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When is a deal really a deal? We tracked prices at Old Navy and Canadian Tire to find out
A CBC Marketplace investigation tracked sale items at clothing retailer Old Navy for months, revealing dubious discounts for products advertised as on sale but they are in fact rarely at regular price. Old Navy’s parent company Gap Inc. would not comment on the findings.
If you walk into an Old Navy or browse online, you’re bound to find huge discounts offered and hot deals aplenty.
But an investigation by CBC’s Marketplace has found some of those bargains are not what they seem.
Marketplace tracked the price of items sold at two major retailers — Old Navy and Canadian Tire — checking how often those items went on sale and whether the prices were true discounts. The investigation found multiple examples of Old Navy items that were nearly always on sale.
At Canadian Tire, Marketplace tracked items to see how deep the discounts were during big sales like Boxing Day, Cyber Monday and early Black Friday events and found several items were cheaper on days earlier in the year.
At Old Navy, the team monitored 10 clothing items between May and December 2024.
The team found the Old Navy clothes were on sale for at least half of those seven months, including one item that was on sale the entire time.
Online, there were time-sensitive discounts, but sale prices stayed even after the time ran out.
“Honest and transparent practices go a long way. Trust is really difficult to build and easy to break,” said Ying Zhu, an associate professor of management at University of British Columbia’s Okanagan Campus.
“They should put themselves in consumers’ shoes.”
Canadian Tire declined an interview but said in an email it runs “carefully planned weekly promotions” and understands “the challenges many Canadians face in today’s economic environment.”
“There are many factors that are taken into consideration when determining the pricing and promotions of our products, and we indicate to our customers in our weekly promotions whether or not the lowest price of the season or year is being offered,” the email said.
Gap Inc., which owns Old Navy, declined an interview request or to comment on Marketplace‘s findings. Read more
- For the full investigation, watch “Sale or Fail?” on Friday, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. (8:30 in N.L.), or on YouTube or CBC Gem.
Thieves stole 100,000 organic eggs off a trailer in Pennsylvania. Police are scrambling
Police are scrambling. They can’t crack the case. It’s a Grade A mystery. But hopefully they catch whoever poached the eggs.
OK, that’s out of our systems.
Police in Pennsylvania are investigating after someone stole 100,000 organic eggs valued at about $40,000 US ($57,000 Cdn), off the back of a distribution trailer last Saturday. Local law enforcement told the Associated Press the heist could be linked to the sky-high cost of eggs — an issue which has been plaguing the U.S. in the midst of an avian flu outbreak.
According to the police report, on Feb. 1, Pennsylvania State Police responded to a call at Pete & Gerry’s Organics in Antrim Township. The organic egg supplier reported the 100,000 eggs were stolen off the back of a distribution trailer around 8:40 PM.
The theft is still under investigation and there have been no arrests, Trooper Megan Frazer, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, told CBC News. She added the motive is unknown.
“It could be to sell them or even for vandalizing purposes. When it comes down to it, we don’t know,” Frazer said.
“This is definitely a unique incident, especially with the large quantity of eggs that were stolen.”
In a statement to CBC News, Pete & Gerry’s said they’re actively working with local law enforcement to investigate.
“We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible,” the company said.
They added they’re increasing their security and surveillance to help prevent this from happening again. Read more
Canada Post laying off dozens of managers amid shaky financial future
Canada Post is laying off dozens of managers in an attempt to save money after years of severe financial losses, CBC News has learned.
The layoffs include firing three senior executives last month — most notably the company’s chief financial officer. Two vacant roles have also been eliminated, resulting in an overall 20 per cent cut to senior management, Canada Post said.
Nearly 50 managers are also receiving layoff notices this week, Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton confirmed. Close to half of those jobs are in Ottawa, but also include staff in Toronto, Montreal and other regions.
“It’s a corporate-wide restructuring,” Hamilton said. “It’s an unfortunate reality based on the financial challenges we face, but it’s also something that needs to be done.”
The changes will help Canada Post “streamline some processes, help us to make decisions faster and help us to prepare for what’s going to be a challenging year,” he said.
Hamilton would not provide details of how much money the job cuts are expected to save, or which positions were eliminated. But he said the layoffs were all internal management staff who are not involved in daily operations.
“They’re not handling mail or anything like that,” he said. “To the public, this will largely be invisible… this won’t impact service,” he said. Read more
What else is going on?
Do EVs last as long as gas cars? Here’s what a new study says
Researchers in the U.K. looked at the life cycles of almost 30 million cars and found that electric and gasoline vehicles last for roughly the same amount of time.
There’s a 2% chance a big asteroid could hit Earth in 2032. Scientists say don’t worry about it
Near-Earth asteroid known as 2024 YR4 is estimated to be 40 to 100 metres across.
Heard of bin shopping? It’s catching on with the most committed of bargain hunters
The stores are warehouses packed with a changing assortment of returns.
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