Privacy policy

Privacy Policy/Your Privacy Rights

This Privacy Policy was last updated September 20, 2023.

Introduction

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how your information is processed by Les Franchises Chico Inc. (“Chico”, “we”, “us” or “our”). This Policy contains details about how Chico collects information about you when you visit any of our websites where this Policy is posted or linked to (each of which is a “Site”), visit or make a purchase at our stores (each of which is a “Store”), participate in our loyalty programs or otherwise contact or interact with us offline (“Offline Services”). This Policy collectively refers to every Site, Store, and all Offline Services as the “Services.” This Policy also explains how Chico uses and shares your information, as well as your ability to access and control certain uses of it.

1. Changes to this Privacy Policy

Chico may make changes to this Policy at any time. When we do, we will post the change(s) on our Site. Please visit this page from time to time so that you will be aware of any changes. Any changes will be effective once the revised Policy has been posted on our Site unless otherwise specified. It is your obligation to ensure that you read, understand and agree to the latest version of the Policy. The effective date, as well as the last updated date, appear at the top of the Policy.

By continuing to use our Services after any changes are made to this Policy, you are accepting the changes to the Policy. If any of the changes are unacceptable to you, you should stop using our Services.

2. Information We Collect

We collect personal information, as defined below, in the following ways:

Personal Information You Provide

The personal information we collect from you depends on how you use our Services. Personal information is generally defined as information that, by itself or in combination with other information, may be able to identify you or could reasonably be associated with you or your accounts, and includes any information about you that is associated with such information.

There are areas of our Services where you may be asked to provide Chico with personal information. For example, Chico may collect personal information such as name, mailing and/or shipping address(es), email address, marital status, military status, business or organizational information, telephone number, credit/debit card number or other payment information, information about your purchases, pet information including age or gender, photographs, location and/or communications preferences, and your username and password when you:

• Create a Site account or join or participate in a customer loyalty program through the Services;
• Purchase products or services;
• Communicate with Chico or contact us with questions, complaints or other inquiries;
• Contact our customer service help desk;
• Complete the “Email Sign Up” box or opt-in to receive SMS/MMS messages from Chico;
• Sign up to receive newsletters and other promotions;
• Participate in contests and other marketing campaigns;
• Participate in Chico customer surveys; and/or

• Interact with or follow us on one of Chico’s social media accounts.

You may also provide us with personal information when you inquire about or apply for employment or a franchise opportunity.

Information Automatically Collected

Chico may collect certain personal information and other information automatically when you interact with our Site, email, social media accounts or online advertising. This information is collected through the use of Chico’s or a third party’s technologies, which include cookies, web beacons, clear GIFs, pixel tags, log files, HTML5 and other technologies. Such automatically collected information may include: your browser type and operating system; web pages you view; links you click; your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address or Media Access Control (“MAC”) address; mobile device identifier or other unique device identifier of your computer or device; geolocation information; device model; carrier information; the length of time you visit or use the Site; and the referring webpage that led you to our Site

Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms

Chico and our third-party service providers may use cookies and other tracking mechanisms to evaluate how you use the Site or other online Services. We may combine this information with personal information we collect from you (and our third-party service providers may do so on our behalf).

Cookies. 

Cookies are small files that are transferred to your computer through your web browser to help keep track of your visits to and how you use our Site or other online Services. Some cookies allow Chico to make it easier for you to navigate our Services, while others are used to help you log-in faster or to allow us to track your activities at our online Services. You can control cookies through our cookie consent tool or by consulting your browser and/or computer instructions. Please note that if cookies are not enabled it could affect how the Site or other online Services appear and/or operate for you. There are two types of cookies that we use:

• Session Cookies. Session cookies exist only during an online session. They disappear from your computer when you close your browser or turn off your computer. We use session cookies to allow our systems to uniquely identify you during a session or while you are logged into our Services. This allows us to process your online transactions and requests, and to verify your identity.
• Persistent Cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you have closed your browser or turned off your computer. We use persistent cookies to track aggregate and statistical information about user activity on our Site.

Clear GIFs, pixel tags and other technologies. 

Clear GIFs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, and these technologies function in a way that is similar to cookies. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on your computer’s hard drive, clear GIFs are embedded invisibly on web pages. We may use clear GIFs (a.k.a. web beacons, web bugs, or pixel tags), in connection with our Site or other online Services to, among other things, track the activities of visitors, help us manage content, and compile statistics about usage. We and our third-party service providers also use clear GIFs in HTML emails to our users to help us track email response rates, identify when our emails are viewed, and track whether our emails are forwarded.

Third Party Analytics.

We may use third parties’ analytics and tracking tools to better understand who is using the Services, how people are using the Services, how to improve the effectiveness of the Services and related content, and to help us or those third parties serve more targeted advertising to you across the Internet. We use automated devices and applications, such as Google Analytics, to evaluate usage of our Site. Analytics providers collect information such as how often users visit our Site, what pages they visit when they do, and what other sites they visit prior to visiting our Site. These analytics providers may collect your IP address, page views and date and time stamps, among other information, and they may combine the information that they collect about you on our Site with other information they have collected elsewhere. This Policy does not cover such third parties’ use of data. For more information on how Google Analytics handles the information it collects, please see Google’s privacy policy at https://policies.google.com/privacy. You can control these tools using our cookie consent tool. You can also opt-out of making your online activity available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on available at https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/181881.

Third-Party Ad Networks/Targeted Advertising

Chico may use advertising networks to serve advertisements on our Site and on third-party websites or other media (e.g., social networking platforms). This enables us and these third parties to target advertisements to you for products and services in which you might be interested based on your browsing and purchase history. These third-party advertising services may use cookies and other tracking technologies to measure the effectiveness of ads and to personalize advertising content for you. These third-party services are governed by each third party’s privacy policy, not this Policy.

You can control the collection and use of information by us and third parties for targeted advertising purposes through the cookie consent management tool available on our Site. You may also go to the Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (“DAAC”) Opt-Out Tool, for information about opting out of targeted advertising and the choices you have regarding information circulated among DAAC companies. You may also go to the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) Consumer Opt-Out Page for information about opting out of targeted advertising and the choices you have regarding information circulated among NAI members. Please note that when using our cookie consent tool or these ad industry opt-out tools, you may need to execute your choices on each browser or device that you use.

Opting out from one or more companies listed on the DAAC Opt-Out Tool, or the NAI Consumer Opt-Out Page will opt you out from those companies’ delivery of targeted content or ads, but it does not mean you stop receiving ads through our Site or on other websites. You may continue to receive ads, for example, based on the particular website that you are viewing. Also, if your browsers are configured to reject cookies when you opt out on the DAAC or NAI websites, your opt-out may not be effective.

Chico uses Google’s advertising services to collect and access certain demographic and internet data about your visits to our Sites and third-party websites. We use this information to better understand your needs and preferences, and to provide you with advertising that is customized to your inferred interests and preferences. You may control these tools using our cookie consent tool. You may also opt out of these Google advertising features by using Google’s ad settings https://www.google.com/settings/ads or by installing the Google opt-out browser add-on.

Information Collected from Other Sources

We may collect information from trusted third parties, such as our loyalty program provider, marketing partners or other sources to update or supplement the information that you provide or that we collect automatically. This may include information to validate or update your shipping address or other demographic information.

Telephone calls to and from our customer service help desk may be recorded for training and support purposes and, when they are, you will be notified at the outset. Any personal information collected through such records will be used for us to respond to your inquiry or complaint as well as for training purposes with a view to improving our customer service.

We collect information about in-store purchases from our franchisees to administer our loyalty program and provide customer service.

We may collect information from other sources with your consent. For example, if you apply for employment or a franchise opportunity, we may contact references that you provide in your application.

3. How We Use Information

We use personal and other information collected from or about you for any of the following purposes:

• To provide our Services to you, to communicate with you about your use of our Services, to respond to your inquiries, to fulfill your orders, and for other customer service purposes;
• To process transactions and process and track returns and exchanges and to detect and protect against error or fraud as part of our loss prevention program;
• To improve your shopping experience, to tailor the content and information that we may send or display to you, and to otherwise personalize your experiences while using the Services;
• To review the usage and operations of our Services, develop new products or services, and conduct analysis to enhance or improve our Services;
• For tailored marketing and promotional communications such as newsletters and special offers, online tailored advertising, or to otherwise contact you about products or information we think may interest you, including information about third party products and services;
• To process and administer our customer loyalty program;
• To communicate with you about Chico surveys, contests, sweepstakes and other promotions;
• To better understand and improve how users access and interact with our Services, and for other research and analytical purposes;
• To process your application for employment, or for a franchise opportunity;
• To protect the security or integrity of the Services and our business;
• To comply with legal obligations, as part of our general business operations, and for other business administration purposes;
• To communicate with you regarding any changes to this Privacy Policy or our agreements, terms or policies;
• We may anonymize and/or aggregate personal information so that it is no longer considered personal information, and we may use and disclose the anonymized and/or aggregated information for any purpose; and/or

• For other purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or otherwise with your consent.

4. Information We Share
5. Service Providers

In the course of providing our programs, products, promotions, contests, events and other aspects of the Services, Chico may share personal information with service providers (including our franchisees and affiliates acting in this capacity). These service providers help us operate our business, technology systems and applications, internal procedures, infrastructure and advertising and marketing. They provide services to us such as data hosting, e-commerce operations, payment processing, contest administration, email deployment, product reviews, marketing, and processing or analysis of personal information and other data. Our service providers may be located in the United States or Canada.

1. Third Parties

Chico may provide certain aspects of the Services through arrangements with third parties. As a result, your personal information may be shared with the applicable third party. These third parties may have their own privacy policies and terms and conditions, which will govern their use of your personal information. You will be informed of the specific third-party arrangement when signing up for the relevant program, product or service so that you can review the appropriate privacy policies. Examples of such third-party arrangements are set out below.

Loyalty Program.

The Chico Privilege Card Program (“Loyalty Program”) is administered by a third party, Les Technologies Marketing TuPeux Inc. d/b/a SEEMYAPPS (“SEEMYAPPS”). SEEMYAPPS collects, uses and shares your personal information with Chico for the purposes of administering the Loyalty Program.

Payment Processing.

We use Stripe and PayPal to process payments on our Site. If you choose to complete a transaction on our Site, your payment card and transaction information will be shared with Stripe or PayPal (depending on how you choose to pay) for the purposes of processing your payment and detecting and preventing fraud, as outlined in their respective privacy policies.

Co-Branded Relationships. 

Certain areas of our Services may be provided to you in association with third parties, such as advertisers that provide products and services or rewards programs. We may share information with these third parties if you participate in a co-branded, co-sponsored, or jointly presented promotion, contest, survey, voting feature, or service.

Sweepstakes, Contests, and Promotions. 

If you choose to enter into one of our sweepstakes, contests, or other promotions (a “Promotion”) through the Services, we may disclose your information to third parties (such as prize suppliers or co-sponsors) or the public (for example, to announce winners) in connection with the administration of such Promotion, as required by law, as otherwise permitted by the Promotion’s official rules, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of this Policy.

1. Other Permitted Reasons

Chico may also share information in the following circumstances:

• Personal information that we collect in connection with our Loyalty Program, including customer name and contact information, information about the customer’s pet(s), and transaction information, is shared with Stores to administer the Loyalty Program, provide customer service, provide personalized product or service recommendations, and for marketing purposes.

• Business Transfers: If we are acquired by or merged with another company, or if all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock are transferred to another company (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings), we may transfer the information we have collected from you to such other company.
• To Comply with Law or in Response to Legal Process: We or our service providers may disclose the information we collect from you in order to comply with United States, Canadian or foreign laws applicable to us or our service providers, including in connection with a judicial proceeding, court order, or other legal process, such as in response to a subpoena or to cooperate with law enforcement.
• To Protect Chico and/or Others: We also may disclose the information we collect from you where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety, rights, privacy, or property of any person, violations of our respective terms or conditions of use, or as evidence in litigation in which Chico is involved.
• With Your Consent. We may share your personal information for other purposes with your consent or as otherwise permitted by law or required by law.

User Generated Content

If you post content on our Site or through our other online Services, including on our social media pages or outreaches, everything you post may become publicly available. We cannot prevent any information or content you post online from being viewed or copied by others and used in a manner that may violate this Policy, the law, or your personal privacy.

5. Your Rights and Choices Regarding Your Information

In connection with Chico’s collection and use of your personal information, you have the right to request access to or correction of the personal information in Chico’s custody or control and to withdraw your consent to the collection, use or disclosure of your personal information. You may also have additional rights, in specified circumstances to request the deletion of your personal information or to request a copy of the information you have provided to us be transferred to another person.

These rights are subject to applicable legal and contractual restrictions, and we will respond to your request consistent with applicable law. If you would like to make a request in relation to your personal information in Chico’s control, or if you would like to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information, please contact us at: [email protected] or (if available on a particular Site) you may be able to review and make certain changes regarding your collected personal information by editing your information and preferences on the “My Account” page. Please note that we may take appropriate steps to verify your identity before responding to your request.

Do-Not-Track. 

Currently, Chico’s systems do not recognize browser “do-not-track” requests.

Opt-Out Preferences

To opt-out of marketing communications we send to your email address or mobile device, you may use one of these methods:

• Electronic Promotional Offers. If you do not want to receive emails from Chico regarding special promotions or offers, you may (i) click the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email we send you; or (ii) contact us using the information listed in the “Contact Us” section below. Please note that it may take up to 10 business days for us to process opt-out requests. If you opt-out, we may still send you emails about your account, rewards earned or forfeited, and/or any services you have requested or received from us.
• Mobile Promotional Offers. With your consent, we may send you marketing via text message to the mobile phone number you provided to Chico. Standard data and message rates will apply. If you no longer wish to receive mobile alerts from us, you can (i) follow the instructions provided in those messages or otherwise reply STOP to any Chico alert; or (ii) contact us using the information listed in the “Contact Us” section below.

6. Data Security and Retention

Personal information is maintained on our servers or those of our service providers and is accessible by authorized employees, representatives and agents as necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Our Services implement, use and maintain reasonable physical, administrative, and technical steps designed to safeguard the personal information we collect from and about our customers and Site visitors. These security measures are reasonably designed to help secure your personal information from loss, unauthorized access or disclosure, both in storage and in transmission.

While Chico takes the issue of protecting your personal information seriously, please be aware that security cannot be totally guaranteed. You should exercise discretion in what information you disclose and/or transmit online. Chico cannot guarantee that information sent over the Internet is fully secure. The transmitted information may be intercepted by others before it reaches Chico. If you are concerned about sending personal information to Chico over the Internet, please send the information by mail or call us to make other arrangements. Chico is not responsible for the security of information sent over the Internet.

Chico retains personal information for a reasonable amount of time in order to fulfill the stated purpose for why the information was collected. Chico will also retain personal information connected to business records for periods of time required by law. If Chico determines that information is no longer needed, it will anonymize, delete or dispose of any copies of such information. Our retention periods will be consistent with applicable law.

7. Children

Our Services are intended for individuals who are over the age of majority.

Our Services are not designed for, directed at, marketed to, nor intended for, children under 14 years of age. Chico does not knowingly collect any information, including personal information, from children under 14 years of age. If we discover that a child under 14 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information from our systems, and/or we will destroy or otherwise properly dispose of any copies of such information.

8. International Concerns

Our Services are meant for individuals within the province of Québec in Canada. Chico only knowingly collects information from individuals within Canada. If you provide information to Chico from outside these jurisdictions, you do so at your own risk. If you are outside of Canada, you are responsible for complying with any local laws regarding your use of our Site and Services, and any related information collection. You also understand that, by providing any information, including personal information, on the Site or through the Services, that such information will be transmitted to, and stored in, Canada (including provinces outside of Québec) or the United States.

9. Third Party Content, Links, and Plug-Ins

Certain parts of our Services may have links to third-party websites, applications or other online services, including those embedded in third-party advertisements or sponsor information, which are not controlled by Chico and which may have privacy policies that differ from our own. Chico is not responsible for the privacy practices or information collection policies of such third-party services. You should consult the privacy policies of those third-party services for details.

Chico may also allow interaction between our Services and other online services such as social media providers. This may include “Like” buttons or other plugins available through the Services that allow you to share information with persons outside of the Site or our other online Services. Please consult the privacy policies of such third-party providers before using them to make sure you are comfortable with the level of sharing.

10. Our Relationship with Franchisees

Les Franchises Chico Inc. (“Chico”) franchises retail stores in the Province of Québec, in Canada under the banner “Chico.” As independent businesses, Chico’s franchisees control personal information collected at their stores and are responsible under applicable laws for adopting their own privacy policies to protect your personal information in a manner consistent with this Policy.

Chico is in control of the personal information collected from the chico.ca website.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact the Privacy Officer at [email protected] .

Privacy Officer

Karine Aubé, Privacy Officer
Les Franchises Chico inc.
[email protected]