Photo: Press
There have been a variety of reactions to Zayn Malik's departure from One Direction - from outbursts of grief to hundreds of people calling in sick for work. But did anyone stop to think of those with merchandise to sell?
Earlier this week, Malik quit the global boyband phenomenon to 'focus on being a normal 22-year-old' - devastating fans, and even sparking mental health charities to reach out after some threatened to self-harm after #CutForZayn started trending online.
Drama aside, there's now the more trivial matter of what to do with all of that merchandise featuring Zayn's face. Well, Lidl led the charge - cutting a fifth off the price of 1D Easter eggs to reflect the lost member:
#Awkward - looks like we'll just have to knock a 1/5 off too. #AlwaysInOurHeartsZaynMalik #ByeZayn pic.twitter.com/pModTQMow7
— Lidl UK (@LidlUK) March 25, 2015
Wholesale Clearance UK had a pretty interesting idea too - they removed Malik from their full set of whole group cut-outs, stuck them back together with gaffer tape and are now shifting the job lot of 1,000 for £1 each.
"Where do broken cut-outs go?" said the company in a statement. "The day has finally dawned when One Direction are down one member. Unfortunately for us at Wholesale Clearance, we have just received a huge order of 1,000 One Direction cut-outs for their new world tour.
"We had the heartbreaking decision of putting the now redundant five onto the skip, never to see the light of day again, or the equally heart-wrenching effort of tearing Zayn away from his friends to leave the new forceful foursome! Worse still, old Zayn was placed slap bang in the middle of the fantastic five and so we have had to stick Harry back together to the gang. We don’t want to lose Harry too!"
They went on: "What has happened to Zayn, though? Well we can’t answer for the real life version, but One D fans will be pleased to know that we have found a special place for our cut-out Zayn’s along with piles of superglue, just in case he decides to return… We can dream! Goodbye Zayn, farewell and good luck in your future ventures. If you by any chance want 1,000 cardboard cut-outs of yourself we would be more than willing to send them to you. Or if you want a whole one of the group to remind you of the good times, do let us know!
"Please note: duct tape placement may vary on the cut out."
