Discounts of up to 40 per cent off are available on all merchandise at 217 Ricki’s Fashions, cleo Fashions and Bootlegger clothing stores across Canada in a major store-closing and inventory sell-off sale conducted by Tiger Group.
The sale event comes as specialty fashion retailer Comark Holdings, Inc. explores go-forward possibilities for all three brands. Comark, together with its Ricki’s, cleo and Bootlegger banners, commenced proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”) on January 7, according to a news release.
“Bootlegger, Ricki’s and cleo offer highly sought-after, dynamic fashionwear at a great value,” said Tiger Group Executive Managing Director Bradley W. Snyder. “This sale represents a rare opportunity for shoppers. Come early for the best selections. These sales will last for a limited time only.”
Goods are still in transit to these stores, Snyder added.
“We have plenty of new merchandise arriving daily,” he said, “so shoppers will see a constantly evolving selection of dynamic fashions.”
Initial discounts on all merchandise run from 25 to 40 per cent off the original ticketed price. The 221 stores, some of which are cobranded, are located in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador, said the news release.
Founded in 1939, Ricki’s carries brands such as Pieces, Only and Vera Moda, with categories that include:
- Shirts, blouses, tees, tanks, sweaters, cardigans, blazers, coats, jackets
- Pants, jeans, leggings, crops, capris, skirts, shorts
- Jumpsuits, rompers, dresses (maxi, midi, short, mini)
- Sleepwear
- Shapewear
- Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, scarves, hats, beanies, gloves, mittens, sunglasses, socks, tights, bags, purses and other accessories
cleo, which launched in 1979, offers a similarly wide array of fashions and accessories. The specialty retailer is known for its focus on work wear for women, with a comprehensive offering of sizes and one of the largest petite selections in Canada, said the release.
Bootlegger was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1971 and has sold millions of pairs of men’s and women’s jeans and items of elevated, everyday clothing. The brand is known for its “devotion to innovation in design, fabric and washes and to providing everything that goes with jeans,” added the release.
At all three brands, points, gift cards, returns and exchanges will not be accepted starting Friday, January 17. Ricki’s Fashions store locations can be found here, cleo Fashions locations can be found here, and Bootlegger Clothing locations can be found here.
Related Retail Insider stories:
Johnston & Murphy to Close Canadian Stores and Website
Comark to Close Cleo and Ricki’s Chains Amid Challenges
Great. They sold me a gift card before Christmas, insisting that they were a viable business. This constitutes fraud. This must be illegal. Should I call the police, or do i need to pursue this in small claims court? Rat bastards!
I bought a gift card on January 3, 2025, as part of a birthday gift, for January 24, 2025. Interesting how the date on the above announcement is January 21, 2025 and how the salesperson did not say one word. I doubt that they didn’t know about the demise of their job and that person, truly didn’t know, shame on you for not letting them know. There should have been signs posted to fill people in. With business practices, like that, no wonder you are closing. Glad I could donate to your contingency fund.
They didnt know on the 3rd of January, they were told on like the 10th. i know, my daughter works at a bootlegger, So dont slander the workers, this is worse for them than it is for you.
I find it interesting that this article was dated January 21, 2025, after the deadline for using gift cards had already passed. I bought a gift card, on Jan. 3, 2025, to give for a birthday gift on Jan. 24. I got no warning from the salesperson and there was no information about the closure, posted in the store. So, I am thinking that, either, the salesperson knew and was not at liberty to say anything OR she was in the dark as much as the rest of us and was totally blindsided by the loss of her job. Either way, this is a fraudulent act plain and simple. With business practices like that, no wonder you have to close. Glad I could contribute to your contingency fund.
I received a gift card for Christmas and just found out I can’t use it. That’s absolutely disgusting that so many people are out this money. They should be honouring them as they are good as cash. Total frauds as far as I’m concerned.
Gave my son a gift card for Christmas , he went into store today and they would not honor it, that’s robbery, I’m sure I’m not the only one that bought a gift card, there has to be some recourse ( gift card same as cash) I’m also gonna post on social media and I urge everybody who got scammed like this to do the same
They didn’t even give customers 10 days’ notice to use up their gift cards, so if you didn’t hear about it, you are basically s.o.l. Meanwhile for a store that is closing and in such a rush to end gift cards, their “sale” prices haven’t dropped since then, mostly the same basic sales they always had in stores anyways. It is also frustrating that they will no longer honor online sale prices in stores like they previously would have, so although sizes may be sold out online you cannot pick up the items for nearly the same deal in store. they are definitely stretching out taking every penny they can from shoppers.
Revived a gift card worth $150 for Christmas and don’t watch the news or follow much social media so wasn’t aware of this until I went to go spend it today and saw all the closing signs. I asked the lady what was going on and she informed me that I can’t use my gift card for anything after Jan 17. . Agree with everyone on here that they should be honouring the purchased cards as they have already been bought and paid for. It’s very unfortunate for everyone involved and I also sent an email about this but it will fall on deaf ears or never get opened. Sucks to be us I suppose now.
Consumers are protected under the Consumer Protection Act and other consumer protection legislation.
Gift cards
Gift cards cannot have an expiry date. This means a gift card can be used to its full value no matter when you decide to use it. All gift card rules must be disclosed (directly on the card or in writing at the time of sale).
Service fees cannot be charged on gift cards, except for customizing or replacing a card. Dormancy fees, sometimes called inactivity fees, are fees taken off the balance of the card after a certain number of months that the card is not used. These fees cannot be charged.
If no dollar value is indicated on the card, the business must do 1 of the following:
honour the card for the good or service (for example, a manicure)
clearly disclose to the consumer that if the card is not used within a certain time period, additional charges may apply
Prepaid credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Diners Club are more like banking products than gift cards. As a result, they don’t fall under the Consumer Protection Act and may expire.