(MENAFN) In Japan, known for its decorum, a high-profile department store chain felt compelled to issue a sincere public apology in the aftermath of Christmas due to grievances about damaged USD40 cakes.

The "cake collapse" saga has been making headlines in Japan, with infuriated consumers turning to social media over the weekend to share images of Christmas cakes that arrived at their doorsteps in a crumbled state.

Offered for sale online by the prominent chain Takashimaya, the strawberry-topped cakes, intended to be impeccably adorned, were received by some customers in a deplorably flattened and fragmented condition, as depicted in images circulated on social media.

Takashimaya acknowledged in a statement on Wednesday that out of the almost 3,000 frozen cakes sold, over 800 were confirmed to have suffered damage as of Tuesday night.

"We would like to apologise deeply for the deformation in our frozen Christmas cakes that betrayed the expectations of many of our customers," Takashimaya high-ranking official Kazuhisa Yokoyama informed a nationally aired press conference.

The company mentioned that customers might be eligible for reimbursement for the cakes, which were priced at 5,400 yen each, depending on the delivery conditions.

Following the incident, Takashimaya officials initiated a comprehensive investigation into both its production and delivery partners.

Despite this, Takashimaya's spokesperson, Yokoyama, stated to reporters that they "couldn't identify a cause" and asserted that temperature management was not the issue.

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