Aldi has been convicted for misleading discounts in Germany, and the discounter is accused of doing the same thing in the Netherlands – along with Dirk and Jumbo. What is going on?
Misleading discount rate
The European Court of Justice has convicted Aldi Süd because of misleading discounts on bananas and pineapples. The discounter had advertised Fairtrade bananas in its brochure with a price of 1.29 euros per kilogram, along with the percentage “- 23 %”. The ad mentioned the cheapest price for the last thirty days (“1.29 euros per kilogram”) as well as the last displayed price (“1.69 euros per kilogram”).
However, the court now calls this not correct: the discount percentage in the leaflet referred to the last displayed price, and not the lowest price of the last thirty days. For the pineapples, the leaflet referred to a ‘bargain price’ – even though the advertised price was the same as the thirty day reference price.
Strict interpretation
Since 2022, retailers in Europe have been required to include a reference price with price discounts: specifically, the lowest price over the past thirty days.
