Belgian court ruled in Lidl’s favor in the case against Delhaize’s price comparison

According to the court, the price comparison published by Delhaize in January was incorrect after all, following a complaint from Lidl. In practice, however, this ruling changes little: after all, the campaign is already over.

Inaccurate comparison

After Delhaize published a much-discussed price comparison earlier this year, intended to show that the retailer is no more expensive than its competitors, Lidl filed for an injunction: according to the discounter, the campaign was misleading because the methodology behind the comparison allegedly had serious flaws. “Products are being compared that are not identical in quality, weight, packaging, or specifications, which leads to a distorted picture,” the retailer argued at the time.

That complaint was dismissed at the time, and Delhaize was allowed to continue its price campaign. But Lidl appealed and was ultimately vindicated in February, according to court documents reviewed by the Belga news agency. According to the judge, the price comparison between a package of spaghetti from Lidl and one from Delhaize was incorrect. Pending a decision on the merits of the case, Delhaize was prohibited from comparing the two receipts under penalty of a fine. In practice, this changed nothing, as Delhaize’s campaign had already ended by then.