GVH: Douglas perfumery may have misled consumers

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 12. 22. 10:25

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The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has initiated competition supervision proceedings against “Parfümerie Douglas” Illatszer Kereskedelmi Kft. (Douglas), as the competition authority suspects that the company’s promotional practices and communication, as well as its claims of exclusivity, may mislead consumers.

According to the GVH’s statement on Monday, competition supervision proceedings have been initiated against Douglas on the suspicion that the company violated the prohibition of unfair commercial practices against consumers.

During the company’s promotional campaigns, the impression was created that could have led consumers to believe that they could get a discount of up to 30-70 percent, despite the fact that the affected products were probably not available at the maximum discount at all.

In addition, there may be systemic deficiencies in the company’s promotion practices, as a result of which the number of products advertised as on sale in certain promotions is high compared to non-sale products, and the promotion period is longer than the non-sale period. These practices may make it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions, the competition authority indicated.

The GVH also noticed that Douglas, with the labels “Douglas Exclusive” and, until autumn 2025, “Douglas Online Exclusive” on its mobile application and website, may have given consumers the impression that the products in question are only available from it, although this is not true for a significant part of the products. The company thus likely did not act with the expected professional care when verifying the veracity of the allegations – the competition authority wrote in its statement.

The initiation of competition supervision proceedings does not mean that the company committed the infringement, the proceedings are aimed at clarifying the facts and thereby proving the alleged infringement – the GVH highlighted.

The period provided for conducting the proceedings is three months, which can be extended twice, in justified cases, by a maximum of two months each time.