THE High Court will rule next week on whether supermarket chain Tesco is entitled to an injunction stopping rival Dunnes Stores from running allegedly misleading price comparison advertisements.

Ms Justice Mary Laffoy said she hoped to give her decision by next Tuesday afternoon.

There was a lot to consider after two days of legal submissions from both supermarkets, she added.

Tesco had sought an injunction over the advertising of “everyday low price” products and of promotional products, known in the trade as “hi/lo pricing”.

It said it was concerned because the Dunnes adverts made direct and largely unexplained comparisons between everyday and short-term promotional prices.

Tesco said the adverts were in breach of mandatory statutory requirements and gave the impression Dunnes was generally much cheaper than Tesco on identical products. Tesco claimed that this was not the case.

The National Consumer Agency is a notice party to the proceedings but isn’t directly involved in the dispute.

Dunnes has rejected Tesco’s claims and said its rival was engaged in similar advertising and now, in the run-up to the Christmas, was asking the court to intervene.

Its application was misconceived in law, unsustainable and Tesco had created and artificial urgency about the matter, Dunnes said.

Dunnes also claimed any intervention in advertising would have a “chilling” effect on retail competition.

In an affidavit, Tesco marketing director Kenny Jacobs said competition between Irish grocery retailers was greater than ever.

Tesco had no difficulty with aggressive competition or comparative advertising, which stimulates competition, he added.

But it was opposed to comparisons being made that misled consumers or prevented them from making purchasing decisions with the relevant information, according to Mr Jacobs.

- Tim Healy

Irish Independent

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