The ASA Council (Non-broadcast) has recently held a retailer in breach of the CAP Code for having insufficient stock to meet anticipated demand.  It found that internet retailer, Simply Be, has breached the CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 16.4 (Availability of products), 27.4 (Sales promotion rules) and 30.1 (Availability), by an email it sent which read

 

“Take a look at our latest fashion collections” and “NEW IN“. 

 

The email referred to 12 items which were “NEW IN“.  A customer challenged the legality of the ad, as when she attempted to order one of the 12 items new in, she found that none of the items she ordered were available. 

 

Simply Be argued that it was difficult to carry sufficient stock in all sizes, all the time.   They acknowledged that, on this occasion, the stock levels for three of the 12 items were not as high as they should have been. 

 

The ASA found that

 

(a)   customers would expect that the 12 new items would be available in sufficient quantities to meet the likely demand, and it appeared that this was not the case, in relation to three of these items;

 

(b)   the email was, therefore, misleading;

 

(c)   the words “NEW IN” were likely to increase demand for the 12 items, and Simply Be should have taken this into consideration when considering their stock levels; but Simply Be had shown the ASA no evidence that demonstrated how they had gone about anticipating demand;

 

(d)   Simply Be had not made a reasonable estimate of the likely response to the email;

 

(e)   Simply Be had not taken reasonable steps to ensure they carried sufficient stock.

 

The ASA Council ordered Simply Be not to issue the email again unless it held sufficient stock to satisfy anticipated demand.

 

Posted: August 23rd, 2010 under Business Advisory Services, Business Regulation, Competition Law & Regulatory, Contract, Corporate Defence & Prosecution, Dispute Management, Miscellaneous.
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