Shoppers accuse Fossil of deceptive reference pricing scheme

Fossil class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Three consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Fossil Group Inc.
• Why: The plaintiffs allege the company misleads consumers with false market prices and phantom savings on items sold at Fossil Outlet Stores and on its website.
• Where: The Fossil class action was filed in California state court.

A new class action lawsuit alleges Fossil Group misleads consumers with false “market” prices and corresponding phantom “savings” on watches, fashion accessories, leather goods, jewelry, backpacks and other items sold in its Fossil Outlet Stores and on its website.

Plaintiffs Alexander Chancy, Joshua Hyun and Tyler Curington filed the class action complaint against Fossil in California state court, alleging violations of state consumer laws.

According to the lawsuit, Fossil has misled consumers by advertising false former, original or regular prices, which were fabricated, thereby creating illusory “savings” on items sold on its website and in Fossil Outlet Stores located in California.

The class action alleges that Fossil continually misled consumers by advertising watches, fashion accessories, leather goods, jewelry and other items at false discounted “savings” prices for merchandise designed and manufactured exclusively for sale throughout the Fossil Outlet Stores and on the Fossil website.

The lawsuit claims Fossil would compare the outlet “sale” prices to false “market” prices, which were misrepresented as the “market” retail prices from which the “savings” were discounted.

The advertised discounts were phantom markdowns because the represented market prices were artificially inflated and were never the original prices for these items sold in both Fossil’s outlet stores and its online shop, the lawsuit states.

Fossil outlet prices are fabricated, lawsuit claims

The purported “market” prices did not represent the actual prevailing retail market prices within the three-month time frame immediately preceding the publication of the advertised former prices, as mandated by California law, the lawsuit alleges.

The plaintiffs claim Fossil intentionally represents — on the price tags of Fossil Outlet products in Fossil outlet stores and on the price display of outlet items in its online store — “Like Style Prices” that are overstated and did not represent a bona fide price at which Fossil Outlet products were previously sold.

“Nor was the advertised Like Style Price a prevailing market retail price within three months immediately preceding the publication of the advertised former prices, as required by California law,” the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs seek to represent anyone who, while in California during the four-year period preceding the filing of the original complaint through the date of final judgment in this action, purchased one or more Fossil Outlet products at a purported discount off of the stated reference price at any Fossil Outlet Stores in California or any California resident who made purchases on the Fossil website and who have not received a refund or credit for their purchases.

They are suing for violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and False Advertising Law and are seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, clothing retailer Akira faced a similar class action lawsuit alleging it used false reference prices to mislead consumers into believing they were receiving discounts when they were not.

What do you think of the allegations made in this Fossil class action? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Matthew W. Ruan of Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC.

The Fossil class action lawsuit is Chancy, et al. v. Fossil Group Inc., Case No. 3:25-cv-01566-AJB-DEB, in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Diego.

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