Misleading Advertising for a Complete Kitchen?

Must the electrical appliances contained in a complete kitchen be precisely designated in advertising for it? This competition law question has now been decided by the Regional Court (LG) Potsdam.

An association for the protection of the competition law interests of its members demanded that a kitchen dealer cease an advertisement in a newspaper prospectus. In it, the dealer had offered a complete kitchen at a very low price, but had made no statements about the manufacturers and types of the electrical appliances.

The association was of the opinion that the electrical appliances with which a kitchen is equipped are an essential feature of the offered complete kitchen and must therefore be stated. Without this information, the advertising would be misleading.

The dealer did not consider this necessary, as it is not customary in the trade and the type designation and brand of the appliances are not informative.

Court decision on misleading advertising for a complete kitchen

The Regional Court (LG) Potsdam granted the application for an injunction withJudgment of 09.03.2016 – Az. 52 O 115/15 – and thereby prohibited the dealer's advertising.

The court ruled that the kitchen dealer had withheld from the consumer information that was, in the concrete case and taking into account all circumstances including the limitation of the means of communication, essential. Anticompetitive misleading advertising is not only present in a concrete contractual offer, but already in any declaration by the entrepreneur on the basis of which the consumer could decide to purchase a particular product.

Irrelevant in this regard is the fact that the consumer takes numerous factors into account when purchasing a kitchen. The manufacturers and type designations of the electrical appliances must be specified as essential features also for the purposes of price determination in all cases, since the functionality and quality of a kitchen are determined not only by the kitchen furniture but equally by the electrical appliances contained in it.

Conclusion regarding advertising for a complete kitchen

In any advertising by a dealer on the basis of which a consumer can decide to purchase a particular product, the dealer must specify the essential features of the product. In the sale of complete kitchens, this includes the type designation and the manufacturer of the electrical appliances.