The Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has fined Lidl Magyarország Kereskedelmi Bt. 48 million forints in a renewed proceeding that has now been closed. The supermarket chain, which operates about 200 stores nationwide, misled consumers by communicating that “Lidl is the cheapest food chain,” the authority said on Wednesday.
“Lidl is the cheapest food chain”
As it explained, the GVH had already sanctioned the company for the same reason in February 2024 in the original case, but the Curia ordered the competition authority to hold a fresh procedure. In the repeated proceeding, the GVH reached the same conclusion, albeit on narrower grounds. The company cooperated with the watchdog, admitted the infringement and undertook to act more carefully in future communications about prices.
The GVH launched proceedings against Lidl in July 2023 after noticing that the company had claimed in its commercial communications that “Lidl is the cheapest food chain”. In its February 2024 decision, the GVH Competition Council said the message amounted to a market-leader claim, and at the time imposed a 90 million forint fine on Lidl Magyarország Kereskedelmi Bt.
The company challenged the decision in court. The Budapest Court of Appeal dismissed Lidl’s claim, but the Curia nonetheless ordered the competition authority to conduct a new procedure.
Misleading communication
In the renewed case, the GVH followed the Curia’s guidance: it reassessed the circumstances and established the infringement on a narrower basis. It did not deem the Facebook communication unlawful, as it was sufficiently detailed, and the advertisement also made clear the circumstances and time frame in which the market-leader claim should be interpreted.
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The GVH also took into account that on some communication channels the message perceived by consumers was broader, and factored that into the calculation of the fine. As in the previous procedure, it found that the campaign built around the disputed slogan involved unfounded, misleading market-leader claims.
In the repeated proceeding, Lidl had already cooperated with the competition authority, admitted the infringement, waived its right to legal remedy and also undertook to implement post facto compliance measures.
On that basis, the GVH Competition Council imposed a 48 million forint fine on the company, which — as Lidl is not contesting the infringement — will definitely be paid into the central budget. The authority said it imposed a lower fine than in the original case because it had established the infringement on narrower grounds and because the company had actively cooperated during the renewed procedure.
