THECompetition and Market Authority (AGCM) he sanctioned Chiara Ferragni e toy with a total of 1,42 million euros for unfair commercial practices. The AGCM has ascertained that the initiative “Pandoro Pink Christmas” promoted by the two companies deceived consumers, making them believe that the purchase of the Ferragni-branded pandoro would contribute to a donation to the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin.
The Authority says that both companies deceived consumers into believing that purchasing the “designer” Pandoro Ferragni would have contributed to a donation to the Regina Margherita Hospital in Turin. In fact, the donation of 50 thousand euros had already been made by Balocco months before. Chiara Ferragni and her companies have collected over 1 million euros through this initiative.
The AGCM found that unfair practices were implemented through various conducts, including:
- The misrepresentation in the press release, which stated that “purchasing a Pink Christmas pandoro will help support the donation.”
- The placing of misleading information on products, which reported the logo of the Regina Margherita hospital and the phrase “Donation to support the Regina Margherita hospital in Turin”.
- The spread of posts and stories on social media falsely suggesting Chiara Ferragni’s direct involvement in the donation.
Furthermore, the high price of the “designer” Pandoro helped to deceive consumers, increasing the perception that their purchase would support the donation.
The AGCM concluded that these practices significantly limited consumers' freedom of choice, violated the duty of professional diligence and constituted unfair commercial practices with elements of deception.
Article published on 15 December 2023 - 12:30
