Sainsbury’s has lost its judicial review over the Advertising Standards Authority’s decision to clear ads for Tesco’s Price Promise.
The review was launched in November 2013 and reached the High Court last month.
Sainsbury’s challenged the ASA’s decision because it claimed Tesco’s own-label comparisons did not take into account factors such as provenance and ethics.
However, today it was revealed that Mr Justice Wilkie had ruled against Sainsbury’s.
In a statement, a Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said it was ”disappointed” by the outcome and would ”consider all our options”.
“While we respect the court’s decision that the Independent Reviewer acted lawfully when adjudicating our complaint against Tesco, we continue to believe that it is fundamentally misleading for customers if price comparison schemes are inconsistent in taking into account provenance, quality and whether products are Fairtrade or sustainably sourced.
“These values continue to be at the heart of our business and it will be for customers to reach their own verdict on this issue,” she added.
Tesco said it was pleased with the decision.
”As we’ve said throughout this process, we are on the side of customers,” a Tesco spokeswoman said.
”We are strong supporters of fair and transparent sourcing, with long and positive relationships with our suppliers and work with them to deliver the best quality products at great prices for our customers.
“This and the previous rulings by the ASA and independent reviewer demonstrate that Price Promise makes fair and reasonable comparisons between our branded and own brand products and those of our competitors.”
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