After a long break, Winners and HomeSense stores finally opened their doors on May 27 outside the Greater Montreal Area and on June 3 in the city. Their reopenings were met with great enthusiasm. Some people braved one to two-hour waits to enter the fashion and decoration stores — and the contents went out like hotcakes.
Now, some Winners and HomeSense locations in Quebec look, for the most part, completely empty.
Those used to seeing the Winners floor overflowing with options will find a vastly different landscape.
On the bare shelves in Laval, signs are posted with the words, "please excuse our appearance, new items are coming soon."
In Laval, the HomeSense section is particularly empty, while there are a few more items in the fashion section. Options are still very limited compared to the usual.
There are empty shelves beyond Laval, too.
On a Facebook group of close to 3,000 "Winners addicts," customers are complaining about the situation.
"I went to the Dix/30 yesterday and there's nothing left...the lady told me that they haven't received a truck delivery since they reopened. And, usually it's 1-2 trucks/week. It's empty everywhere!!!" one group member commented.
Emily Roy was just as surprised when she went to the Dix30 on Monday, June 22.
"Everything is empty! I've never seen a store run out of stock like this," she says of the video above.
The same goes for content creator Abela's Life, who shared her surprise in an Instagram Story.
Contacted by Narcity Québec, TJX Canada, which owns the Winners and HomeSense brands, explained that though it's "excited to welcome our customers back," the company "[regrets] that our stores aren’t as stocked as normal."
Accro Au winners !!!! | Facebook
Accro Au winners !!!! | Facebook
"While our distribution centers servicing our stores are operational, it takes time to get our entire network back up and running in a way that helps keep our Associates and customers safe. We appreciate our customers’ patience."
It gave no indication as to when Quebecers might expect fully stocked shelves again.
This article was originally published in French on Narcity Québec.
