Bulgaria’s competition watchdog fines Ikea 347 500 leva
Bulgaria’s Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said on December 12 that it has fined furniture retailer Ikea 347 500 leva (about 177 700 euro), or 0.5 per cent of its net revenue for 2013, for unfair trade practices.
CPC said that the fine was the result of a complaint filed by a customer, who claimed that the retailer used misleading advertising in its stores. The regulator said that its investigation found that in the summer of 2014, Ikea advertised a set of shelves for 79 leva, but the set was not available in its stores – instead, the retailer offered a similar product with the same name for 100 leva.
“By advertising a product with a lower price than the real one, Ikea misled consumers, leading them to focus on and purchase a product at a higher price than the one quoted in their advertising, which is a breach of fair trade practices,” CPC said in a statement.
The fine can be appealed within a period of 14 days at the Supreme Administrative Court, the regulator said.
(Photo: Gerard Stolk/flickr.com)
