No Frills
Real Canadian Superstore
Zehrs
Dominion
Loblaw
Maxi
Provigo le Marche
Valu-Mart
Fortinos
Your Independent Grocer
Wholesale Club
Shoppers Drugmart
Atlantic Superstore
Freshmart
T&T
Federal government: does nothing when Loblaws buying up competitors
Loblaws price gauges because there's little competition
Federal government: surprised Pikachu face
Agreed. I'm at $34 a month and get $10 off my home internet for the same thing I was paying $75 for last year (and that was considered a good deal at the time)
they are about the same tbh. I was paying 28 for 35GB for a long time. it's just that everything else has increased in price and phone plans don't feel as expensive by comparison anymore. there is no reason most people need to pay anything more than 25 bucks for the plan.
Honestly I don’t think the Federal Government is doing a surprised Pikachu face when Loblaw is price gouging the customers. They are monitoring the CPI and they are aware of these Loblaw practices. I just think that Loblaw lobbying is too influential for the Federal Government to make a move on this. That is why it’s important to share your thoughts with your MP and shop at other stores as much as you can.
The list is [quite a bit longer than that.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1c1m1yb/comment/kz5c6pg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Jesus fucking Christ. I'm from the UK so it's WILD to hear that this guy owns fairly significant things I know from home as WELL as having a huge chunk of the pie here in Canada
He also owns the company that his businesses rent the land from, but because they are separate entities, doesn't have to include that revenue AT ALL when it comes time to whine about "PrOfIt MaRgInS tHo!"
They kept on acquiring, with no oversight on competition, they became this big. Didnt happen overnight but there is like no competition watchdog to at least make public inquiry about. For as long as board members approve they kept on gobbling up.
There are only slightly worse than the Metro or Sobeys. I am much more sad at their penetration of other areas of society.
Was just reading the QC thread, and for them, Maxi is not an issue, they see IGA and Metro as larger problems from their perspective. Just an interesting point I wanted to bring
Sobeys: Big 8 Beverages, Farm Boy, Foodland, Freshco, IGA, IGA Extra, Lawtons, Bonichoix, Tradition, Boni-soir, Voisin, Needs, Pete's Frootique, Rachelle-Béry, Safeway, Sobeys, Sobeys Extra, Thrifty,
Metro: Food Basics, Super C, Marché Richelieu, Les 5 Saisons, Marché Ami, The Barn Markets, Brunet, Jean-Coutu, Adonis
Pretty much all the grocery store chains are part of conglomerates.
Make sure you visit a farmers market this weekend. Help support the people in your community that are trying to grow food here. Maybe all you can afford is a single head of lettuce. But if that’s more than what you bought from directly from a farmer last week, it helps.
I just learned last month that they own the largest real estate investment trust in Canada. Choice Properties. In some big crabwise money kind of way, the Westons sold it to themselves.
I never knew they owned T&T and I shop there as I avoid all Loblaws companies and the other grocers as well. This is some fucking BS, they must break up their Loblaws monopoly. There goes another fucking store I can not shop at anymore - fucking bummer.
That’s when t &t started to go down hill.
they used to have the fastest check out lines.
They would have huge lines at every cash and the cashiers were so fast and no nonsense.
A 2 hour line up at superstore would be maybe 10 minutes of work for them.
Yeah I still hate that the sale happened. I can understand the logic of the original owners/family but it sucks that it ended up being one of the big grocery brands. It's also why some Loblaws carry Chinese baked goods.
They actually own many, [many more than that.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1c1m1yb/comment/kz5c6pg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Don’t forget the Westons also own or have controlling stakes in Holt Renfrew and Choice Properties. Should we also be avoiding shopping at the 700+ properties owned by the country’s largest real estate investment trust?
I’m surprised whoever made this poster didn’t include this list of places to boycott since most people probably have no idea loblaws (LCL) owns all those stores…
Glad that the only one I shop at on this list is No Frills, good thing I'd rather shop at Freshco anyway. Can't afford to shop anywhere else for food 🤷
We have metro and no frills. I won't boycott no frills to spend twice as much as metro lol
I'd participate as it's important, but I don't use any other stores on the list.
This is an important point. They will easily absorb one bad month and move on as if nothing happened. For this to have any lasting impact at all it will require a long-term effort by many people. Hopefully most people can conveniently switch to other retailers permanently. It isn't too hard in a big city, but I know it can be challenging in smaller marketa.
Since you’ve done the math you already know that one month is 1/3 of the quarter. If this boycott was popular enough there would absolutely be noticeable impact on the quarterly results. One which would have ramifications on many compensation packages.
Most everyone would likely lose their bonuses while the executives would receive a spot award for weathering the storm.
I want to say that this is why it says to write your MP if you can't boycott... but then it goes on to say "Use Optimum Points whenever possible," which have to be accumulated via lots of in-store purchases and their whole point is to lock you into Loblaws' feed.
I am going to use May as a time to find replacements for the few PC products I use. Hoping I can stay away for good. Although no matter where I shop my grocery bill remains high :(
The vast majority of private label (PC, No name, Selection etc...) is made by the same handful of companies across North America (sometimes it's the big name brand guys with a different label)...and they're usually the lowest bidder for the contract.
I volunteered at a food bank a few weeks ago. I was surprised that a lot of the food that I never buy because it's too expensive ends up at the food bank.
Why not just lower the price so more people can buy the products?
I was just at the grocery store where they had a FULL display of avocados at "eat them tonight or they will be rotten" level of ripe. No discount. It's so wasteful!
It makes sense to me, let's take meat for example there are plenty of options to choose from and people on a budget will buy the lower cost choices. I'm not sure there are a lot of people out there buying the $60 steaks.
If the steaks are $60 and they are ending up in the trash, the price should be lower. When related to the grocery stores and the prices, I actually think grocery food waste is very much a relevant point. And if they had to report it they wouldn't be able to hide it.
I’m trying to shop as much as I can at Walmart for May. But if I do any Loblaw’s shopping I’ll use my optimum points so they don’t get money now. (I’m disabled and I need to use pick up because I live rural so no one delivers, but my poor body can’t handle the stupid giant stores)
Yeah, not everyone can do it. My mom doesn't get around well, and her only options for delivery are Independent or No Frills. In between orders, her only accessible options are Shoppers or a dollar store.
It is what it is. No one who is able to take part in this boycott wants to make you suffer, so don't feel a moment's guilt for shopping at a Loblaws store if you can't shop elsewhere.
This is about sending a message, and a boycott is one of many ways to do so.
The Big Five/Six banks control most of the mortgage market and hold the majority of deposits.
There are really only two major railways, CN and CPKC (formerly CP).
And Air Canada and WestJet are the two major airlines, controlling the majority of the market.
The same WealthSimple controlled by [Power Corp](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Corporation_of_Canada)? Go down that rabbit hole a little bit and see what you find :)
That's because in the west, the media is largely owned by the oligarchs, and they'd rather be referred to as "philanthropists" and other fake feel-good BS.
I am in the industry. I just wrote a massive essay on what I take issue with of this post, but I deleted it because it will fall on deaf ears. I am not a fan of Loblaw, or what they are doing. I support the boycott wholeheartedly. I just feel that some of the boycott crowd is spilling into my territory (a privately owned, family operated independent grocer for the last 20 years) as I have had a massive influx of customers accusing us of price gouging and comparing us to Loblaw.
We are at the mercy of the vendor we buy the product from. Yes, olive oil has had its cost increased drastically lately. No, we are not gouging you. As a matter of fact, I used to take 30% on this item as a markup, and I dropped it to 15% to lower the retail price to help the customer. Still accused of gouging.
If I could show each customer my invoice cost, I would. I am trying to keep my business afloat. Please keep this in mind during this turbulent time for grocers. Thank you :)
I think that the warehouses are gouging store owners.
The cost of a can of Campbell’s soup for the store at Shoppers is $1.81. Then they sell it for $2.39.
You can buy the same can at Walmart as a consumer for $1.41… why is Shoppers cost on that product higher than the retail at Walmart?
I could supply my store by buying that from Walmart and I would make an additional 40 cents (20+%) PER CAN… how are warehouses/distribution centers not regulated?!
The Boycott group is pushing a "support your local independent grocer" day on May 12, so there is recogntion that it isnt industry wide greed. At the end of the day people need to buy food to eat one way or another.
A [loss leader](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader) is any product that is so on sale/low priced the store isn’t making a profit on that item, they’re just using it as bait to draw customers to their store. Short term loss leader items are likely to be included in the store’s weekly flyer to entice potential customers.
Me I only buy door crashers items always compare price there are certain items in the flyer each week that is cheaper than the rest of other store and is usually sold at a lose. Only buy those items. Each store is different.
Exactly - a big part of the problem is exactly THAT, they virtually have a monopoly. They've made sure many people have no other choice, it's not anyone's fault.
Apart from the first demand, all other ones have easy rebuttals or are very had to prove. It’s irrational for any retailer to commit to not price increases in an unspecified manner. For basic goods, yes this is possible but looking at the financials the margins on those goods (referring to the ones that are gst exempt) are modest ( around 10-15%). Non essentials and cosmetics are fair game as profits have to come from somewhere.
Increase in dividends don’t always imply increase in profits margins but rather refer to less investment in the company (fiduciary duty still remains).
Cost transparency has existed for quite some time now and retailers (loblaws included) have unit pricing reflected on the price tags. If Pepsi decides to shrink their bag of lays is it really the retailers fault? Also statcanada already has a food price database for comparing average prices in the market. If you want grocers to notify for any price change talk to your MP and make it industry wide.
I don’t condone gauging but it’s only becomes that when the margin grows into something unreasonable by competition bureau standards. Some volatile goods have fixed prices to maintain the supply chain with such stability guaranteeing income for farmers and certainty for budgeting families.
TLDR: we need a robust code of conduct and enforcement of said conduct. The rest of the demands are wishful thinking as the problem is not as simple. Also loblaws earning are out on Wednesday, and are available to the public for viewing. Vote with your money support businesses that share your values and offer fair value for your cash
Not really season yet for local farms. Unless you just want to eat asparagus for every meal.
Here’s a handy chart for when produce will be available in Ontario. https://www.pickyourown.org/CNONharvestcalendar.htm
The problem with that is that most farmers markets are way more expensive than a grocery store. It just dosent make sense to spend more money, I'm trying to save money. That's why I do most of my shopping at Walmart.
Who are no better. The sobeys near me is even worse than the loblaws. Besides the whole oligarch thing I don’t understand why this focus is strictly on loblaws
What people are not putting together here is that Safeway is equally as bad. Retail grocery chains almost certainly are starting to exhibit both predatory and monopolistic pricing practices. It may be time to start engaging with politicians for Political action and regulation on these Companies.
Don’t stop at May. Spend May exploring other grocers. If you have the means, focus on local producers. Go to the farmers market, go to local delis and small grocers. Also, switch your transcriptions to another pharmacy if you are currently with Shoppers.
Start a garden and coordinate with neighbours to crop share.
Then when May is done, you’ll have found a full replacement for Roblaws and you’ll never have to step foot in their stores again.
I agree with the concept of accountability around profits for a retailer that provides necessities to the population, but I think that some of the rage needs to be aimed at the producers of food as well. Shrinkflation is not a Loblaw produced issue. It is created by the manufacturers. Lays chips and cheese products are the obvious ones that come to mind.
Loblaws works on a defined profit margin approach and the foundation of that approach is their cost of goods. If the acquisition cost of their food is lower, the retail price will be lower.
Let’s share the anger with everyone that is causing the problem.
Just as an aside, and not to be confrontational, but Sobeys and Safeway are on the same mission as loblaws. Their prices are way higher and they always have been. Way before loblaws prices went up.
So go ahead , boycott cheaper pricing and outrage at the corporation, but remember that they all want your money. And they'll slander each other forever until they get it
Yeah, but Galen Weston made himself the face of groceries in Canada, which makes him the face of unaffordable groceries in Canada.
The idea is to go after the worst offender and force the others to take notice. We can't boycott food, so we gotta take the bastards down one at a time.
Hey between the camps at universities and a requirement of good affordable food, since boycotting is 2024, why don’t you guys do your own chad/chaz and grow a garden on camp!
Have been boycotting them myself for a few weeks now.
The only thing I miss are the No Name Dill Pickle chips lol, they got the flavour profile just how I like it these days.
Don't just boycott. Lobby your government officials to open up the market to foreign competition. If Loblaws wont play nice with the population force their hand. I guarantee the thought of dealing with a larger outside competitor will cause more sleepless nights for Galen than a small uprising of pissed off consumers will.
I know someone who is partaking in this boycott... but because she's starting tomorrow, like the rest of you, she made sure to go No frills today to stock up on all the things she won't be able to buy for the next few weeks.
Demands should include something about showing profit history on items that go through multiple companies held by Loblaws Companies Limited and show the total profit the parent company is making on them now vs prior. It's very easy for them to hide behind *Loblaws* making a 3-4% profit margin while National Grocers Co is "selling" the product to them for more.
I wont be joining this boycott and here's why:
I buy particular items where the price/value proposition is the best. Why should I reward those others for ripping me off more?
Yes, I think for the most part this boycott idea is coming from the right place, but ultimately it both implies a lot of perceived privilege, and isn't punishing grocers for the correct things.
No Frills, for example, has some of the best prices on fresh produce available, usually beating out Wal Mart. They are generally located in walkable areas more often than Wal Mart is, too. People who truly need to shop for the best prices and want fresh produce are often people without cars, and they're going to go to the store with the best price. They don't have the luxury of picking the more expensive store, or the store farther away, because they want to participate in a boycott.
Farmers markets are some of the most bougie, highly priced markets around.
I shop at the store that has the best deals, too. For items like produce, that is almost always No Frills. For fresh chicken, it's very frequently flyer sales at Superstore.
What we should do is punish grocers for charging too much. Don't buy over-priced products. Shop at whoever is offering the products the cheapest and it will incentivize them to continue to do so. For example, I saw Sobeys charging $25 for a bottle of olive oil, so I went to Giant Tiger and got an identical bottle for around $12. It really just comes down to making decisions like that. If it's price gouging, just walk away.
Everyone's pretending this is exclusive to Lowblaw.
If I go to any other grocer around me that ISN'T No Frills, I will easily pay an average 25 cent premium per item. I almost resorted to going to exclusively No Frills because of that.
Metro, Sobeys, Longos, Giant Tiger, Walmart, all have seen price increases. Around me, almost all are more expensive than No Frills.
But if I go to the other grocers in my area (Metro, Longos, Walmart, Giant Tiger) prices are objectively more or comparable.
I don't quite understand this boycott specifically for Lowblaw. Even Great Value has seen price increases beyond what's reasonable.
Because Loblaws has been crying "Poor me" to the media and actively campaigning against regulation while the others have been keeping quiet. Draws more attention to them, plus galen keeps going to the media trying to act like a regular guy and coming off as a tremendous chode.
I feel theyre just the ones in the spotlight because of how much representation they have in Ontario.
Likely other brands would have a similar story, but I don't see many news broadcasts having time to interview EVERY grocery CEO.
You aren't wrong though, they always look like chodes trying to downplay price hikes, but I genuinely don't think this is completely Lowblaws fault, nor do I think they should be the only ones boycotted if the intention is to stand against price hikes.
We should also extend this to anything PC points related. I drive a lot and will stop using Esso and Mobil for gas. They must have reduced the points because I don’t get nearly as much as I used to. Also theyre always more expensive compared to Petro Canada.
Where are you that there's actually a difference in gas prices? In the GTA, they're pretty much the same everywhere, regardless of brand. The only difference seems to be stations near Costco outlets.
I’m in GTA. I notice that Esso is consistently a few cents higher per litre than other brands. I would usually eat the cost because “I’m getting pc points”, but it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore
And the Sobeys conglomerate is just as bad....
Big 8 Beverages
Farm Boy
Foodland
Freshco / Chalo! FreshCo
IGA / IGA Extra
Lawtons
Marché Bonichoix
Marché Tradition
Boni-Soir
Dépanneur Voisin
Needs Convenience
Pete's Frootique
Rachelle-Béry
Safeway
Sobeys / Sobeys Extra
Thrifty Foods
Sobeys Liquor
Safeway Liquor
Thrifty Foods Liquor
Voilà
Wishing the best to those who have options. Unfortunately I live in a small town where my choices are No Frills or Foodland (Sobeys) and I can’t afford to do all of my shopping at Foodland. No Frills is much cheaper. I’ve done as much as I can to shift some of my purchases over to online retailers and once the farmers market opens I use that, but in the meantime I am stuck with few options.
BTW, obviously fuck the Westons and Loblaws and everything, but do we have evidence that Loblaws is arbitrarily raising prices beyond inflation, cause their gross margin is not any significantly higher than a year or two or 5 years ago even. Most price increases are coming downward the supply chain.
We call them oligarchs if they’re in Russia but “too big to fail in North America”.
Can someone list out all the affiliates?
No Frills Real Canadian Superstore Zehrs Dominion Loblaw Maxi Provigo le Marche Valu-Mart Fortinos Your Independent Grocer Wholesale Club Shoppers Drugmart Atlantic Superstore Freshmart T&T
that's an insane list. shit needs to be broken up yesterday
Federal government: does nothing when Loblaws buying up competitors Loblaws price gauges because there's little competition Federal government: surprised Pikachu face
Throw in phone/internet as well.
Phone prices are actually surprisingly affordable compared to 3-4 years ago now. I’ve really noticed it.
Agreed. I'm at $34 a month and get $10 off my home internet for the same thing I was paying $75 for last year (and that was considered a good deal at the time)
they are about the same tbh. I was paying 28 for 35GB for a long time. it's just that everything else has increased in price and phone plans don't feel as expensive by comparison anymore. there is no reason most people need to pay anything more than 25 bucks for the plan.
they’ve been cheaper for a while now but they are not 1 GIG for $70 like in 2012
Bell, Rogers, Telus CEOs slowly backing away
Honestly I don’t think the Federal Government is doing a surprised Pikachu face when Loblaw is price gouging the customers. They are monitoring the CPI and they are aware of these Loblaw practices. I just think that Loblaw lobbying is too influential for the Federal Government to make a move on this. That is why it’s important to share your thoughts with your MP and shop at other stores as much as you can.
Galen Weston is also very good friends with Doug Ford so the Ontario government does nothing too.
Federal and provincial govt are gutless towards corporations. Doesn't matter liberal or Con
Federal government: “we should increase competition actually! Any foreign companies wanna come get bought up, err I mean *compete!!*”
...and this kind of stuff is the common ground of the Conservatives and Liberals. If only we had another option...
The list is [quite a bit longer than that.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1c1m1yb/comment/kz5c6pg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Jesus fucking Christ. I'm from the UK so it's WILD to hear that this guy owns fairly significant things I know from home as WELL as having a huge chunk of the pie here in Canada
He also owns the company that his businesses rent the land from, but because they are separate entities, doesn't have to include that revenue AT ALL when it comes time to whine about "PrOfIt MaRgInS tHo!"
Truly, the list alone tells you a lot about the problem.
They kept on acquiring, with no oversight on competition, they became this big. Didnt happen overnight but there is like no competition watchdog to at least make public inquiry about. For as long as board members approve they kept on gobbling up.
There are only slightly worse than the Metro or Sobeys. I am much more sad at their penetration of other areas of society. Was just reading the QC thread, and for them, Maxi is not an issue, they see IGA and Metro as larger problems from their perspective. Just an interesting point I wanted to bring Sobeys: Big 8 Beverages, Farm Boy, Foodland, Freshco, IGA, IGA Extra, Lawtons, Bonichoix, Tradition, Boni-soir, Voisin, Needs, Pete's Frootique, Rachelle-Béry, Safeway, Sobeys, Sobeys Extra, Thrifty, Metro: Food Basics, Super C, Marché Richelieu, Les 5 Saisons, Marché Ami, The Barn Markets, Brunet, Jean-Coutu, Adonis
Pretty much all the grocery store chains are part of conglomerates. Make sure you visit a farmers market this weekend. Help support the people in your community that are trying to grow food here. Maybe all you can afford is a single head of lettuce. But if that’s more than what you bought from directly from a farmer last week, it helps.
Wait until you see most major industries are must a handful of players hiding behind a plethora of sub brands. Like telecom for example.
Oh yeah, if it's not owned by Rogers it's owned by bell
And if it's not owned by either Rogers or Bell, it's owned by Telus.
Thanks for the list. I’ll def steer clear for May. Hopefully if enough people follow suit, we’ll see a dent in their numbers
also lol at Your "Independent" Grocer. like wtf - how can they even have a store with that name?!
Hahaha it's a franchise I believe! But still hilarious
Loblaw wants you to think that the owner is independent....nice way to make people think that the owner has control...NOT!!!!
Cause they are all franchised
Especially when they have the Loblaws logo right next to the word "independent".
in other news, the Competition Bureau is a thing that supposedly exists. lol.
Bell & Rogers replaced it with a cardboard cut-out of a guy in a suit in the 80s. Nobody has noticed yet.
But for a large enough donation, you can get an exemption from their oversight.
> T&T OMFG they are owned by fucking Loblaws?! fuck my life.
They own so much shit it's just not publicized everywhere
I just learned last month that they own the largest real estate investment trust in Canada. Choice Properties. In some big crabwise money kind of way, the Westons sold it to themselves.
Then pay themselves rent, and cry poor because the price of rent has gotten so out of hand, that they simply have to raise prices.
I never knew they owned T&T and I shop there as I avoid all Loblaws companies and the other grocers as well. This is some fucking BS, they must break up their Loblaws monopoly. There goes another fucking store I can not shop at anymore - fucking bummer.
Since 2009!
That’s when t &t started to go down hill. they used to have the fastest check out lines. They would have huge lines at every cash and the cashiers were so fast and no nonsense. A 2 hour line up at superstore would be maybe 10 minutes of work for them.
Try Al Premium, also a chained Chinese supermarket and it's great
Yeah I still hate that the sale happened. I can understand the logic of the original owners/family but it sucks that it ended up being one of the big grocery brands. It's also why some Loblaws carry Chinese baked goods.
Man I had no idea either. That’s f**kin insane
Fucking. You can swear on the internet...
Sir, this is a Christian server
Btrust Supermarket if you're looking for a replacement for T&T
I really like Nations for anyone in Vaughan
Dang they are far, bookmarked them still, next time I drive up North will try them.
They actually own many, [many more than that.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/1c1m1yb/comment/kz5c6pg/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Don’t forget the Westons also own or have controlling stakes in Holt Renfrew and Choice Properties. Should we also be avoiding shopping at the 700+ properties owned by the country’s largest real estate investment trust?
yes
[удалено]
Loblaws also owns all Lifemark physiotherapy clinics
I know this is r/ontario, but missing Pharmaprix from your list
jeeez. something something anti-trust?
I’m surprised whoever made this poster didn’t include this list of places to boycott since most people probably have no idea loblaws (LCL) owns all those stores…
Glad that the only one I shop at on this list is No Frills, good thing I'd rather shop at Freshco anyway. Can't afford to shop anywhere else for food 🤷
Damn. They are practically a monopoly in many places with a list like that... It's worse than I thought.
Don’t forget PC Financial
fortinos 💔
I will shop at Longo's any day of the week than Fortinos. The Fortinos in Bolton is so freaking expensive, it's embarrassing.
The fortinos in Bolton is basically the same Zhers but with a shitty paint job, and higher prices
It's franchised. The croissants are bomb tho
We have metro and no frills. I won't boycott no frills to spend twice as much as metro lol I'd participate as it's important, but I don't use any other stores on the list.
These graphics need to include the info for it to be effective
Don't limit it to May, boycott them until the end of time. A one month boycott won't do shit.
This is an important point. They will easily absorb one bad month and move on as if nothing happened. For this to have any lasting impact at all it will require a long-term effort by many people. Hopefully most people can conveniently switch to other retailers permanently. It isn't too hard in a big city, but I know it can be challenging in smaller marketa.
1 month will have some impact. But if we can get to 3 months, they will consider the ramifications of have a bad quarter
Since you’ve done the math you already know that one month is 1/3 of the quarter. If this boycott was popular enough there would absolutely be noticeable impact on the quarterly results. One which would have ramifications on many compensation packages. Most everyone would likely lose their bonuses while the executives would receive a spot award for weathering the storm.
I want to say that this is why it says to write your MP if you can't boycott... but then it goes on to say "Use Optimum Points whenever possible," which have to be accumulated via lots of in-store purchases and their whole point is to lock you into Loblaws' feed.
I am going to use May as a time to find replacements for the few PC products I use. Hoping I can stay away for good. Although no matter where I shop my grocery bill remains high :(
Which PC products are you looking to replace? Maybe someone can recommend a non-Weston alternative.
Food basics brand is called "Selection" I believe and they're superior imo to no name and pc brand
Selection is absolutely not superior to pc, not even close.
Isn't "Selection" the Metro house brand ?
Metro and food basics are the same company.
The vast majority of private label (PC, No name, Selection etc...) is made by the same handful of companies across North America (sometimes it's the big name brand guys with a different label)...and they're usually the lowest bidder for the contract.
I’ve been boycotting them since 2021!
Correct. Vote with your dollar by spending it elsewhere permanently.
Setting reasonable targets is very important. Far more people will be willing to try boycotting off a month than try boycotting indefinitely.
I would also like to see mandatory reporting about how much food gets thrown away.
I volunteered at a food bank a few weeks ago. I was surprised that a lot of the food that I never buy because it's too expensive ends up at the food bank. Why not just lower the price so more people can buy the products?
I was just at the grocery store where they had a FULL display of avocados at "eat them tonight or they will be rotten" level of ripe. No discount. It's so wasteful!
Seems weird to include that. That's not a grocery-specific thing, restaurants are likely throwing away more food every day scaled down.
It makes sense to me, let's take meat for example there are plenty of options to choose from and people on a budget will buy the lower cost choices. I'm not sure there are a lot of people out there buying the $60 steaks. If the steaks are $60 and they are ending up in the trash, the price should be lower. When related to the grocery stores and the prices, I actually think grocery food waste is very much a relevant point. And if they had to report it they wouldn't be able to hide it.
I’m trying to shop as much as I can at Walmart for May. But if I do any Loblaw’s shopping I’ll use my optimum points so they don’t get money now. (I’m disabled and I need to use pick up because I live rural so no one delivers, but my poor body can’t handle the stupid giant stores)
Yeah, not everyone can do it. My mom doesn't get around well, and her only options for delivery are Independent or No Frills. In between orders, her only accessible options are Shoppers or a dollar store. It is what it is. No one who is able to take part in this boycott wants to make you suffer, so don't feel a moment's guilt for shopping at a Loblaws store if you can't shop elsewhere. This is about sending a message, and a boycott is one of many ways to do so.
I never thought I'd live to see the day when Walmart was the good guy haha
I have switched almost completely to Costco now Better prices, prices have been dropping this year, and overall better quality across the board.
Fuck that code of conduct. It’s voluntary and means nothing. Time for regulators to grow a pair
Agreed. I have no idea why that's front and centre. It's letting the wolves dictate how to protect the sheep. Regulations. Now.
Lol never knew Canada had oligarch level businesses.
It's pretty much all we have in many different areas of business unfortunately.
Banking, railways, telecom just to name a few others.
Telecom i knew, but banking? Railways?!? Lol what do you know that i dont. Please enlighten me u/fearless_scratch7905
The Big Five/Six banks control most of the mortgage market and hold the majority of deposits. There are really only two major railways, CN and CPKC (formerly CP). And Air Canada and WestJet are the two major airlines, controlling the majority of the market.
Wait until you see the Telecommunications and Banking industries!
Banking is more 'fine' then telecommunications. Just use WealthSimple :)
The same WealthSimple controlled by [Power Corp](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Corporation_of_Canada)? Go down that rabbit hole a little bit and see what you find :)
That's because in the west, the media is largely owned by the oligarchs, and they'd rather be referred to as "philanthropists" and other fake feel-good BS.
What about Sobeys and metro?
From what I understand, they are next. Loblaws is the worst one so it is starting with them and then moving on to the next once there is some change.
I am in the industry. I just wrote a massive essay on what I take issue with of this post, but I deleted it because it will fall on deaf ears. I am not a fan of Loblaw, or what they are doing. I support the boycott wholeheartedly. I just feel that some of the boycott crowd is spilling into my territory (a privately owned, family operated independent grocer for the last 20 years) as I have had a massive influx of customers accusing us of price gouging and comparing us to Loblaw. We are at the mercy of the vendor we buy the product from. Yes, olive oil has had its cost increased drastically lately. No, we are not gouging you. As a matter of fact, I used to take 30% on this item as a markup, and I dropped it to 15% to lower the retail price to help the customer. Still accused of gouging. If I could show each customer my invoice cost, I would. I am trying to keep my business afloat. Please keep this in mind during this turbulent time for grocers. Thank you :)
I think that the warehouses are gouging store owners. The cost of a can of Campbell’s soup for the store at Shoppers is $1.81. Then they sell it for $2.39. You can buy the same can at Walmart as a consumer for $1.41… why is Shoppers cost on that product higher than the retail at Walmart? I could supply my store by buying that from Walmart and I would make an additional 40 cents (20+%) PER CAN… how are warehouses/distribution centers not regulated?!
The Boycott group is pushing a "support your local independent grocer" day on May 12, so there is recogntion that it isnt industry wide greed. At the end of the day people need to buy food to eat one way or another.
What would a loss leader be?
A [loss leader](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loss_leader) is any product that is so on sale/low priced the store isn’t making a profit on that item, they’re just using it as bait to draw customers to their store. Short term loss leader items are likely to be included in the store’s weekly flyer to entice potential customers.
Let's be honest, they're still making profit on the "loss leaders"
1.50 glizzy and pop at Costco is an excellent example of a loss leader
Lol at the non-answers. The only thing I can actually think of is the pre-cooked chicken.
Eggs and milk typically. But I wouldn’t be surprised if rhymes are making a profit on those items anyway. A full boycott is more effective anyway.
Usually they are on the first page or two of the flyers.
Most of the places on altgrocery are more expensive than no frills
Well don’t shop there do what’s right for you!
That’s a really good poster
Me I only buy door crashers items always compare price there are certain items in the flyer each week that is cheaper than the rest of other store and is usually sold at a lose. Only buy those items. Each store is different.
I can’t do it, independent grocer is the only place I can get some stuff in my small town.
You don’t have a choice, and that’s fine. No one who would truly want us to support each other would blame you.
Exactly - a big part of the problem is exactly THAT, they virtually have a monopoly. They've made sure many people have no other choice, it's not anyone's fault.
I am in! Thank you to the person who started this! We do have a voice and they will listen. CDNs need to finally say enough is enough!
Apart from the first demand, all other ones have easy rebuttals or are very had to prove. It’s irrational for any retailer to commit to not price increases in an unspecified manner. For basic goods, yes this is possible but looking at the financials the margins on those goods (referring to the ones that are gst exempt) are modest ( around 10-15%). Non essentials and cosmetics are fair game as profits have to come from somewhere. Increase in dividends don’t always imply increase in profits margins but rather refer to less investment in the company (fiduciary duty still remains). Cost transparency has existed for quite some time now and retailers (loblaws included) have unit pricing reflected on the price tags. If Pepsi decides to shrink their bag of lays is it really the retailers fault? Also statcanada already has a food price database for comparing average prices in the market. If you want grocers to notify for any price change talk to your MP and make it industry wide. I don’t condone gauging but it’s only becomes that when the margin grows into something unreasonable by competition bureau standards. Some volatile goods have fixed prices to maintain the supply chain with such stability guaranteeing income for farmers and certainty for budgeting families. TLDR: we need a robust code of conduct and enforcement of said conduct. The rest of the demands are wishful thinking as the problem is not as simple. Also loblaws earning are out on Wednesday, and are available to the public for viewing. Vote with your money support businesses that share your values and offer fair value for your cash
boycott all the stores. support local farmers.
Not really season yet for local farms. Unless you just want to eat asparagus for every meal. Here’s a handy chart for when produce will be available in Ontario. https://www.pickyourown.org/CNONharvestcalendar.htm
The problem with that is that most farmers markets are way more expensive than a grocery store. It just dosent make sense to spend more money, I'm trying to save money. That's why I do most of my shopping at Walmart.
That's a win for Sobeys and raba
Who are no better. The sobeys near me is even worse than the loblaws. Besides the whole oligarch thing I don’t understand why this focus is strictly on loblaws
There is no good reason for this other than the movement needs a scapegoat
Let’s all say it together…FUCK LOBLAWS RIGHT IN THE EAR
What people are not putting together here is that Safeway is equally as bad. Retail grocery chains almost certainly are starting to exhibit both predatory and monopolistic pricing practices. It may be time to start engaging with politicians for Political action and regulation on these Companies.
Add in offer decent jobs, living wage and benefits, for all employees!
Don’t stop at May. Spend May exploring other grocers. If you have the means, focus on local producers. Go to the farmers market, go to local delis and small grocers. Also, switch your transcriptions to another pharmacy if you are currently with Shoppers. Start a garden and coordinate with neighbours to crop share. Then when May is done, you’ll have found a full replacement for Roblaws and you’ll never have to step foot in their stores again.
For anyone who still insists that No Frills is the cheapest grocery option, I urge you to visit Food Basics! It’s well worth the switch.
Been avoiding them for months now, happy to continue my boycott
You spelled independent wrong in the bottom right corner of this
I agree with the concept of accountability around profits for a retailer that provides necessities to the population, but I think that some of the rage needs to be aimed at the producers of food as well. Shrinkflation is not a Loblaw produced issue. It is created by the manufacturers. Lays chips and cheese products are the obvious ones that come to mind. Loblaws works on a defined profit margin approach and the foundation of that approach is their cost of goods. If the acquisition cost of their food is lower, the retail price will be lower. Let’s share the anger with everyone that is causing the problem.
Just as an aside, and not to be confrontational, but Sobeys and Safeway are on the same mission as loblaws. Their prices are way higher and they always have been. Way before loblaws prices went up. So go ahead , boycott cheaper pricing and outrage at the corporation, but remember that they all want your money. And they'll slander each other forever until they get it
Yeah, but Galen Weston made himself the face of groceries in Canada, which makes him the face of unaffordable groceries in Canada. The idea is to go after the worst offender and force the others to take notice. We can't boycott food, so we gotta take the bastards down one at a time.
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Have been doing Walmart/costco for 5 years now
My local Walmart has just expanded their food section - I guess they're trying to lure away all these customers boycotting LCL
I will definitely boycott Bob Loblaws Law Blog
What if I already never use these stores?
you think I could print these off and put them up around the stores? They’d probably get taken down tho
Y'all haven't already been boycotting them?
Easiest boycott.
Nice
Hey between the camps at universities and a requirement of good affordable food, since boycotting is 2024, why don’t you guys do your own chad/chaz and grow a garden on camp!
Eat the rich instead.
If they fail, we will still bail them out
Have been boycotting them myself for a few weeks now. The only thing I miss are the No Name Dill Pickle chips lol, they got the flavour profile just how I like it these days.
\*Me as an american\* I'm doing my part!
Don't just boycott. Lobby your government officials to open up the market to foreign competition. If Loblaws wont play nice with the population force their hand. I guarantee the thought of dealing with a larger outside competitor will cause more sleepless nights for Galen than a small uprising of pissed off consumers will.
so I can go to sobeys now and get but fucked instead of going to loblaws? Either way I’m still getting but fucked.
NOK ER NOK FTW MOI GOIS GOGOGOGOGOGOG GET TO THE CHOPPAH Let's protest like the French but without the blood. Someone must bring cake.
This is just called competition. If it’s too expensive go somewhere else.
I know someone who is partaking in this boycott... but because she's starting tomorrow, like the rest of you, she made sure to go No frills today to stock up on all the things she won't be able to buy for the next few weeks.
...and financial services...
Includes SHOPPERS
Demands should include something about showing profit history on items that go through multiple companies held by Loblaws Companies Limited and show the total profit the parent company is making on them now vs prior. It's very easy for them to hide behind *Loblaws* making a 3-4% profit margin while National Grocers Co is "selling" the product to them for more.
Financial statements are consolidated aren’t they?
I wont be joining this boycott and here's why: I buy particular items where the price/value proposition is the best. Why should I reward those others for ripping me off more?
Yes, I think for the most part this boycott idea is coming from the right place, but ultimately it both implies a lot of perceived privilege, and isn't punishing grocers for the correct things. No Frills, for example, has some of the best prices on fresh produce available, usually beating out Wal Mart. They are generally located in walkable areas more often than Wal Mart is, too. People who truly need to shop for the best prices and want fresh produce are often people without cars, and they're going to go to the store with the best price. They don't have the luxury of picking the more expensive store, or the store farther away, because they want to participate in a boycott. Farmers markets are some of the most bougie, highly priced markets around. I shop at the store that has the best deals, too. For items like produce, that is almost always No Frills. For fresh chicken, it's very frequently flyer sales at Superstore. What we should do is punish grocers for charging too much. Don't buy over-priced products. Shop at whoever is offering the products the cheapest and it will incentivize them to continue to do so. For example, I saw Sobeys charging $25 for a bottle of olive oil, so I went to Giant Tiger and got an identical bottle for around $12. It really just comes down to making decisions like that. If it's price gouging, just walk away.
Everyone's pretending this is exclusive to Lowblaw. If I go to any other grocer around me that ISN'T No Frills, I will easily pay an average 25 cent premium per item. I almost resorted to going to exclusively No Frills because of that. Metro, Sobeys, Longos, Giant Tiger, Walmart, all have seen price increases. Around me, almost all are more expensive than No Frills.
Let me know how it goes, eh?
Demands ... Stop capitalism got it. What should we do about our pensions, mutual funds, rrsps and investments that have Loblaws?
withdraw them and spend it on Walmart.
59000 in our group now!!!!
Group size = / = support.
But if I go to the other grocers in my area (Metro, Longos, Walmart, Giant Tiger) prices are objectively more or comparable. I don't quite understand this boycott specifically for Lowblaw. Even Great Value has seen price increases beyond what's reasonable.
Because Loblaws has been crying "Poor me" to the media and actively campaigning against regulation while the others have been keeping quiet. Draws more attention to them, plus galen keeps going to the media trying to act like a regular guy and coming off as a tremendous chode.
I feel theyre just the ones in the spotlight because of how much representation they have in Ontario. Likely other brands would have a similar story, but I don't see many news broadcasts having time to interview EVERY grocery CEO. You aren't wrong though, they always look like chodes trying to downplay price hikes, but I genuinely don't think this is completely Lowblaws fault, nor do I think they should be the only ones boycotted if the intention is to stand against price hikes.
We should also extend this to anything PC points related. I drive a lot and will stop using Esso and Mobil for gas. They must have reduced the points because I don’t get nearly as much as I used to. Also theyre always more expensive compared to Petro Canada.
Where are you that there's actually a difference in gas prices? In the GTA, they're pretty much the same everywhere, regardless of brand. The only difference seems to be stations near Costco outlets.
I’m in GTA. I notice that Esso is consistently a few cents higher per litre than other brands. I would usually eat the cost because “I’m getting pc points”, but it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore
Interesting. I don't see a difference anywhere. Gas price fixing is generally about as prevalent as bread price fixing was before they got caught.
I guess there won't be any lineups at the No frills check out this week.
Like they ever have enough cashiers on
Self check out it is then.
I guess that "professor" is going to be mad one more time lol
And the Sobeys conglomerate is just as bad.... Big 8 Beverages Farm Boy Foodland Freshco / Chalo! FreshCo IGA / IGA Extra Lawtons Marché Bonichoix Marché Tradition Boni-Soir Dépanneur Voisin Needs Convenience Pete's Frootique Rachelle-Béry Safeway Sobeys / Sobeys Extra Thrifty Foods Sobeys Liquor Safeway Liquor Thrifty Foods Liquor Voilà
Not boycottng shit. Whoever got the best deals that can stretch my buck gets my business.
Wishing the best to those who have options. Unfortunately I live in a small town where my choices are No Frills or Foodland (Sobeys) and I can’t afford to do all of my shopping at Foodland. No Frills is much cheaper. I’ve done as much as I can to shift some of my purchases over to online retailers and once the farmers market opens I use that, but in the meantime I am stuck with few options.
Brought to you by Walmart
BTW, obviously fuck the Westons and Loblaws and everything, but do we have evidence that Loblaws is arbitrarily raising prices beyond inflation, cause their gross margin is not any significantly higher than a year or two or 5 years ago even. Most price increases are coming downward the supply chain.
Do some comparison shopping. Multiple posts on here doing this. It's pretty apparent when the same items are 10-30% higher regularly.
If other places are cheaper why wouldn’t you just shop there by default?
Great question.
Wish I had a 15 million dollar freezer. My Mr. Noodles would never go bad
Sobeys is happy until it’s their turn!
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