1 March 2022, Budapest – The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has initiated a proceeding against the operators of two Hungarian electronics chain stores, Media Markt and Euronics, as their discount provision practices may have misled consumers.
The GVH has opened proceedings against Vöröskő Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Kft., which operates Euronics stores in Hungary, and Media Markt Saturn Holding Magyarország Kft., which operates Media Markt stores in Hungary. The Authority considers it likely that both traders advertised certain electronic goods (e.g., refrigerators, televisions) on their websites as promotional products in an unfair manner, while the original (non-discounted) prices of the products had previously been applied only on an exceptional and temporary basis. The original prices are therefore unlikely to be representative prices for the period preceding the promotion, meaning that the discounts promised may have been misleading to consumers.
The Authority has already imposed fines for fictitious promotions on a number of occasions, and from May 2022 new rules will come into force in this area, imposing strict, uniform requirements on traders to display discounts. Thereafter, businesses will only be able to display the lowest price of the minimum 30-day period preceding the promotion as the original price (with some exceptions). Short-term "mark-ups", which are merely a means of promoting a special offer at a later date, are thus rendered meaningless, and consumers can only find promotions that are the best the trader has offered for at least 30 days.
The initiation of the competition supervision proceeding does not mean that the undertaking has in fact committed the infringement. The proceeding is aimed at clarifying the facts and thereby proving the alleged infringement. The time limit for the completion of the proceeding is three months which, where justified, may be extended on two occasions by a maximum of two months each.
The official registration numbers of the cases are: VJ/8/2022 and VJ/9/2022.
Press Office of the GVH