Topeka Tent and Awning Company, Inc.

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IN THE MATTER OF TOPEKA TENT AND AWNING COMPANY INC., ET AL. CONSENT ORDER, ETC. , IN REGARD TO THE ALLEGED VIOLATIOK OF THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ACT Docket C-112C. Com,plaint, Oct. 14, 1966-Decision, Oct. 14, 1966 Consent order requiring a Topeka, Kansas, manufacturer and distributor of tents, tarpauIins and other canvas products to cease making false pricing and savings representations and furnishing others the means to make such representations in the advertising of its merchandise. COMPLAINT Pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act, and by virtue of the authority vested in it by said Act, the Federal Trade Commission, having- reason to believe that Topeka Tent and Awning Company, Inc., a corporation, and Wi1is Anton and Wilis Anton, Jr. , individually and as offcers of said corporation, hereinafter referred to as respondents, have violated the provisions of said Act, and it appearing to the Commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be in the public interest, hereby issues its complaint stating its charges in that respect as follows:

PARAGRAPH 1. Respondent Topeka Tent and Awning Company, Inc. , is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under and by virtue of the laws of the State of Kansas, with its principal offce and place of business located at 320 East Second Street in the city of Topeka, State of Kansas.

Respondents Willis Anton and Willis Anton, Jr., are offcers of said corporation. They formulate, direct and control the acts and practices of the corporate respondent, including the acts and practices hereinafter set forth. Their business address is the same as that of the corporate respondent.

, , TOPEKA TENT AND AWNING COMPANY, INC., ET AL. 1081 1080 Compla;nt PAR. 2. Respondents are now md for some time last past have been, engaged in the manufachTe, advertising, offering for sale sale and distribution of tents, tarpaulins and other canvas products to retailers for resale to the public. PAR. 3. In the course and conduct of their business, respondents now cause, and for some time last past have caused, said products when sold, to he shipped from their place of business in the State of Kansas to retailers thereof located in various States of the United States and maintain, and at al1 times mentioned herein have maintained, a substantial course of trade in said pl'duets in commerce, as "commerce" is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act.

PAR. 4. Respondents, for the purpose of inducing the purchase of their products, have engaged in the practice of using fictitious prices in connection therewith by the following method and means:

By distributing, or causing to be distributed to retailers and others, catalogs which depict and describe their aforesaid products and contain a stated price for each. In the manner aforesaid respondents thereby represent, directly or indirectly, that the amounts shown are respondents bona fide estimate of the actual retail prices of said products in respondents ' trade area and that they do not appreciably exceed the highest prices at which substantial sales of said products are made at retail in said trade area.

In truth and in fact said amounts shown are not respondents bona fide estimate of the actual retail prices of said products in respondents' trade area and they appreciably exceed the highest prices at which substantial sales of said products are made at retail in said trade area.

Therefore, the statements and representations set forth above are false, misleading and deceptive.

PAR. 5. By the aforesaid acts and practices, respondents place in the hands of retailers the means and instrumentalities by and through which they may mislead the public as to the usual and regular retail price of said products. PAR. 6. In the course and conduct of their business and at al1 times mentioned herein, respondents have been engaged in substantial competition, in commerce with corporations firms and individuals in the sale of products of the same general kind and nature as those sold by respondents.

PAR. 7. The use by the respondents of the aforesaid false, mis- Decision and Order 70 F. T. leading and deceptive statements, representations and practices has had, and now has, the capacity and tendency to mislead members of the purchasing public into the erroneous and mistaken belief that said statements and representations were and are true and into the purchase of substantial quantities of respondents products by reason of said erroneous and mistaken belief. PAR. 8. The aforesaid acts and practices of respondents, as herein alleged, were and are all to the prejudice and injury of the public and of respondents' competitors and constituted, and now constitute, unfair methods of competition in commerce and unfair and deceptive acts and pl'acUces in commerce, in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. DECISION AND ORDER The Federal Trade Commission having initiated an investigation of certain acts and practices of the respondents named in the caption hereof, and the respondents having been furnished thereafter with a copy of a draft of complaint which the Bureau of Deceptive Practices proposed to present to the Commission for its consideration and which, if issued by the Commission, would charge respondents with violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act; and The respondents and counsel for the Commission having thereafter executed an agreement containing a consent order, an admission by the respondents of all the jurisdictional facts set forth in the aforesaid draft of complaint, a statement that the signing of said agreement is for settement purposes only and does not constitute an admission by the respondents that the Jaw has been violated as alleged in such complaint, and waivers and provisions as required by the Commission s rules; and The Commission, having reason to believe that the respondents have violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, and having determined that complaint should issue stating its charges in that respect, hereby issues its complaint, accepts said agreement makes the following jurisdictional findings, and enters the following order:

1. Respondent Topeka Tent and Awning Company, Inc. , is a corporation organized, existing and doing business under any by virtue of the laws of the State of Kansas, with its offce and principal place of business located at 320 East Second Street, city of Topeka, State of Kansas.

TOPEKA TENT AND AWNING COMPANY, INC. , ET AL. 1083 1080 Decision and Order Respondents Willis Anton and Wilis Anton, Jr. , are offcers of said corporation and their address is the same as that of said corporation.

2. The Federal Trade Commission has jurisdiction of the subject matter of this proceeding and of the respondents, and the proceeding is in the public interest.

ORDER It ,:s ordered That respondents Topeka Tent and Awning Company, Inc., a corporation, and its offcers, and Wilis Anton and Willis Anton, Jr., individually and as offcers of said corporation, and respondents' agents, representatives and employees, directly or through any corporate or other device, in connection with the advertising, offering for sale, sale, or distribution of tents, tarpaulins, or other merchandise, in commerce, as "commerce " is defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, do forthwith.h cease and desist from:

1. Advertising, disseminating or distributing any purported retail price unless (a) it is respondent.s' bona fide estimate of the actual retail price of the product in the area where respondent does business and (b) it does not appreciably exceed the highest price at which substantial sales of said product ale made in, said trade area. 2. Misrepresenting in any manner the prices at which respondents' merchandise is sold at retail. 3. Furnishing to others any means or instrumentalities whereby the purchasing public may be misled as to the retail prices of responoents' products.

It is further ordel' That the respondents herein shall, within sixty (60) days after service upon them of this order, file with the Commission a report in writing setting forth in detail the manner and form in which they have complied with this order. 1084 FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSIOK DECISIONS Complaint '10 F.