sale since May 2016 with the ACCC claiming it posed the risk of electric shock, burn injuries or even death.
The ACCC claims that the Comsol sourced products which came from China, “The wall plug can break off the main body of the charger exposing the internal wires,”.
This is the same retailer who is currently punting on Chinese consumer Security products branded EZIVIZ, from Chinese Company Hikvision, whose products are banned in Australia and several other Countries including the USA, UK, and Canada, because of security risks associated with Hikvision security cameras.
Sydney based Comsol claim that they are an importer, manufacturer, and distributor of connectivity solutions for the IT, AV, and Mobile Phone Accessories industries. The bulk of their retail business appears to be via Officeworks.
One supplier to Officeworks said “It appears that Officeworks obsessions to grow margin off the back of cheap house brand products has backfired, with the business accused of selling products before that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have then deemed “unsafe”.
One supplier said, “Officeworks is not alone in taking risks with cheap Chinese products”.
In the latest recall of Officeworks products three Comsol charging devices have been recalled, these products came from three Chinese manufacturers.
These devices are the Comsol Dual Port USB Wall Charger 3.4A/17W, the Comsol 20W USB-C Wall Charger, and the Keji USB Dual Port Wall Charger 2.4A.
The reason for all three devices being recalled is because the wall plug can break off the main body of the charger and expose the internal wires.
This causes a serious risk to consumers of injury or death due to an electric shock or electrocution.
The responsible regulator of this recall is the Office of Fair Trading (NSW), and Comsol Pty Ltd. itself issued three separate recalls at the same time.
Consumers have been urged to stop using these chargers immediately, and to return it to their nearest Officeworks store for a full refund.
If they require more information, consumers can visit an Officeworks store, or contact them via 1300 633 423, or the official Officeworks website.
The Comsol dual port USB wall charger 3.4A/17W has a 5V 2.4A output, and the affected model number is WCN34WH.
The Comsol 20W USB-C Wall Charger is a single port USB-C wall charger sold separately or included in Comsol 20W Fast Charge Lightning 2.5m kits.
The affected model number is WCC202W, which can be found near the pins of the power plug.
The Keji USB dual port wall charger 2.4A has two affected model numbers, WCDE24BK and WCDE24WH.
Officeworks or their PR Company have not commented for this story.
