The Indian clothing shop called ‘Hitler’ is due to lose its notorious name which features a swastika inside the dot in the letter "i" after provoking a wave of outrage among members of the local Jewish community and criticism across the internet.
The owner of the shop in Ahmadabad in Western India has reportedly promised to rename his store after having to deal with complaints and indignation. Rajesh Shah had complained he had to spend Rs 40,000 on the store sign, and said he wouldn’t change it unless he was fully compensated.
Shah claimed he had chosen to name his shop after the founder of Nazism and initiator of the Holocaust only to pay tribute to his colleague’s grandfather, a strict disciplinarian whom the family referred to as "Hitler."
"Hitler was a nickname given to my business partner Manish Chandani's grandfather because of his strict nature. Frankly, till the time we applied for the trademark permission, I had only heard that Hitler was a strict man,” Rajesh Shah who co-owns the shop told The Times of India daily.
But after the fashion outlet in the main city in Gujarat state opened, with a huge sign reading ‘Hitler’ over the door, a number of people in the city said the name was an ill-placed marketing gimmick.
Shah said he received dozens of phone calls urging him to rename the shop. Israel's Consul General in Mumbai was reportedly among those who had also called on state officials to intervene.
Comments (13)
hawaii guy (unregistered) 19.09.2012 01:55
Undo
Vinod (unregistered) 06.09.2012 11:55
Undo
Vinod (unregistered) 06.09.2012 11:26
Undo
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