UOKiK said on Tuesday the case stems from consumer complaints describing irregularities during promotions at Biedronka stores. Inspectors compiled extensive photographic evidence of shelf labels and posters advertising price cuts, and analysis confirmed the alleged violations, the authority said.
The watchdog charged the company with infringing collective consumer interests. It also brought charges against three management board members, noting that label design and content are set centrally by the company under the board’s supervision. Each manager faces a potential fine of up to 2 million zlotys.
If confirmed, the corporate penalty could reach 10% of Jeronimo Martins Polska’s turnover. Biedronka’s sales exceeded PLN 100 billion (EUR 23 billion) in 2024, implying possible exposure of about PLN 10 billion, UOKiK said.
The authority highlighted “multibuy” offers, where the unit price falls only if a shopper buys a set number of items (such as “1+1 free”). Consumers focused on the prominently displayed promotional price, while the regular price used for calculations was shown in small print in a label’s corner, UOKiK said.
In one complaint, a shopper read “3 zlotys, 1+1 FREE” and believed a single lettuce cost 3 zlotys with the second free; closer reading showed one cost 5.99 zlotys and the second was then free.
According to UOKiK, the label sometimes presented a unit price that applied only when two or more items were purchased, leaving the consumer to multiply that number to learn the total due.
Other Biedronka promotions cited by the office included “Second 50% cheaper when buying 2,” “22% cheaper when buying 3,” and “2+1 free.”
UOKiK also alleged errors in calculating discount sizes: reductions were computed from the regular price rather than the lowest price from the 30 days before the markdown, potentially overstating the attractiveness of offers and, in some cases, yielding a “reduced” price higher than one available in the preceding 30 days.
The office said the lowest 30-day price was displayed at the very bottom of the label in a small font, making it hard to read.
“The price is a key factor for consumers,” UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny said, adding that the information on Biedronka’s labels misled shoppers or was illegible, prompting charges against the company and three managers for breaching basic rights on price information.
The office said the practices persisted for many months across all Biedronka stores and were not isolated to a single promotion or employee error.
In a statement, Biedronka said it is ready for dialogue with UOKiK to “work out a solution satisfactory to all, taking into account customers’ interests and fair-competition rules.”
The chain added that the Omnibus directive is relatively new and that promotional price-display practices differ across the Polish market and require harmonization.
The EU’s Omnibus directive was implemented into Polish law on Jan. 1, 2023.
(jh)
Source: PAP