Retail Firm Sports Direct Warned Over 'Misleading' Savings Claims

Sports Direct "has been warned to clarify its advertising" after the regulator banned "misleading" and "unsubstantiated" savings claims, according to the PA. The retail firm’s website advertised a Puma Arsenal home shirt for £42 ($59) in February, "claiming the price represented a saving" of £17.99 ($25.46). But a reader said that the product "had never been sold" on Sportsdirect.com at £59.99 ($84.90), and "challenged whether the price and savings claim were misleading and could be substantiated." Sports Direct said that the £59.99 claim was "based on the recommended retail price of the shirt," and provided a list from manufacturer Puma which showed an RRP for the kit of £60. The Advertising Standards Authority said that consumers were "likely to understand" that £59.99 was the price "at which the kit was usually sold on Sportsdirect.com." It ruled that the ad "must not appear again in its current form" (PA, 6/15).