Competition Bureau advances an investigation into Leon's and The Brick's marketing practices

GATINEAU, QC, Nov. 20, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the Competition Bureau obtained a court order to gather information and advance an ongoing investigation into Leon's Furniture Limited and its subsidiary, The Brick Warehouse LP. 

The order, granted by the Federal Court requires Leon's and The Brick to produce records and written information that are relevant to the Bureau's investigation.

The investigation relates to certain alleged marketing practices such as:

• urgency cue claims related to the end dates of sales or time limited nature of promotions that may be false or misleading;
• potentially inflated regular prices used when making savings claims; and
• sale claims with no specification as to the amount of the discount, and prices displayed in a distinct font colour, which may create the false or misleading impression that people are benefitting from a sale.

The Bureau is looking to determine if Leon's and The Brick's marketing practices raise concerns under the deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act.

There is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.

Quick Facts

• Together, Leon's and The Brick operate one of the largest networks of home furniture, appliance, electronics, and mattress stores in Canada, as well as several e-commerce websites such as furniture.ca.
• Urgency cue claims such as "countdown clocks" and "limited time only" could be false or misleading if they create the impression that consumers must purchase a product quickly prior to the end of the promotion when in fact the promotion is renewed or replaced by another promotion.
• The misleading advertising provisions of the Competition Act prohibit making any kind of false or misleading claim to promote a product, service or business interest.
• The ordinary selling price provisions of the Competition Act aim to ensure that when products are promoted at sale prices, consumers are not misled by a reference to inflated regular prices.
• The Bureau strongly encourages anyone who suspects that a company or individual is making deceptive marketing claims to report it via its online complaint form.

Associated links

• The Dufresne Group to pay $3.25 million penalty to settle Competition Bureau concerns over marketing claims
• Hudson's Bay to pay $4.5 million to settle Competition Bureau investigation
• False or misleading representations
• Ordinary selling price
• Unsubstantiated savings claims
• Scarcity cues

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The Competition Bureau, as an independent law enforcement agency, ensures that Canadian businesses and consumers prosper in a competitive and innovative marketplace.

SOURCE Competition Bureau

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