Competition Bureau finalizes deal with Grafton-Fraser
28 Jul '06
3 min read
Industry Canada (IC) announces that the Competition Bureau has reached a settlement with one of Canada's largest retailers of men's apparel, Grafton-Fraser Inc, resolving the Bureau's concerns over the company's pricing practices. Grafton-Fraser operates over 180 corporate stores under the banners of George Richards Big & Tall, Grafton & Co. (Stonehouse), Mr. Big & Tall, The Suit Exchange, Timberland and Tip Top Tailors. The settlement comes in the form of a Consent Agreement which was registered today with the Competition Tribunal.
In addition to the company, Mr. Glenn Stonehouse, President, Chief Executive Officer and majority shareholder, is a party to the Agreement and subject to its terms and conditions. Among other things, the Agreement calls for the payment of an administrative monetary penalty and costs totalling $1.2 million.
The registration of the Agreement concludes the Bureau's investigation into allegations that Grafton-Fraser had significantly inflated the regular price of certain garments sold in its stores resulting in an overstatement of the savings to consumers when these garments were on sale. The Bureau found that Grafton-Fraser tagged these garments with both a regular and a sale price when, in fact, the garments were not sold in any significant quantity or for any reasonable period of time at the regular price.
"The importance of truth in advertising cannot be overstated," said Raymond Pierce, Deputy Commissioner. "Advertisers have both a moral and legal obligation to ensure that they provide consumers with accurate information upon which to make their purchasing decisions."