Lawrence Barker says he’s frustrated that cashiers at major grocery stores he shops at no longer voluntarily bag his goods. Barker finds bagging a hassle, as he feels pressured to quickly pack items into his reusable bags before the next customer’s goods slide down the conveyor belt. So he opts for self-checkout, where he can bag at … Read more
Canada’s grocery code of conduct cleared a major hurdle this week with news that all major grocery retailers will sign on. The code has been years in the making, coming after a period of tense relations between retailers and suppliers. A major point of contention has been fees that retailers have charged to keep suppliers’ products in … Read more
Ontario is introducing sales of beer, wine and ready-made cocktails into corner stores and additional supermarkets 16 months ahead of schedule, a move that will see the province pay up to $225 million to The Beer Store. Retailers, including convenience stores and gas stations, will be able to start selling the low-alcohol beverages as of Sept. … Read more
Location. Costs. Time and convenience. There are many reasons that people aren’t participating in the Loblaw boycott, a movement fuelled by customers fed up with high prices at the grocery retailer. The boycott was started by a Reddit group with about 70,000 members called “Loblaws is out of control.” It calls for shoppers to avoid the retailer’s Loblaws stores, along with its offshoot … Read more
Loblaw Companies reported $13.58 billion in first-quarter revenue — a 4.5 per cent increase from a year earlier — on Wednesday morning, the same day that a group of frustrated shoppers said they would begin a month-long boycott of the grocery retailer. The company’s quarterly profit was $459 million, marking a 9.8 per cent increase. Earnings per share were $1.72 … Read more
The revelation that Loblaw will end its 50 per cent discount on perishable foods like meat, fruit and vegetables as they near their best-before dates should attract the attention of Canada’s Competition Bureau, says one industry expert. Prof. Sylvain Charlebois, the director of Dalhousie University’s Agri-food Analytics Lab, believes the action taken by the grocery chain to align its policy with other food retailers might be … Read more
All major industry players need to sign on to the grocery code of conduct in order for it to be successful, said Metro Inc. president and CEO Eric La Flèche. La Flèche told MPs Monday at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on stabilizing food prices that Metro is willing to sign the code of … Read more
The head of Canada’s biggest grocery chain says the looming implementation of the grocery code of conduct would lead to higher prices for consumers, not lower ones. Speaking at a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting on Thursday morning on stabilizing food prices, Galen Weston, executive chairman of the Loblaws group of companies, said his … Read more
Savvy shoppers should be able to find a few bargains at the grocery store next year, but even with prices for some essentials falling the typical Canadian family’s overall grocery bill is set to increase by about $700 next year. That’s the main takeaway from a closely watched annual report on the food industry, the … Read more
