Chelsea Girl Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking

Chelsea Girl Pty Ltd the business that operates Chelsea stores in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland has offered a section 87B court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC following its supply to consumers of sunglasses that failed to comply with the mandatory consumer product safety standard prescribed under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (the Act), namely AS/NZS 1067:2003 Sunglasses and fashion spectacles (the Standard).

Specifically, Chelsea supplied sunglasses that, despite including a swing tag that represented the sunglasses had been tested to meet Australian standards, failed to include the lens category number and the corresponding lens category description required by the Standard.

Subsequent to the ACCC raising its concerns with Chelsea in December 2007, Chelsea acted promptly, including immediately organising staff training on the Standard and subsequently conducting a voluntary product recall of five styles of Chelsea sunglasses on 16 February 2008 that were found to have failed the performance requirements of the Standard.

Chelsea admitted it did not comply with the labelling requirements and subsequently the performance requirements of the Standard in contravention of s65C of the Act and acknowledged it may have also contravened ss52, 53(a) and 55 of the Act.

In resolution of the matter, Chelsea has undertaken to:

• ensure sunglasses supplied by it that are subject to a mandatory safety and/or information standard prescribed under the Act comply with the relevant standard;
• put in place procedures to ensure display and sales stock of sunglasses are appropriately labelled; and
• implement a trade practices compliance program to minimise the risk of future breaches of Part V, including sections 52, 53(a), 55, 65C & 65D of the Act.