• The President of UOKiK launched an investigation against AzaGroup – the owner of Renee.pl and Born2Be.pl online shops.
• Concerns are related to the presentation of promotions in those shops: there is no information about the lowest price from the last 30 days before the discount and attractive prices presented in the shop are available only for loyalty scheme members.
• The fine for violating the collective interests of consumers can amount up to 10 percent of the undertaking’s revenue.

Renee and Born2Be are popular online shops selling clothing and footwear, owned by AzaGroup. The concerns of the President of UOKiK are raised by how promotions are marked in their offers – in a way incompliant with the Omnibus Directive and one that may mislead consumers.

The amended provisions of the Act on Information on Prices of Goods and Services concerning the displaying of price when communicating information about its reduction have entered into force as of 1 January 2023. Undertakings are required to display the lowest price of a particular good or service that was in effect during the last 30 days prior to the discount. This is due to the implementation of provisions arising from the Omnibus Directive intended to ensure better enforcement and to modernize EU consumer protection regulations.

“On multiple occasions, we emphasized that information about the price must be stated clearly, transparently and cannot be misleading. In the case of a promotion, the lowest price from the last 30 days prior to the discount is the most important for the consumer. Without that information, there is no point of reference that would allow them to assess the actual value of the discount. We are continuing to analyze the actions taken by different businesses in that regard and to take action ourselves when we identify any irregularities,” said Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

In the launched investigation concerning the violation of collective interests of consumers, the President of UOKiK pressed three charges against AzaGroup:

• Failure to present the lowest price from the last 30 days – as required by the Omnibus Directive when offering a discount.

The obligation to fairly inform consumers about the price, including the lowest price from the last 30 days before the discount, covers all stages of the sales process, beginning from advertising messages until the moment when the agreement is concluded. However, Renee.pl and Born2Be.pl shops do not comply with that obligation, both in their mobile apps and on their websites.

• Low price only for Renee or Born2Be loyalty club members.

AzaGroup may mislead consumers by failing to inform them about the actual price of products. The online advertisements of both shops entice consumers by offering attractive prices, however they are available only to individuals who have an account in their loyalty club. The consumer learns this information only after clicking on the advertisement that redirects them to the shop page. In order to purchase a product at the price indicated on the advertising banner, it is necessary to register an account on the website, join the loyalty club and enter a promotional code. If these conditions were presented clearly at the advertisement viewing stage, the consumer may not have been interested in the offer at all.

• Misleading consumers as to the price advantage.

Concerns were also raised by the fact that the owner of Renee and Born2Be store may label products as “discounted” while offering them at a price that has not changed or even increased compared to the lowest price from the last 30 days before the discount. Meanwhile, a discount is an actual discount if in the last 30 days the product was sold at a higher price – otherwise the use of such words as “promotion”, “sale” or “discount” may be incorrect. If the previous price does not deviate from the current price, it cannot be said that a price advantage exists. The correct way of calculating a discount is by making comparing the current price to the lowest price of the relevant product from the last 30 days.

The investigation concerning the violation of collective interests of consumers may lead to the imposition of a fine in the maximum amount equal to 10% of the undertaking’s revenue for the previous year.

The President of UOKiK has been monitoring the compliance of businesses with the new obligations – and pressed charges against Zalando, Media Markt, Sephora, Glovo and Shell Polska in connection with a misleading presentation of their promotions, issued more than 70 soft calls, and there are 14 pending preliminary investigations into traditional stores. Following actions taken by UOKiK, the vast majority of businesses have duly aligned their practices.

See explanation by the President of UOKiK on how to correctly present information about discounts. We also encourage you to watch the webinar “On discount pricing – for businesses” prepared by UOKiK and the ProPublika Foundation.