Class action accuses clothing retailer Akira of inflating prices to fake sales

Akira class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Stephanie Cruz filed a class action lawsuit against Bijora Inc., which does business as Akira.
• Why: The plaintiff claims Akira uses false reference prices to mislead consumers into believing they are getting a discount on its products.
• Where: The Akira class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges clothing retailer Akira uses false reference prices to mislead consumers into thinking they are getting a discount when they are not.

Plaintiff Stephanie Cruz claims Akira online store advertises perpetual or near-perpetual discounts on many of its products that are supposedly offering discounts off self-created, fictitious reference prices.

“Akira represents to consumers that its reference price is the ‘regular’ or ‘normal’ price of the item, which functions as a new and inflated reference point from which consumers discount their ‘savings’ on various products,” the Akira class action says.

Cruz wants to represent a nationwide class and California subclass of consumers who purchased falsely discounted products on Akira’s website.

Akira ‘rarely’ offers products for reference price, class action alleges

Cruz argues Akira “rarely, if ever,” offers its products for the reference price and that it instead uses the inflated reference prices to continually advertise “sale” events and product discounts to induce consumers into purchasing products.

“In reality, the ‘sale’ price is the price at which Akira regularly sells the product, but the consumer has been tricked into thinking she found a great discount,” the Akira class action says.

Cruz claims Akira is guilty of fraud, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violating California’s Consumers Legal Remedies Act, false advertising law and unfair competition law.

The plaintiff demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief, an award of actual, statutory, treble and punitive damages and restitution for herself and all class members.

In related news, a class action lawsuit filed in Washington federal court alleges that Amazon violated a 2021 injunction by using deceptive “limited time deal” promotions on Amazon Fire TVs, falsely suggesting discounts from inflated list prices that had not been the prevailing prices for over a year.

Have you ever purchased a product from Akira that was advertised as being on sale? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Kyle McLean, Lisa R. Considine, David J. DiSabato and Leslie L. Pescia of Siri & Glimstad LLP.

The Akira class action lawsuit is Cruz v. Bijora Inc., Case No. 5:25-cv-00634, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

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