STOCKHOLM – Swedish clothes retailer H&M said on Thursday that it had the rights to sell Justin Bieber merchandise it pulled from stores this week after the pop star said he had not given his approval.

“Justin’s licence holder has confirmed that H&M had the right contracts in place and followed all proper approval procedures for each selected design,” H&M wrote in a statement.

On Monday, the Canadian singer urged his 270 million Instagram followers not to buy the merchandise, calling it “trash” and saying it was on sale without his approval.

H&M pulled the items from sale.

“Out of respect for Justin, we removed the products from our site and stores, and we’re working to find the best way to make use of them,” H&M said, adding that the company had been Bieber’s merchandise partner since 2016.

The clothes that caused Bieber’s rage included sweatshirts, T-shirts and hoodies featuring the 28-year-old singer’s likeness, lyrics and branding. H&M offered no details on the financial impact of its decision to pull the products, or how much stock it had.

H&M is no stranger to scandals.

The retailer had to close some stores in South Africa in 2018 amid protests against an advertisement which showed a black child modelling a hoodie with the text “coolest monkey in the jungle”. It pulled the garment from stores and apologised. 

The retailer has suffered from weak sales lately, and is seeking to cope with high inflation and shaky consumer demand. Management aims to double sales by 2030. REUTERS, BLOOMBERG