Winners is known as the place to find big-name clothing brands for less, but a Victoria woman claims her bargain buy turned out to be a relabelled Costco-brand shirt.
Kyla Ritchie said she recently bought a workout shirt with the label “JOIA NYC Performance Wear” for $12.99 at the Winners outlet in Victoria’s Tillicum Centre.
But just as she was about to throw it in the wash, she saw something strange.
“I noticed on the back label that one of the corners was starting to peel off, so I just decided to take it off, and I found a surprise underneath,” she said.
What she saw was a label reading “Kirkland Signature” – the house brand of wholesale giant Costco.
“I was like, well, that’s not right, that’s kind of shady. [I was] a little shocked,” she said, adding she likely could have purchased the shirt at Costco for less than $12.99.
Ritchie took a picture of the hidden label and posted it to Winners’ Facebook page last Tuesday.
The company responded the next day saying it would investigate her concern.
She said she still hasn’t heard back from Winners, but when contacted by CTV News the company confirmed it was taking action.
“Upon learning of an issue with this product’s label, we immediately instructed stores to begin to remove these shirts from the sales floor,” a company spokesperson said. “We regret any inconvenience this may have caused our customers.”
Winners said anyone who has purchased a similar product can return it for a refund at their local Winners store, or can contact customer service at 1-800-646-9466.
Ritchie said for her, it’s not about the relatively minor cost – but honesty.
“It’s the concern that people are buying things that they think are something else, when they’re not what they seem,” she said. “I won’t shop there again. It just seems dishonest to me.”
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island’s Louise Hartland
