Competition Bureau launches investigation into furniture retailers Leon’s, The Brick

0
28


Business·New

The Competition Bureau says it has advanced an investigation into furniture retailer Leon’s and its subsidiary The Brick over deceptive marketing practices.

Bureau settled investigation with the retailers in 2018 over similar complaints

A yellow logo with the word Leon's is shown.
The logo for Canadian furniture chain Leon’s is shown on the outside of one of its locations. The Competition Bureau says it has advanced an investigation into the furniture retailer and its subsidiary The Brick over deceptive marketing practices. (Michael Wilson/CBC)

The Competition Bureau says it has advanced an investigation into furniture retailer Leon’s and its subsidiary The Brick over deceptive marketing practices.

The investigation is related to several allegations, including that the retailers marketed false or misleading information about the end of sales or limited-time-only promotions, and that the companies potentially inflated the regular price of items when making savings claims.

WATCH | Why Leon’s is entering the home-building business: 

Metro Morning8:40Why furniture giant Leon’s is entering the home-buildng business

Mike Walsh, CEO of Leon’s Furniture on his decision to build homes. Nemoy Lewis is an assistant professor with the School of Urban and Regional Planning at Toronto Metropolitan University. He discussed whether this plan is feasible.

It’s also looking into allegations that — when claiming that they were having a sales promotion — the retailers didn’t specify how much the discount was, or they displayed prices in a font that gave a false or misleading impression that customers would benefit from the sale.

The Competition Bureau reached an agreement with the companies in 2018 over deceptive marketing allegations related to its “buy now, pay later” promotions. Both stores agreed to each donate $750,000 worth of home furnishings over two years to charities approved by the regulator.

Leon’s and The Brick also agreed at that time to adhere to the Bureau’s guidance on the proper use of disclaimers in advertising and the disclosure of fees.

CBC News has reached out to company representatives and the Competition Bureau for comment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Benchetrit is the senior business writer for CBC News. She writes stories about Canadian economic and consumer issues, and has also recently covered U.S. politics. A Montrealer based in Toronto, Jenna holds a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at jenna.benchetrit@cbc.ca.



Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here