Aldi Süd Loses Court Battle Over Misleading Discount Practices

Aldi Süd must revise its discount advertising to reflect the lowest price in the last 30 days, following a court ruling influenced by EU guidelines.

The Landgericht Düsseldorf ruled against Aldi Süd, requiring discounts to be based on the lowest price in the preceding 30 days, not the last sale price.
The case was initiated by the Verbraucherzentrale Baden-Württemberg, which claimed Aldi's pricing misled consumers with inflated discount claims.
A specific instance involved Aldi advertising bananas at a 23% discount, using a previous higher price as a reference, despite the same price being offered weeks earlier.
The European Court of Justice's decision supports the consumer protection argument, aiming to prevent deceptive pricing strategies.
Aldi faces a potential fine of up to 250,000 euros for non-compliance, although the ruling is not yet legally binding.