Apparel Retailer Allegedly Fabricates Sale Prices for Designer Clothing

Case Overview

This case was a class action matter against a major national retailer of designer apparel relating to allegedly fraudulent sales and retail marketing practices. The apparel retailer would regularly offer discounts on clothing, which were billed as significant discounts on the list prices provided by the manufacturer and touted by the retailer as the “full price” of the item. However, the class of individuals who purchased items listed as “on sale” alleged that the sale prices were, in fact, the full list price and that the retailer had effectively fabricated the discounts it had offered over the course of several months. It became apparent that a merchandiser for the retailer had, in an attempt to increase the clothing’s public profile, advocated the strategy and had worked overtime to implement it.

Questions to the Retail Store expert and their responses

What is your background with pricing at retail stores?

Pricing is always a round-table discussion and I was very much involved in those talks.

Do you have experience working in the retail industry?

Throughout my career as a merchandiser, I have worked closely with the outlet channel of several retailers. I worked at the defendant company for a portion of 2014 as the Director of Women's Merchandising for Handbags and SLGs, and their outlet strategies followed industry norms.

About the expert

This expert graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Apparel Design & Merchandising, and she has 10+ years of experience in fashion merchandising. She began her career at Freeze CMI and then held increasingly senior merchandising roles at Cole Haan for nearly five years. The expert also served as the Director of Women's Merchandising for Handbags and Small Leather Goods at Kate Spade for a brief period in 2014 before becoming an independent product merchandising, brand positioning, and channel segmentation consultant. She has strong knowledge of women's fashion merchandising, pricing, marketing, and planning.