ASICS Facing Class Action Over Alleged Use of False Reference Prices, Fake Discounts

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A proposed class action alleges ASICS America Corporation has misled consumers by advertising products in its outlet stores with false original prices and corresponding “phantom” discounts, giving the impression of a deal.

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The 26-page lawsuit claims the sportswear retailer uses artificially inflated reference prices to fool consumers into thinking they are getting a discount on merchandise with a higher market value than it actually has. The suit contends that, in reality, the apparent discounts are “nothing more than phantom markdowns,” as the company’s products are never sold at the advertised original price for any significant period of time, if at all.

According to the case, large displays and placards in ASICS outlet stores advertise a “discounted % off” certain items. However, these discounts are fictitious and intentionally misleading to consumers, the complaint charges.

“In actuality, the percentage-off discounts are not true discounts, as they are applied to an advertised ‘original’ price that was completely fabricated by [ASICS] and that does not represent a price at which [the defendant] regularly sold the item in the normal course of business,” the filing says.

Per the lawsuit, the company’s conduct directly violates federal pricing regulations, which stipulate that a product’s advertised original cost must be a bona fide price at which the item was regularly offered to consumers for a substantial period of time.

Investigation by the plaintiff’s counsel in 2021 and 2022 found that hundreds of items in ASICS outlet stores in California “remained continuously discounted from their ‘original’ or ‘price tag’ price and they were not offered for sale at their original price,” the suit relays.

“Retailers, including [ASICS], understand that consumers are susceptible to a perceived bargain, and therefore, they have a substantial financial interest in making consumers believe they are receiving a bargain, even if they are not,” the case shares. “Contrary to the illusions of bargains in [ASICS’] advertisements, consumers are actually overpaying for [the defendant's] products and not receiving any promised discounts due to the relationship between [ASICS’] deceptive price comparisons, consumer purchase decisions, and the economic principles of demand and price.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in California who, during the applicable statute of limitations period, purchased from an ASICS outlet store one or more products at discounts from an advertised reference price and who have not received a refund or credit for the purchase(s).

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