Moores has to alter suit-sale ads
Moores Clothing for Men says consumers will barely notice the difference when it begins running new ads next week aimed at addressing federal Competition Bureau concerns about misleading representation.
"We’ve added one word – select," said Dave Starrett, president of Canada’s leading menswear chain with 100 stores across Canada.
The bureau asked for the amendment because it felt the retailer’s previous ads failed to make clear that a national two-for-one designer suit sale applied only to some of its suits.
"In these tough economic times, consumers are more concerned than ever in getting value for their money," said Andrea Rosen, the bureau’s deputy commissioner of competition.
Since the start of the economic downturn last fall, more retailers have resorted to two-for-one deals and other offers to attract customers. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach, Rosen said: "It is important for advertisers to remember to clearly and conspicuously disclose any limitations or exclusions in their advertisements to ensure that consumers can make informed purchasing decisions good credit score."
To resolve the bureau’s concerns, Moores agreed to prominently disclose in its television, website and in-store signage that the sale applies only to select designer suits. The sale, which began the first two weeks of February, continues next week, Starrett said.
No other penalty was imposed on the retailer.
In previous cases of misleading advertising, the bureau has levied fines of more than $1 million against retailers, including Grafton-Fraser and Suzy Shier. However, in those cases the retailers were accused of inflating their regular prices to overstate the "sale price" savings to consumers.
Starrett said the bureau didn’t dispute the savings at Moores are real. "What it really came down to was the definition of `designer’."
The bureau said that by publishing its findings against Moores it hoped to deter others.