
Best Buy and Toys R Us have filed complaints accusing Walmart of misleading advertising regarding the iPhone 5 and other products during the holiday season.
A number of regional supermarket chains, along with Best Buy and Toys R Us, are accusing Walmart of inaccurate prices and false advertisements during the Holiday season, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Best Buy, specifically cited a Walmart sale that featured Apple’s 16GB iPhone 5 for $150. Best Buy claims the Walmart sale cost Best Buy $65,000 in profit the day Walmart advertised the promotion on Facebook as Best Buy was forced to match prices even though Walmart did not have enough inventory to meet demand. Walmart claims their stores were 98 percent in stock of the iPhone when the promotion ran.
Best Buy had problems with another Walmart ad featuring Dell laptops. In the ad Best Buy claims Walmart showed what consumers were lead to believe were two identical laptops with Best Buy charging $251 more at their stores. However, Best Buy claims that the model associated with their store was in fact a higher-end, more expensive model.
Even if Best Buy and other retailers can convince state attorney generals to go after Walmart, the massive retailer isn't likely to care. Their massive market share, lower margins and massive sales volume allow them to engage in “loss-leader” promotions that Best Buy and other retailers can’t afford. Which is precisely Walmart’s goal, to push competitors into situations they can’t afford.
Of course, this all pretty hilarious considering Best Buy is now running their own $50 instant rebate on any iPhone 5 purchased with a two year contract.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal [via AppleInsider]
Message