lyko CEO Confirms Price Increases โขAhead of Black Friday, Citing Legal Loophole
Stockholm, Sweden – Lyko CEO Rickard Lyko has publicly admitted the company is raising prices on products in October to inflate perceived โdiscounts during Black Friday, a โฃpractice increasingly common amongโข Swedish retailers despite regulations intended to prevent misleading sales. The confirmation comes in responseโ to โขcriticism from fashion journalist Emely Dahl, who highlighted theโค tactic on TikTok.
The practice โคexploits a loophole in Sweden’sโข Price Information act, which โsince September 1, 2022, requires stores to display the lowest price for an item within โฃthe โpast 30 days when offeringโข a โคreduction. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, four out of ten e-commerce companies violated the rule last year.
A recent survey by price โcomparison site Prisjakt revealed aโ widespread trend of price โincreases in Swedish online stores ahead of Black Friday, with retailers raisingโค prices more โthan 30 days before the saleโค to โestablish a higher baseline for discounts.
Inโ a TikTok video respondingโ to Dahl’s critique, Lyko stated, “That’sโฃ how the rules are. 30 days before we raise the prices to full priceโ and then that isโ the price we compare with.As โa consumer, if you want to be โขsure that you are buying at the best price, then the answer isโ probably โnot to shop in October and wait until November.”
Lyko further argued that changing the rules is necessary to addressโ the issue, stating, “We want to do the right thing, but we also want to give customers a vrey attractive offer during Black week, becuase that’s what the โฃconsumer landscape looks like and it’sโ vital that everyone dose the โฃsame, otherwise there will be an โฃunfair competitive situation between companies.”
