Progressive Enterprises Limited, one of New Zealand's biggest supermarket chains with 150 stores, has been convicted of selling goods offering shoppers the chance of winning a holiday in Australia months after the competition closed, the Commerce Commission announced on Thursday, the dpa reported.
The watchdog commission said the company was fined 17,000 New Zealand dollars (about 13,110 US dollars) on Wednesday for beaching the Fair Trading Act.
The commission said the chain put promotional stickers on packets of cereals in 2006 that invited buyers to enter a drawing for up to five Australian holidays.
The closing date of the promotion, August 31, was only disclosed in entry forms inside the sealed packets, but investigators found they were still being sold in 70 stores until December 2006.
Commission chairwoman Paula Rebstock said the company did not withdraw the packets from sale following complaints.
"It is disappointing that one of New Zealand's biggest businesses did not have an effective system in place to ensure that these errors did not occur," she said.
She said that Australian-owned Progressive Enterprises held about 45 per cent of New Zealand's grocery market.