The Competition Bureau has obtained a court order to advance its inquiry into The Dufresne Group, Inc. and its affiliates, which operate through the retail banners Dufresne Furniture and Appliances and certain Ashley Furniture HomeStores in Canada.
The Bureau is looking to determine if their marketing practices raise concerns under the civil deceptive marketing provisions of the Competition Act. There is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time.
The Bureau's investigation is looking into two types of alleged practices:
- urgency cue claims related to the end dates of sales that may be false or misleading, and
- potentially inflated regular prices used when making savings claims.
The order granted by the Federal Court of Canada on November 10, 2022, requires The Dufresne Group, Inc., and its affiliates (TDG Furniture, Inc., DFA Operations, Inc. and Furniture Investment Group, Inc.) to produce records and information relevant to the Bureau's investigation.
