Once again, behind the screaming discounts and weekly promotions, there was very little that was real. The Antitrust fined Poltronesofà 1 million euros for unfair commercial practices linked to pricing and discount policies.
According to what emerges from the Authority’s bulletin, the procedure concerns a communication strategy carried out at least since the beginning of 2023, through advertising campaigns spread everywhere: TV, radio, social media and the web. At the center of the dispute is the promotion of the so-called sofas “Promo Collection”presented as unmissable opportunities thanks to heavily discounted prices compared to an alleged much higher “barred” price.
It’s a shame that that much-emphasized convenience didn’t really exist.
The Antitrust investigation has in fact demonstrated that the sofas of the “Promo Collection” were designed from the beginning to be sold almost exclusively at promotional prices and for limited periods, effectively making the comparison with the full price fictitious. In other words, the “discount” was an integral part of the commercial strategy, not a real advantage for the consumer.
A practice which, according to the Authority, alters purchasing choices, leading customers to believe they are faced with an unrepeatable deal, when in reality it is the usual selling price. Misleading, ambiguous and omissive information, which violates articles 20, 21 and 22 of the Consumer Code and is contrary to professional diligence.
The message is clear: it is not enough to write “discount” in large letters to be transparent. And this sanction sounds like a warning to the entire sector: convenience, if it is not real, becomes an unfairness that consumers pay for.
