Pusateri's grocery store in Toronto responds to claims of price gouging for Lysol wipes
Toronto grocery store chain Pusateri's is getting a whole lot of backlash today for charging residents $29.99 for containers of Lysol Wipes.
Premier Doug Ford is among the store's worst critics, calling the bougie market "disgusting" for "price gouging" its customers.
"[That] people would have the nerve to actually jack up the prices to $30 a container for hand wipes, is beyond belief," Ford said during a press conference on COVID-19 today. "Nothing gets me more furious than someone taking advantage and price gouging the public that are in desperate need of these items."
Doug Ford says he's coming after companies who are price-gouging consumers #COVID19Ontario #COVID19toronto #Ontario #Toronto @fordnation pic.twitter.com/Qi6zzQds6l
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 26, 2020
The premier added that he will be implementing measures to prevent businesses from being able to profit so much from items that are increasingly in-demand as the coronavirus pandemic — and fear surrounding it — worsens.
The food chain has called the pricing an "error," saying that its stores have been facing "immense pressure on all levels of operation" due to the unprecedented circumstances lately.
Pusateri's Fine Foods near Avenue and Lawrence has lysol wipes in stock but they don't come cheap #Toronto @PusaterisFoods pic.twitter.com/qGjcIYG0lc
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 26, 2020
Pricing for the item and any others "that may have been improperly listed" is being changed ASAP, and anyone who purchased the disinfectant wipes for $29.99 will be eligible for a full refund.
"We are a family owned and operated business and we share in the concern of the new realities that COVID-19 has created for everyone," Pusateri's President and CEO Frank Luchetta said in a statement. "This never should have happened, and it will never happen again."
We'll have to wait to see how well the brand can manage to recover in the eyes of the public (or the eyes of Doug Ford) after this incident.
