The Polish competition authority, UOKiK, has launched investigations into three retailers: Black Red White, Żabka Nano, and Peek & Cloppenburg. The focus of these investigations is on the retailers' failure to provide information about the lowest price of products that was in effect 30 days prior to any discounts.

According to UOKiK, the lack of this mandatory information on price tags violates consumer rights and can mislead customers regarding the actual savings from promotions. UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny emphasized that consumers must be informed about what they are buying and at what price, especially when a product is advertised as discounted.

Inspections revealed that Black Red White had discrepancies in 454 price tags, where the lowest price prior to discounts was not disclosed. In some cases, promotional prices were equal to or higher than the lowest price from 30 days before the discount, misleading consumers about the actual benefits of the promotion.

Similarly, Peek & Cloppenburg was found to have failed to inform consumers about the lowest price prior to discounts in 240 price tags. The law requires that both the current price and the lowest price from the previous 30 days be clearly displayed for comparison.

Žabka Nano also faced scrutiny for not providing the required lowest price information in their advertising materials. The promotional price was highlighted, but the lowest price was referred to in a confusing manner, leading to potential discrepancies between advertised and actual prices in stores.

UOKiK has the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of the annual turnover on these companies for misleading advertising practices.