Apparel business Hard Rock has been caught engaging in resale price maintenance – as well as making misleading representations about consumers’ rights.

In a court-enforceable undertaking submitted to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, the company said it had required certain resellers not to sell its products below 10 per cent of the recommended retail price. It also warned about adjusting pricing or ceasing to supply products if the resellers did not agree.

The conduct, which took place between June 20 and September 11 last year, is known as resale price maintenance and breaches Australian competition law.

“The ACCC takes resale price maintenance conduct very seriously as it can cause significant consumer harm, particularly at a time when Australians are facing increased cost-of-living pressures,” said ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

Hard Rock also admitted to making false or misleading representations to consumers about the length of time a consumer has to seek a remedy for a faulty product or return an incorrect one.

“The representations made by Hard Rock on [its] website were false or misleading as [it] sought to restrict consumers’ consumer guarantee rights by imposing time-limits for returning a faulty or incorrect product,” said Cass-Gottlieb.

“Consumers are entitled to a repair or replacement if a product is faulty and can choose to receive a refund if the fault is major.”

Hard Rock has committed to issuing corrective notices to the affected resellers and removing misleading representations about consumer guarantees from its website. The company will also implement a compliance program for three years.

Established in 1997, Hard Rock operates as a blank apparel business under the Ramo brand, selling t-shirts, jackets, workwear and baby wear among other clothing items to wholesalers and directly consumers.

In late 2023, power tool supplier Techtronic was fined $15 million for resale price maintenance conduct in relation to Milwaukee-branded products.