Tommy Hilfiger Class Action Says Outlet Store Pricing Is Deceptive

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Tommy Hilfiger Wholesale Inc. has been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing the clothing retailer of misleadingly advertising false discounts on the clothing, accessories and fashion apparel sold at its “outlet,” “factory” or “company” stores.

Plaintiffs Siobhan Morrow and Miguel Olmedo filed the Tommy Hilfiger Outlet class action lawsuit last week in the Superior Court of California for the County of San Diego.

They claim Tommy Hilfiger advertises merchandise as on sale or discounted from an original price, giving consumers the impression they would save money by purchasing the merchandise.

“The advertised discounts, however, were nothing more than phantom markdowns because the Reference Price was an artificially inflated number and was never the original or market price for the merchandise sold in Defendant’s outlet stores,” the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit says.

“Additionally, Defendant did not sell its products at the advertised Reference Prices within the three months immediately preceding the publication of the Sale Prices, as required by California law.”

Morrow and Olmedo allege the reference prices are bogus because the merchandise sold at Tommy Hilfiger outlet, factory and company stores are never sold at the reference price at any Tommy Hilfiger store.

According to the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit, the reference price is a “fictional number utilized by Defendant to lure customers into believing they are getting a good deal when they purchase merchandise at the ‘Sale Price.’”

Morrow alleges she visited a Tommy Hilfiger outlet store in San Ysidro, Calif., in November 2015 and purchased a tee shirt for $16.99 and a knit polo shirt for $29.70, believing both shirts to be heavily discounted because of the reference prices which suggested they were each sold at a 40 percent discount.

She says she believed the reference prices were actual and legitimate prices at which Tommy Hilfiger sold the shirts. She says that she would not have purchased the shirts, or would have paid less for them, if she had known Tommy Hilfiger never sold them at the reference prices.

Similarly, plaintiff Olmedo says he paid $32.99 for a shirt at a Tommy Hilfiger outlet store in Commerce, Calif. The shirt was allegedly advertised at a sale price of 40 percent off the reference price. However, the shirt was never offered for sale at the advertised reference price within the 90 days preceding Olmedo’s purchase, the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit says.

Morrow and Olmedo filed the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit on behalf of all California residents who purchased any product listed at a false reference price at any Tommy Hilfiger outlet or factory store located in California during the applicable statute of limitations period.

The Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit asserts claims for violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and the Consumer Legal Remedies Act.

Olmedo and Morrow are represented by Todd D. Carpenter, Brittany C. Casola and Edwin J. Kilpela of Carlson Lynch Sweet Kilpela & Carpenter LLP.

The Tommy Hilfiger Outlet Store Pricing Class Action Lawsuit is Miguel Olmedo, et al. v. Tommy Hilfiger Wholesale Inc., Case No. 37-2018-00019565-CU-MC-CTL, in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego.