The online private sales site of major brands Showroomprivé was fined a transactional fine of 600,000 euros for “false promotions”, announced Tuesday July 11 the general direction of competition, consumption and the repression of fraud (DGCCRF). After a long investigation carried out between 2015 and 2020 on the commercial practices of this site, the agents noted “price reduction announcements based on the highlighting of misleading reference prices”, specifies the DGCCRF in a press release.
These “false promotions” constitute the offense of deceptive commercial practices “to the extent that they alter the judgment of the consumer in his act of purchase”, adds this service of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
“This investigation relates to old facts”, reacted to Agence France-Presse Showroomprivé, recalling that it concerned “the pricing policy carried out by many e-commerce players”
“Reinforced control of reference prices”
Insisting on “the fairness and sincerity of [its] pricing policy”, the company assured that “a dedicated team carries out daily reinforced control work on reference prices, in order to provide our members with accurate information on the reductions announced.
Showroomprivé’s annual turnover reached 657.4 million euros last year, down 9.2% compared to 2021 but up 6.8% compared to 2019.
The SRP group, owner of the Showroomprivé site, saw its net profit drop sharply in 2022 and fall to 300,000 euros. He pointed to “a difficult market environment”, supply issues and the backdrop of inflation.
The settlement fine is presented by Bercy as a quick and effective solution to anti-competitive practices. Companies guilty of such practices but who refuse a financial transaction proposed by the DGCCRF run the risk of a heavier financial sanction.
