Mattress brand Emma Sleep has been issued a letter by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) threatening court proceedings.

The CMA has notified Emma Matratzen GmbH, Emma Sleep GmbH and Emma Sleep UK Limited, and their directors (the Emma Group), that unless it commits to making changes to its practices the CMA will commence court action.

The CMA wrote to the Emma Group on 24 July 2023 setting out in detail its concerns. To avoid taking court action, the CMA sought a formal commitment from the Emma Group, by way of undertakings, to change its online sales practices.

However, the Emma Group has not agreed to provide undertakings that are sufficient to address the CMA’s concerns.

“The CMA has now informed the Emma Group that it is preparing to take court action and will launch proceedings if it does not commit to changing its practices without unnecessary delay,” the statement said.

Back in November 2022, the CMA launched an investigation following concerns about Emma Sleep’s online selling practices – including whether its ‘urgency claims’, such as countdown timers and ‘discounts’, were misleading consumers.

As a result of its investigation, the CMA has found evidence that discount claims made by Emma Sleep did not stack up against the actual savings made by customers. The CMA also has concerns that the firm’s use of countdown timers and claims of high demand for certain products could mislead consumers, and therefore breach consumer protection law.