Fast fashion firm Boohoo has been fined 2.3 million euros (£2 million) by the French consumer watchdog over misleading pricing practices.
Regulator findings
The Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) said Boohoo – part of the recently rebranded Debenhams Group, which is listed in London – had given shoppers a false impression about the discounts being offered on the French version of its website.
Manchester-based Boohoo did not take account of previously applied promotions, or even increased prices before applying a discount, according to the DGCCRF.
Non-compliance details
It found 95% of the listings analysed failed to comply with its rules, with 40% offering no price reduction, 7% offering a smaller discount than advertised and 48% actually increasing prices.
Boohoo also used terms that are banned, such as “leather” or “suede” to describe synthetic products, going against French rules on clothes and footwear labelling.
Company response and context
A Boohoo spokesperson said: “These historic issues relate to a period from October 2023 to February 2024, when the business was under previous management, and are now resolved.
“We have co-operated fully with the regulator, and continue to review how we price and label our products.”
It comes amid a clampdown in France against fast fashion firms. Chinese online giant Shein was fined 40 million euros (£34.3 million) by France’s competition watchdog in July last year for misleading discounts.
