Mom is baking, the daughter is happy and next to it huge numbers on a red background announce promising discounts: 20 percent on furniture and kitchens, and 20 percent “on top” in all departments, plus a dishwasher for free. The world of advertising can be so alluring – but also misleading. The 17th chamber for commercial matters at the Munich I district court is currently dealing with an advertisement by Möbel Höffner that allegedly misleads the consumer. And the presiding judge, Anne-Kristin Fricke, made it clear at the end of the hearing that the Chamber had not fully understood the various nested discount campaigns.
“I presented the notice to my two trade judges and they came to different conclusions as to the applicable discounts,” the judge said at the hearing. In front of her is the newspaper advertisement from Möbel Höffner, which appeared in the SZ on August 19, 2021. The Center for Combating Unfair Competition had filed a complaint against the ad. The central competition office is supported by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, business associations and companies from all sectors, as a sort of self-regulatory institution against unfair competition. It becomes active when, for example, a customer feels deceived by misleading advertising – or a competitor.
In any case, the lawyer for the plaintiff, Alexander Strobel, described the present advertising as non-transparent and “simply not understandable” for the consumer. Huge percentage discounts are shown on a red background: 20 + 20, plus one free electronic device. And only until August 21st. In the right corner of the red field is the circled letter “R”, which looks like an American copyright sign. But it should refer to the fine print below.
However, it doesn’t get any easier to understand in the depths. Because it says there’s a 20 percent discount on furniture and kitchens, plus an additional 20 percent in all departments, “which equates to an overall reduction of 36 percent.” Again, some branded products are excluded from the discount, and the free dishwasher is only available if you buy a kitchen that costs more than 4999 euros after deducting all discounts. And then it says at the end: “Valid until August 31, 2021.”
If it says “20 percent in ALL departments,” then the consumer thinks he’s getting 20 percent on all products,” said lawyer Strobel. Eye-catching advertising is called that when big promises are made in large letters, which then shrink in the small print. “It’s not the case that what is promised is not kept,” said Höffner’s lawyer Katy Ritzmann, on the other hand. When the customer comes to the “full-range store”, he sees all the various reductions at once. In the small print there are “clear sentences , easy to understand – admittedly, one should read it”. And that the circled “R” in the eye-catcher refers to the “R” for the small print, which is shown differently below, is understandable.
The central competition office had written to Möbel Höffner to refrain from such advertising. When the furniture store did not respond, they took legal action. The 17th chamber with the commercial judges Andreas Knaus and Jürgen Mahler made it clear that “according to a preliminary assessment, the lawsuit will probably be upheld”, according to the chairwoman Anne-Kristin Fricke. The verdict is expected to be announced in January.