Zamel's faked 'savings' on 44 jewellery items — the ACCC proved it in Federal Court

Zamel's was an Australian jewellery chain that ran regular 'sales' with prominent 'was/now' pricing in catalogues, flyers and in-store promotions. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) investigated and found that the 'was' prices on 44 jewellery items were not genuine former selling prices — the items had never been sold at the higher price, or had been sold at that price for only a trivial period.

The Federal Court found Zamel's guilty of misleading and deceptive conduct on 16 August 2012. On 18 January 2013 the court imposed a $250,000 penalty. The case — ACCC v The Jewellery Group Pty Ltd — became a reference point for Australian retail pricing law: a 'saving' is only a saving if the original price was real.

The fine was modest, but the precedent was not. The ACCC used the Zamel's case to signal to the entire retail sector that anchor pricing — showing a high 'was' price to make the 'now' price look attractive — is a consumer-protection violation when the anchor is fabricated. Every Australian retailer that runs a sale now does so under the shadow of this ruling.