Undertaking date
Undertaking type
Reference number
Section
Company or individual details
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Name
Laura Ashley (Australia) Pty LtdACN
004 817 323
Undertaking
Laura Ashley (Australia) Pty Ltd (LA) sells home furnishings, women's fashion, made to measure goods and design consultancy services.
LA has acknowledged its previous two-price advertising of bed linen may have contravened sections 52 and 53(e) of the TPA.
LA's conduct involved a promotional strategy based on establishing a 'regular price' for a product line by launching the product in a limited number of stores for a limited time.
Subsequent supply to all other stores Australia-wide and subsequent discounts all relied on the 'regular price' as the starting point for any discounts or sales. The reliance on the 'regular price' continued, in some instances, for over 12 months notwithstanding that the product may not have been offered for sale anywhere in Australia at that price for up to 12 months prior.
LA has provided court enforceable undertakings to the ACCC that it will
- refrain from offering goods for sale using the pricing strategy described above;
- display an Information Notice about the ACCC's concerns in this matter at the point-of-sale counter in each of its national stores; publish the Information Notice in The ARA Retailer magazine; and
- implement a trade practices compliance program to reduce the risk of engaging in any potentially misleading conduct in the future.