OFT shuts down ‘closing down’ window ads
Basebuy agrees to stop claims
High street fashion retailer Basebuy has been ordered by the Office of Fair Trading to stop displaying ‘closing down’ sale ads in its shop windows.
Basebuy, which runs the Eisenegger and Foxhole chains, has given undertakings to the OFT that it will no longer publish advertisements which the watchdog said gave a misleading impression that prices had been reduced as part of a closing down sale. The stores used advertising in shop windows stating: ‘Closing down prices – absolutely everything reduced’.
The OFT ruled that these claims were misleading as they gave the impression that prices had been reduced in order to clear stock before closing down, and that price reductions were only likely to be available for a short period of time. Basebuy has given undertakings under the Enterprise Act that it will not breach the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations.
Sir John Vickers, OFT chairman, said: “Traders should not mislead consumers with avertisements that imply the prices are reduced as a result of an intended store closure when this is not in fact the case.”
