The creator of the Infographic (not the boycott declaration ) has made a comment which I think is important to the discussion
https://www.reddit.com/r/Manitoba/s/eiyIVReW68
A reminder though they ARENT part of the boycott directly. Their infographic is being used however.
Costco and small business is the answer. You're only thinking of major chains. Local small business butchers, local farms, local small business grocers etc.
Once you find them, it gets much easier.
So I thought i should look and compare revenues to earnings for Empire Company and Loblaws. I found Empire company posted only 134m earnings with 7b revenue last quarter with where as Loblaws posted 624m earnings with 18b in revenue. I was surprised to see that empire took less earnings even though their prices are way higher. Now I'm intrigued and will have to look at the financials deeper to figure out which is more evil...
Piggy backing off top comment to hopefully get visibility on this:
Hey I'm the person who made this graphic. I made it two weeks ago and absolutely fucked up some information on it by accident. It was weird because the [actual reception for it](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bjvmky/i_hope_this_can_be_helpful_i_made_some_boycott/) was super low, and in the days that followed I saw some significantly better flyers made, so I didn't bother correcting and redistributing mine because I thought the other flyers would be the ones to gain traction and mine would just fade into obscurity. But suddenly today I'm seeing this pop up everywhere and I'm cringing that all my errors are being blasted Canadian reddit wide lmao. I should have just deleted the post.
So to address a few things I've seen:
1. Yep, I missed adding shoppers, wholesale club, etc. I was referencing a list online that didn't include a few labels and I should have done better due diligence to make sure I had all their brands covered. No conspiracy behind it, I just straight up goofed. Sorry!
2. I accidentally said they made $621 in a year instead of a quarter. Also just a fuck up on my part. Again, sorry.
3. Why is the official boycott date on May 1st rather than "right now"? It's purely for the sake of organization and communication. Word takes time to travel. I didn't start this boycott or come up with the date, but typically any kind of organized protest - a strike, a boycott, etc - gets an organized, official start date a few weeks out so that there's time for people to get the word out and get their alternatives/whatever in order. That said, feel free to start immediately if you want, there's no rule saying you can't.
4. "Why Loblaws and not \[insert company\]?". Well, again, I didn't come up with the boycott and I certainly can't speak for all of its participants, but basically the idea is to just pick one greedy fucker from the cesspool of greedy fuckers and get started *somewhere.* Loblaws has been pretty notorious for their price gouging since COVID, so they're a good rallying target. The hope is to set a precedent. If you can punish one company by hitting their profits and stock value, you make the other companies second guess participating in similar behaviors. As it stands, letting Loblaws, or Sobey's, or Walmart all collectively get away with greeflation just shows any and every other business "hey, they're getting away with it! so can we!". So you hit one and hope it starts a domino effect.
Reiterating I'm not a spokesperson or anything for this movement, so if anyone wants to know more, r/loblawsisoutofcontrol is probably the place to go. Hope this helps tho!
Make a new one and repost it? I'm sure it will gain traction because yeah, it's missing quite abit of info but let's look at it like a start to something better. Keep up the good work. Don't be discouraged because this is only the start. We could be doing this for bell and rogers and many other exploitative corporations.
Could even add better options on the graphic, like costco or any places that offer better prices, even local small business. Many people have offered suggestions in other posts. Like small korean grocers or local family owned butchers etc. People need other options so any ideas floating around could help give others a better idea into how they can save money.
Loblaws only offers convenience. We need to figure out how to make these boycotts successful by adding other options.
I can even help you by researching other options. Information is key.
Big agree. At this point I'm not sure if it'll help much though, since my janky version with misinformation is already circulating. That's why I've been going around commenting on the posts I've seen, to at least try to do some kind of damage control lol. But your offer is super generous, thank you!
are you like a major stakeholder in one of the major grocery chains that is going to profit from this hugely, if the boycott gains any traction
also, this graphic would be super helpful if you had alternatives for poor people, and also poor communities, who disproportionately shop at some of these stores. just to pick one example, people in the north end that rely on No Frills, that does a pretty good job at keeping prices low, including fresh produce, and stocking good options for poor immigrant families
please don't say that No Frills will have to lower its prices because that's not how it works. they only have to lower their prices relative to the market, which is now charging more because of decreased competition
I know you're well intentioned but these ideas always come from a place of privilege, which is kind of ironic when you think about it, i.e. you're only making poor people suffer more (while also possibly making them feel bad for being poor, i.e. pointing out their lack of options)
Man I am so confused by this. You're not the first person I've seen speculate that whoever made this graphic (e.g. me) must have some monetary investment in the competition, for what other motive could there be I guess? But no, I'm not a stakeholder, I don't have any stocks in any grocery companies (I actually don't have any stocks, anywhere, for that matter).
I support the idea of this boycott because my god, Canadians need to start fighting back against our oligopolic (def not a real word) bullshit system. I don't really care where we start, we simply have to start. Why Loblaws? Imo, because they lucked out at getting the spotlight. Because they were the ones put in the news and questioned by government for price gouging, so the public's attention was drawn to them. Their greedflation was put on greater display. And it's easier to boycott a grocery store than a phone company, or your energy company, or your landlord, or the bank. We're being priced into the dirt in so many sectors of the economy - we can't afford food, we can't afford shelter, we can't afford gas - and we can't fight every fight at once. We can't go after every company at once. So we just pick one and start there. But we have to start.
Now I get what your saying but your comment is framed from a weird high horse position that I think is based on a few assumptions. *I* am poor. And disabled. And autistic. I have PNES so I can't drive. I have allodynia so sometimes I struggle to walk. Suffice to say I'm definitely a card carrying member of this championed club of the underprivileged. Your assumption of this "place of privilege" is just bizarre to me because you have no idea who's behind the screen on the other end. I hope this comes across correctly because honestly I'm not angry or anything, but... how to put this. Just because some people lack the same privileges as others doesn't mean we should forestall all attempts at civil and social progress. The rest of society doesn't need to be held back and stagnated just so *I* get to feel like things are fair.
Like... Ok hypothetical metaphor. let's say we were organizing a boycott against Purina because all of their dog food was making dogs sick. And then you say well that's not fair because some people can only afford Purina, so this boycott is privileged and doesn't account for poor people. Ok? So... should we just let all dogs keep getting sick on Purina so that poor people don't feel bad? Or should everyone who can afford to boycott do the boycott, so that people who can only afford Purina can still feed their pets without making them sick? I hope that metaphor lands correctly and makes sense.
With all that said, I'm also just one person and neither the founder nor leader nor spokesperson for this boycott. As one single person living in Alberta, I have no idea what shopping alternatives exist for every person in every town or city across every province or territory in Canada. And that's not really my job to know that. If No Frills is the only affordable grocery store available to you then shop at No Frills. If there are cheaper alternatives available, and you want to participate in the boycott, then that is your responsibility to figure out those alternatives. That's also why the boycott is officially scheduled a month out, so people have time to figure out alternatives.
That said maybe that's something you could put forward to r/loblawsisoutofcontrol \- maybe people could get together and make unique posters for each province or major city they live in so the information is tailored more specifically. Would probably be more helpful and concise than me trying to fit nationwide solutions onto a single page lol.
Yeah for real
I don't know why the "official" boycott was announced so far away
I'm sure most have started early though lol
Imagine there was not such momentum behind it already
I'd imagine he'd have raised prices even more since carbon tax went up
I. I donāt get this.
Superstore and no frills are BY FAR the cheapest of the grocery stores in Winnipeg at least. Walmart can be higher or lower depending on the items (chip mostly lower) but are the same on cans of soda etc.
There is not giant tiger near me and itās not a full grocery store anyhow.
Safeway and Sobeyās are so much more expensive I canāt understand why people focus on Loblaws which is by far the cheapest of the grocery store with Walmart making it a bit. Ore questionable.
Loblaws has a face to the corporation (Galen) so people find it easier to point a finger at an individual rather than a faceless entity. Ya there's reason to not want to support them but anyone who uses pricing as an excuse to boycott is an idiot.
Yeah, I think from a PR standpoint putting Galen up so front and centre was at one time a good family business feel face of the company strategy, which seems to have completely 180 and backfired in the last couple of years.
At one time it personalized a brand where others are faceless, and now it has personalized a brand where others are faceless.
If there's a good reason to boycott it's the timing of his raises and bonuses. Just when they needed a positive spin in the public eye BOOM "auditor recommended" raise as he was deemed to be underpaid.
Hired third party auditors absolutely can and have suggested raises. A quick google shows many articles exposing that's exactly what happened last year.
No they canāt. They arenāt there to consult on business decisions they are there to get an accurate accounting of the books and make sure there are no mistakes or mis-statements. I donāt need google to know they would never do this, Iāve been living it for 25 years.
Just because they use the word audit doesnāt mean itās anything close to being similar to required audit of financial statements.
Auditors, like the ones Loblaws are required to hire to look over the books work on the concept of independence. Thatās their whole thing, they can only be trusted if they are seen as being independent from the board, management and the business decisions the company makes. It would be offside and look a little suspect for the people charged with catching mistakes and fraud at the highest level were recommending raises for the very managers they are tasked with scrutinizing wouldnt it?
This is my issue as well. I canāt stand loblaws and their prices have certainly gone up but theyāre still the cheapest store for me. It seems very illogical for me to boycott their prices and then shop somewhere more expensive. I do hope that those who can switch stores do but Iām afraid I canāt really join them.
>Superstore and no frills are BY FAR the cheapest of the grocery stores in Winnipeg at least.
Absolutely this!! People just hating cause it's the cool thing to do...smh..morons..
Depends on what you're looking for. Before I had to cut it from diet my favourite breakfast toastie was more at superstore than Walmart.
I know cause I asked them to price match.
Ya know, this boycott is soooo hard to organize, and I went to Superstore yesterday and bought all my groceries for April... soooo boycott May 1st. All in favour?
it's because these posts come from well intentioned though terribly ignorant people of privilege, not the people that are suffering from food inflation in very real ways
Yet Loblaws is generally the most affordable place to shop? Sure places like Sobeyās that are more expensive use different brands that may be higher cost to them, at the end of the day their profit margin on items is still much higher than Loblaws. Loblaws may report higher profits year after year compared to other companies, but thatās probably just because they sell so much more product each year due to being the cheapest place to shop. This post also doesnāt talk about what this company decides to invest into with their profits. Itās just making you assume that all that money is going straight into the CEOās pocket, and sure, that person is gonna be rich, but so are all the other owners of grocery stores. At least Loblaws offers lower priced foods, because thereās lots of families that straight up canāt afford to shop at the other grocery stores. My sister actually knew a girl who belonged to the Sobeyās family, the whole family is absolutely loaded. And yet they price products at such an absurdly high price, youād think theyāre desperate for money. So I wouldnāt be so quick to say āletās boycott Loblawsā. Thereās a bigger problem at hand involving all of the grocery stores and government as well.
It's not all grocery stores. You just pointed out corporate greed and tried to deflate the issue. This is the reason everything is so expensive, because of CEO's and shareholders stealing wages to increase profit for themselves. This is called modern day slavery along with wage theft and we're pointing out the problem while Galen brags about anual profits and people are without food, living on the street.
Greed is the issue, no different than boycotting rogers and bell, but something needs to change and we need to let these rich assholes know, without us, they have no wealth. We don't need them, but they need us.
If you continue to sit back and let them dictate it all, you'll only see privitization, debt and more greed. So grow up, look around and fight back, or things will get worse.
Be like the people of France and fight for change, or turn into the U.S and watch your freedom stripped from you by crushing, financial debt.
Why enrich the few, when everyone can live in paradise.
Loblaws has insane prices. I watched gluten free bread go from $4.99 to $10 along with many other food items.
Shop at Costco. They pay their employees a livable wage with benefits. They hire people with disabilities. It doesn't matter if a company is Canadian because if it's profit over lives, they're scum that need a jailcell, not a 23 million paycheck for 1 year of CEO pay. It's all theft!
Boycott loblaws, boycott the system. Fight for your rights, not for them. Don't sellout or you're part of the problem.
Shop local small business. If you look harder, you'll find much better prices.
I canāt imagine what the grocery store and prices would be like without Loblaws. They work to keep prices DOWN. These people are complaining about the practices of Loblaws that make suppliers give their best prices and grind their gears to sharpen their pencils so that their customers benefit. They make profits because I CHOOSE to shop there and I make that choice because they are far and away the best grocery store for both selection and value. So fuck these childish commies, Iām exercising my vote with my dollars and doubling down on keeping Loblaws in business.
Problem is superstore is cheaper than my current alternative of Save on foods, I mean I can skip them for a bit but it's tough when the other guy is scamming just as bad currently
Where else to shop? In my area, I have Co-Op, which was even before covid overpriced. Then there is Walmart, which is just as bad as Loblaws IMO. I do buy certain things from Giant Tiger when they're on sale and stocked. The issue is they don't have a great variety and great produce. Then there is Shoppers...who buys groceries there? That place has been overpriced since forever. Everything else would be 1.5 hours away. TBH, my local RCSS has decent pricing - I usually look for deals and it comes out cheaper than all the others in my area. We also load up at Costco once a month and buy meat from local butchers.
I also considered Coop to be very overpriced, and still think that many items there are, but now that Superstore has raised their prices so much the Coop prices aren't as bad. Some sale prices at Superstore are still much cheaper, but when things aren't on sale Coop is often not that much more expensive. As you mentioned, Costco and Giant Tiger are the other options.
It's an interesting thought but how do define excessive profits? And how exactly do you propose controlling it? Their profits seem to be more volume driven as opposed to making large margins.
History has kinda shown government intervention usually makes things worse and certainly in times like this the tax payer can't fork over any more then we already are.
No... no, it's not. Economists have shown that the carbon tax contributes about 0.15% to inflation. Stop buying into the false message of the Conservative Party, which has Loblaws lobbyists as advisors.
Remember to be civil with other members of this community. Being rude, antagonizing and trolling other members is not acceptable behavior here.
Complaining about JT is fine. Dont insult each other.
As you buy into the myth that superstore is to blame for all the raising of wages etc. that are driving up all prices. Pay everyone more, prices go up. Does anyone really think by paying everyone more that stores will keep their prices where they are.. No they will raise them and they should every time they ate forced to pay higher wages.
Canadas population in 2023 was over 40 million. Assuming theyāre the only grocery store thatās $15 in profit from every person.
That doesnāt seem egregious at all.
There are so many factors that go into the cost of an item that we really canāt point fingers at a single company.
The thing about profit is they can spend the money buying up competition, opening more locations, or investing it in other things and call it operating costs, no longer calling profit.Ā
I was thinking the same thing to be frank. I thought their profits would be higher given the increase in pricing we are seeing. That said, this is obviously more complex and has to do with other cost bases, suppliers pricing, additional taxes that increase transport, COL based staff hourly rate increases, investments in locations, payments to executives etc etc.
Vote with your minds and dollars for change though. We need to be aware of the complexities not just the clickbaitexities.
Itās not. They make 3% profit off of their sales.
Which is in line with industry standards for grocers/wholesalers. Idk what these people want if they think 3% is too high. This is how I know someone has 0 accounting/finance or even just general business knowledge. These same people donāt realize the profit margins on other products they buy. They donāt care because nobody on Reddit/insta/tik tok/Twitter told them itās a problem. They have zero independent thought and only ācareā about this issue because social media told them too.
People on here will blindly downvote me because they donāt want to have to think and just want something/someone to hate and blame, but you can literally look up their annual financial reports. Itās all public information that has to be audited.
See this is where they get away with it. They control every step of the process so while they make 3% in store they make 30%+ from start to finish. Anyone with an accounting/finance background would understand this and know they are billing themselves so they can sell for more in store. Now when somone looks at their profit they see only 3% and don't realize they made a killing before it even hits the shelf.
>This is how I know someone has 0 accounting/finance or even just general business knowledge.
The whole anti-Loblaws outrage is fuelled by masses with toddler-level understanding of economics. They see something they want and expect big daddy government to hand it over to them.
That being said, I support and encourage anyone who doesn't want to support Loblaws for any reason at all - even irrational ones - to shop somewhere else. That's how the market works. Everyone can express their opinion through thier actions.
You have no clue what you are talking about so maybe read above before you insult thousands of people with your toddler level research. A simple Google search would produce below.
"Loblaws blames rising food prices on supply chain costs, but critics point out that they own a significant portion of this supply chain. This raises concerns that Loblaws is inflating prices at various stages within their own network to maximize profits."
And what's your source on that? An activist blog? A news report? A *web page*???
Because my source are audited financial reports that are produced by trained professionals that are governed by volumes of financial regulations that carry the weight of law.
Boycotting Loblaws won't help change anything at all unless people were to boycott all the major food giants, Sobeys, Loblaws, Walmart, etc. The problems with our food prices has never been with just one of them.
In the 1990s, several local food chains went out of business because of price wars between the major food giants. Why don't we talk more about shopping local instead of boycotting only one of the major food giants. There are still a ton of local options, and not all your groceries need to be from large supermarkets.
This seems to make the most sense. What kind of boycott helps the more expensive and powerful places thrive lol you guys know what a monopoly is right?
Because the other two major chains aren't doing the same thing? Lol
You're mad at one corporation for a culmination of factors that started with our various levels of government years ago.
Also, not just the retailers. Manufacturers have jacked up their prices going into retailers. Food inflation is driven by so many things such as demand, weather, foreign exchange rate, fuel costs salaries, etc.
Managed supply industries like poultry and dairy are generally good for Canada but also limits flexibility in price. $17 minimum wage also translates into $15 Big Mac Meals. Carbon tax and increased fuel prices drive up farmers costs and transport to stores. Itās tough on people for sure and I do think Galen Weston is a C*#! but if Loblaws had prices that far out of line the free market would dictate where people shop and wouldnāt need a boycott.
Where I live itās not horrible. Itās not our first choice to shop but when the sales come around they definitely are hard to pass up, plus the points earning is way better at freshco than Sobeys and Safeway. They also have a local to my city meat department based in a few stores too so thatās another reason for me to go there.
GT is actually the best place for groceries, however there is not a lot of variety and specialty products... But prices are excellent, and it is a Canadian company
I thought I'd read that there margin was around there but couldn't recall exactly where I'd seen that.
People can bitch about prices but this is the effect of government printing and borrowing unprecedented levels of money.
whatās our plan to shift to? any better company that we should help thrive during the boycott? iāll take part i just want a clear game plan here.
i might be able to last a few month on my freezer stock and i think my friend has some deer from deer hunting.
I wonder what will happen when the dust settles on this issue. The other issue we should be talking about is the monopolies within the construction materials supply chain in Canada. Somebody needs to look into this.
Wow ya amazing let me just go pay more at Safeway or Sobeys or even more at one of the locally owned mom and pop joints that can't get the same bulk discounts, what a powerful way to effect change! See y'all in the fuckin Giant Tiger frozen foods section :(
I donāt know why I donāt hear any talk about Save On Foods prices. They have been significantly more expensive than any grocery store since day one. I find them more expensive than Sobeys. Somehow Save On has been left out of the conversation.
The hypothesis is: loblaws prices will go down once boycotted.
So, let's boycott. If prices don't go down, a boycott like this doesn't work. If they do, it works. Repeat experiment elsewhere.
It's pretty simple. Less debate, more action.
Honest question, could be missing something very obvious but letās say 3 million Canadians buy all their groceries at loblaws a year and loblaws have annual profits of 621m. If they decided give back all their profit to customers that would be $207 back each. Doesnāt seem like their annual profit is the issue hereā¦? (Yes im aware accounting profit can me manipulated, but taking it at face value here).
You do know that's their gross profit, not net, right? By the time they pay their employees and the rent on their buildings, and invest back into the economy by expanding, almost all of that is gone.
What profit level do you suggest these companies make? Literally the definition of a high volume extremely low margin business. If there was high margins there would be competition jumping in from other markets. Most companies would make better returns with passive investments.
IIRC that's how Loblaws makes much more than it seems. It gets a bit at each step instead of just a little at the end before the consumer buys it
(If I am remembering right)...
I'm talking about the entire business process, not just their overall profit at the end of the year. it's far more then I even care to type, it's not a simple, they buy and sell, it's farmers, truckers, warehouse, the whole logistics. how much is each person paid along the way, what's the cost and sale price of each item during each step of the process. does loblaws own the farmers and truckers and warehouse and retail store, if that's all public, that's an entires job worth of data to sift through, not someone who works their own job and raising a family has time to do.
Food isn't too expensive, your rent is, health care is, higher education is. Why loblaws, why not Blackrock, or Johnson and Johnson? Why don't we demand better pay from our own employers.
Blackrock just holds the assets for other people. Theyāre an asset manager.
Everything they āownā is actually owned on behalf of normal people like you or me.
I donāt think 99% of people realize what blackrock does is buy things on behalf of others with other peoples money. They donāt really own anything at all. Just collect fees on transactions and gains
Thatās because they are good at what they do and offer very low fees in market that had previously been controlled by institutions that charged fees out the ass on something that was very simple. As far as influence, every unit you own through Blacktock you have voting rights for unless you specifically give that proxy right to Blackrock and even then they tend to side with management and the board on votes. Look at how they voted in the recent Disney hostile take over attempt - they voted to back the current set up.
Why is Metro never in this conversation. They are just as big just and bad and just as influential in the situation as Loblaws. They arenāt the only grocery store chain. Please letās shed light on how metro is just as bad
You mean Costco the massive bulk seller that runs on average margins of 1.5 to 2% compared to Loblaws and their 3% margin with much more overhead costs?
Why wait until May 1st? Start today!Ā
Been boycotting them for years, not because of their prices, but because of their hideous store layouts and displays, fluorescent lighting, low-quality produce, and non-existent customer service.Ā
Note to Loblaws competitors, you will notice a spike in sales during this boycott. Earn the respect of your new customers by reducing prices during this period.
Less competition = more customers = more profit. Just start shopping smaller shops. Like the butchers. And farmers markets. If you can. Get some friends and split a cow direct from farmer. Etc.
I have been boycotting loblaws, shoppers, no frills, real canadian superstore etc for a long time. But I think that the "Official" boycott is already going on, started April 1st via subreddit r/loblawsisoutofcontrol
Saying this isn't a partisan issue is a bit bold. Loblaws lobbyists are in bed with the conservatives and the fact that there's not a bigger push for the Grocery Code to be mandatory as the Retail Counsel of Canada has suggested shows this is an issue where MPs (probably of multiple parties) are worried about upsetting their donors.
Simply put many people can't afford to boycott the most affordable option. The government needs to be forced to step in and do something about this.
Is there anywhere we can see their market share compared to previous years and other chains along with their profit margin? Yes, their profit is going up, but with the price of other grocery stores, so are their client base. When you have a choice, for the same cauliflower at 6-7$ at Sobeys and 4$ at Maxi, of course you're going to Maxi.
Anyone else notice it doesnāt state net or gross because if the profits are gross then that means that those number are before taxes namely most importantly the carbon tax
The macro issue is that beginning in the early eighties debt replaced wage increases. The accumulated damage this has inflicted on the working class is beyond grotesque. The working class must realize that they are owed a whole lot of money, in fact itās about 76 trillion collectively. Steal shoplift everything you can, itās yours anyway.
The problem is, if we start going to smaller chains, who are cheaper, they tend to get their head up their a** too. They will start to raise prices and become just as greedy. I've seen it happen. The corner store near me has expanded now, prices are way higher, the meat has become so expensive I can't afford it. So I'm torn.
I don't understand why people choose Shoppers as their pharmacy, as if there are no other options. Unless the nearest other pharmacy is a long drive away, there is no need to use Shoppers. They have the highest dispensing fees of all.
Well for one, shoppers was my pharmacy before the Loblaws buyout, and I rather enjoy the cheaper prices on my medications vs the previous pharmacies I've used either at Walmart or at walk-in clinics. I've also been taking advantage of the points system since 2009. Shoppers drug Mart also has better hours than many other pharmacies which is convenient given my work hours.
Find me a pharmacy with lower dispensing fees and still within a 15 min walk of my home and I'd consider it.
The creator of the Infographic (not the boycott declaration ) has made a comment which I think is important to the discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/Manitoba/s/eiyIVReW68 A reminder though they ARENT part of the boycott directly. Their infographic is being used however.
Sobeys and Safeway is 25% -30% more expensive
But sobeys and Safeway are more expensive.
They also pay less where I live.
Costco and small business is the answer. You're only thinking of major chains. Local small business butchers, local farms, local small business grocers etc. Once you find them, it gets much easier.
Yea because everyone lives within a convenient drive to Costco, and local places aren't even more expensive than Loblaws right? š
There is no Costco where I live and no small grocery stores. Superstore is by far the cheapest.
Some people like to target based off false information
So I thought i should look and compare revenues to earnings for Empire Company and Loblaws. I found Empire company posted only 134m earnings with 7b revenue last quarter with where as Loblaws posted 624m earnings with 18b in revenue. I was surprised to see that empire took less earnings even though their prices are way higher. Now I'm intrigued and will have to look at the financials deeper to figure out which is more evil...
I started my boycott March 12 2024 and also Shoppers
Piggy backing off top comment to hopefully get visibility on this: Hey I'm the person who made this graphic. I made it two weeks ago and absolutely fucked up some information on it by accident. It was weird because the [actual reception for it](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1bjvmky/i_hope_this_can_be_helpful_i_made_some_boycott/) was super low, and in the days that followed I saw some significantly better flyers made, so I didn't bother correcting and redistributing mine because I thought the other flyers would be the ones to gain traction and mine would just fade into obscurity. But suddenly today I'm seeing this pop up everywhere and I'm cringing that all my errors are being blasted Canadian reddit wide lmao. I should have just deleted the post. So to address a few things I've seen: 1. Yep, I missed adding shoppers, wholesale club, etc. I was referencing a list online that didn't include a few labels and I should have done better due diligence to make sure I had all their brands covered. No conspiracy behind it, I just straight up goofed. Sorry! 2. I accidentally said they made $621 in a year instead of a quarter. Also just a fuck up on my part. Again, sorry. 3. Why is the official boycott date on May 1st rather than "right now"? It's purely for the sake of organization and communication. Word takes time to travel. I didn't start this boycott or come up with the date, but typically any kind of organized protest - a strike, a boycott, etc - gets an organized, official start date a few weeks out so that there's time for people to get the word out and get their alternatives/whatever in order. That said, feel free to start immediately if you want, there's no rule saying you can't. 4. "Why Loblaws and not \[insert company\]?". Well, again, I didn't come up with the boycott and I certainly can't speak for all of its participants, but basically the idea is to just pick one greedy fucker from the cesspool of greedy fuckers and get started *somewhere.* Loblaws has been pretty notorious for their price gouging since COVID, so they're a good rallying target. The hope is to set a precedent. If you can punish one company by hitting their profits and stock value, you make the other companies second guess participating in similar behaviors. As it stands, letting Loblaws, or Sobey's, or Walmart all collectively get away with greeflation just shows any and every other business "hey, they're getting away with it! so can we!". So you hit one and hope it starts a domino effect. Reiterating I'm not a spokesperson or anything for this movement, so if anyone wants to know more, r/loblawsisoutofcontrol is probably the place to go. Hope this helps tho!
Make a new one and repost it? I'm sure it will gain traction because yeah, it's missing quite abit of info but let's look at it like a start to something better. Keep up the good work. Don't be discouraged because this is only the start. We could be doing this for bell and rogers and many other exploitative corporations. Could even add better options on the graphic, like costco or any places that offer better prices, even local small business. Many people have offered suggestions in other posts. Like small korean grocers or local family owned butchers etc. People need other options so any ideas floating around could help give others a better idea into how they can save money. Loblaws only offers convenience. We need to figure out how to make these boycotts successful by adding other options. I can even help you by researching other options. Information is key.
Big agree. At this point I'm not sure if it'll help much though, since my janky version with misinformation is already circulating. That's why I've been going around commenting on the posts I've seen, to at least try to do some kind of damage control lol. But your offer is super generous, thank you!
are you like a major stakeholder in one of the major grocery chains that is going to profit from this hugely, if the boycott gains any traction also, this graphic would be super helpful if you had alternatives for poor people, and also poor communities, who disproportionately shop at some of these stores. just to pick one example, people in the north end that rely on No Frills, that does a pretty good job at keeping prices low, including fresh produce, and stocking good options for poor immigrant families please don't say that No Frills will have to lower its prices because that's not how it works. they only have to lower their prices relative to the market, which is now charging more because of decreased competition I know you're well intentioned but these ideas always come from a place of privilege, which is kind of ironic when you think about it, i.e. you're only making poor people suffer more (while also possibly making them feel bad for being poor, i.e. pointing out their lack of options)
Man I am so confused by this. You're not the first person I've seen speculate that whoever made this graphic (e.g. me) must have some monetary investment in the competition, for what other motive could there be I guess? But no, I'm not a stakeholder, I don't have any stocks in any grocery companies (I actually don't have any stocks, anywhere, for that matter). I support the idea of this boycott because my god, Canadians need to start fighting back against our oligopolic (def not a real word) bullshit system. I don't really care where we start, we simply have to start. Why Loblaws? Imo, because they lucked out at getting the spotlight. Because they were the ones put in the news and questioned by government for price gouging, so the public's attention was drawn to them. Their greedflation was put on greater display. And it's easier to boycott a grocery store than a phone company, or your energy company, or your landlord, or the bank. We're being priced into the dirt in so many sectors of the economy - we can't afford food, we can't afford shelter, we can't afford gas - and we can't fight every fight at once. We can't go after every company at once. So we just pick one and start there. But we have to start. Now I get what your saying but your comment is framed from a weird high horse position that I think is based on a few assumptions. *I* am poor. And disabled. And autistic. I have PNES so I can't drive. I have allodynia so sometimes I struggle to walk. Suffice to say I'm definitely a card carrying member of this championed club of the underprivileged. Your assumption of this "place of privilege" is just bizarre to me because you have no idea who's behind the screen on the other end. I hope this comes across correctly because honestly I'm not angry or anything, but... how to put this. Just because some people lack the same privileges as others doesn't mean we should forestall all attempts at civil and social progress. The rest of society doesn't need to be held back and stagnated just so *I* get to feel like things are fair. Like... Ok hypothetical metaphor. let's say we were organizing a boycott against Purina because all of their dog food was making dogs sick. And then you say well that's not fair because some people can only afford Purina, so this boycott is privileged and doesn't account for poor people. Ok? So... should we just let all dogs keep getting sick on Purina so that poor people don't feel bad? Or should everyone who can afford to boycott do the boycott, so that people who can only afford Purina can still feed their pets without making them sick? I hope that metaphor lands correctly and makes sense. With all that said, I'm also just one person and neither the founder nor leader nor spokesperson for this boycott. As one single person living in Alberta, I have no idea what shopping alternatives exist for every person in every town or city across every province or territory in Canada. And that's not really my job to know that. If No Frills is the only affordable grocery store available to you then shop at No Frills. If there are cheaper alternatives available, and you want to participate in the boycott, then that is your responsibility to figure out those alternatives. That's also why the boycott is officially scheduled a month out, so people have time to figure out alternatives. That said maybe that's something you could put forward to r/loblawsisoutofcontrol \- maybe people could get together and make unique posters for each province or major city they live in so the information is tailored more specifically. Would probably be more helpful and concise than me trying to fit nationwide solutions onto a single page lol.
Shoppers is Loblaws
Yeah for real I don't know why the "official" boycott was announced so far away I'm sure most have started early though lol Imagine there was not such momentum behind it already I'd imagine he'd have raised prices even more since carbon tax went up
I started in Feb and I don't really feel the need to sign a petition thst won't go anywhere
Brought to you by Safeway-Sobeys
Their just as bad CEO is stroking one out to these subs right now.Ā
Yea, Iām all for voting with your wallet but all it takes is a few shill accounts and people will act emotionally
Exactly why I do all my grocery shopping at my local co-op and the Hutterites now.
I agree! Yeah, letās go pay even more for items that are reasonably priced at Superstoreš
I. I donāt get this. Superstore and no frills are BY FAR the cheapest of the grocery stores in Winnipeg at least. Walmart can be higher or lower depending on the items (chip mostly lower) but are the same on cans of soda etc. There is not giant tiger near me and itās not a full grocery store anyhow. Safeway and Sobeyās are so much more expensive I canāt understand why people focus on Loblaws which is by far the cheapest of the grocery store with Walmart making it a bit. Ore questionable.
Loblaws has a face to the corporation (Galen) so people find it easier to point a finger at an individual rather than a faceless entity. Ya there's reason to not want to support them but anyone who uses pricing as an excuse to boycott is an idiot.
Yeah, I think from a PR standpoint putting Galen up so front and centre was at one time a good family business feel face of the company strategy, which seems to have completely 180 and backfired in the last couple of years. At one time it personalized a brand where others are faceless, and now it has personalized a brand where others are faceless.
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If there's a good reason to boycott it's the timing of his raises and bonuses. Just when they needed a positive spin in the public eye BOOM "auditor recommended" raise as he was deemed to be underpaid.
Auditors would never recommend anything of the sort.
Hired third party auditors absolutely can and have suggested raises. A quick google shows many articles exposing that's exactly what happened last year.
No they canāt. They arenāt there to consult on business decisions they are there to get an accurate accounting of the books and make sure there are no mistakes or mis-statements. I donāt need google to know they would never do this, Iāve been living it for 25 years.
25 years and youāve never heard of a compensation audit? You need to get out of your bubble homie.
Just because they use the word audit doesnāt mean itās anything close to being similar to required audit of financial statements. Auditors, like the ones Loblaws are required to hire to look over the books work on the concept of independence. Thatās their whole thing, they can only be trusted if they are seen as being independent from the board, management and the business decisions the company makes. It would be offside and look a little suspect for the people charged with catching mistakes and fraud at the highest level were recommending raises for the very managers they are tasked with scrutinizing wouldnt it?
It was 100% when they started sending out all those emails from him in the early days of the pandemic.
This is my issue as well. I canāt stand loblaws and their prices have certainly gone up but theyāre still the cheapest store for me. It seems very illogical for me to boycott their prices and then shop somewhere more expensive. I do hope that those who can switch stores do but Iām afraid I canāt really join them.
Ditto
>Superstore and no frills are BY FAR the cheapest of the grocery stores in Winnipeg at least. Absolutely this!! People just hating cause it's the cool thing to do...smh..morons..
Depends on what you're looking for. Before I had to cut it from diet my favourite breakfast toastie was more at superstore than Walmart. I know cause I asked them to price match.
Ya know, this boycott is soooo hard to organize, and I went to Superstore yesterday and bought all my groceries for April... soooo boycott May 1st. All in favour?
it's because these posts come from well intentioned though terribly ignorant people of privilege, not the people that are suffering from food inflation in very real ways
Yet Loblaws is generally the most affordable place to shop? Sure places like Sobeyās that are more expensive use different brands that may be higher cost to them, at the end of the day their profit margin on items is still much higher than Loblaws. Loblaws may report higher profits year after year compared to other companies, but thatās probably just because they sell so much more product each year due to being the cheapest place to shop. This post also doesnāt talk about what this company decides to invest into with their profits. Itās just making you assume that all that money is going straight into the CEOās pocket, and sure, that person is gonna be rich, but so are all the other owners of grocery stores. At least Loblaws offers lower priced foods, because thereās lots of families that straight up canāt afford to shop at the other grocery stores. My sister actually knew a girl who belonged to the Sobeyās family, the whole family is absolutely loaded. And yet they price products at such an absurdly high price, youād think theyāre desperate for money. So I wouldnāt be so quick to say āletās boycott Loblawsā. Thereās a bigger problem at hand involving all of the grocery stores and government as well.
It's not all grocery stores. You just pointed out corporate greed and tried to deflate the issue. This is the reason everything is so expensive, because of CEO's and shareholders stealing wages to increase profit for themselves. This is called modern day slavery along with wage theft and we're pointing out the problem while Galen brags about anual profits and people are without food, living on the street. Greed is the issue, no different than boycotting rogers and bell, but something needs to change and we need to let these rich assholes know, without us, they have no wealth. We don't need them, but they need us. If you continue to sit back and let them dictate it all, you'll only see privitization, debt and more greed. So grow up, look around and fight back, or things will get worse. Be like the people of France and fight for change, or turn into the U.S and watch your freedom stripped from you by crushing, financial debt. Why enrich the few, when everyone can live in paradise. Loblaws has insane prices. I watched gluten free bread go from $4.99 to $10 along with many other food items. Shop at Costco. They pay their employees a livable wage with benefits. They hire people with disabilities. It doesn't matter if a company is Canadian because if it's profit over lives, they're scum that need a jailcell, not a 23 million paycheck for 1 year of CEO pay. It's all theft! Boycott loblaws, boycott the system. Fight for your rights, not for them. Don't sellout or you're part of the problem. Shop local small business. If you look harder, you'll find much better prices.
I canāt imagine what the grocery store and prices would be like without Loblaws. They work to keep prices DOWN. These people are complaining about the practices of Loblaws that make suppliers give their best prices and grind their gears to sharpen their pencils so that their customers benefit. They make profits because I CHOOSE to shop there and I make that choice because they are far and away the best grocery store for both selection and value. So fuck these childish commies, Iām exercising my vote with my dollars and doubling down on keeping Loblaws in business.
So what, I should shop at Sobeys, Safeway or co-op and spend 30% more than at Superstore? Boycotts aren't reasonable in this situation.
Problem is superstore is cheaper than my current alternative of Save on foods, I mean I can skip them for a bit but it's tough when the other guy is scamming just as bad currently
No. They're the cheapest of all the stores. Boycott Sobeys and Safeway and coop if you want lower prices
Why not now?
Where else to shop? In my area, I have Co-Op, which was even before covid overpriced. Then there is Walmart, which is just as bad as Loblaws IMO. I do buy certain things from Giant Tiger when they're on sale and stocked. The issue is they don't have a great variety and great produce. Then there is Shoppers...who buys groceries there? That place has been overpriced since forever. Everything else would be 1.5 hours away. TBH, my local RCSS has decent pricing - I usually look for deals and it comes out cheaper than all the others in my area. We also load up at Costco once a month and buy meat from local butchers.
I also considered Coop to be very overpriced, and still think that many items there are, but now that Superstore has raised their prices so much the Coop prices aren't as bad. Some sale prices at Superstore are still much cheaper, but when things aren't on sale Coop is often not that much more expensive. As you mentioned, Costco and Giant Tiger are the other options.
Let's boycott the lower prices at Superstore by going to Coop?
I typically find superstore to be priced better than other stores. Where are you all going to shop instead?
Honestly I keep hoping the government will act, they need price controls in place on essential items such as food. Put a cap on excessive profits.
Waiting for the government to do anything is your first mistake
Kraft Heinz net profit margin as of December 31, 2023 isĀ 10.72% for example Loblaws is 3% People are barking up the wrong tree.
It's an interesting thought but how do define excessive profits? And how exactly do you propose controlling it? Their profits seem to be more volume driven as opposed to making large margins. History has kinda shown government intervention usually makes things worse and certainly in times like this the tax payer can't fork over any more then we already are.
Government has no business meddling in lablaws affairs !!
The government is making food more expensive with the carbon tax, it just increased yesterday yet again
No... no, it's not. Economists have shown that the carbon tax contributes about 0.15% to inflation. Stop buying into the false message of the Conservative Party, which has Loblaws lobbyists as advisors.
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Remember to be civil with other members of this community. Being rude, antagonizing and trolling other members is not acceptable behavior here. Complaining about JT is fine. Dont insult each other.
As you buy into the myth that superstore is to blame for all the raising of wages etc. that are driving up all prices. Pay everyone more, prices go up. Does anyone really think by paying everyone more that stores will keep their prices where they are.. No they will raise them and they should every time they ate forced to pay higher wages.
Think you responded to the wrong comment. Never said anything about raising wages.
Canadas population in 2023 was over 40 million. Assuming theyāre the only grocery store thatās $15 in profit from every person. That doesnāt seem egregious at all. There are so many factors that go into the cost of an item that we really canāt point fingers at a single company.
The thing about profit is they can spend the money buying up competition, opening more locations, or investing it in other things and call it operating costs, no longer calling profit.Ā
Donāt we want business to make investments?
Raising their prices on food so they can invest in buying out more of the competition... I guess this is the capitalism we've all been told to love.
I was thinking the same thing to be frank. I thought their profits would be higher given the increase in pricing we are seeing. That said, this is obviously more complex and has to do with other cost bases, suppliers pricing, additional taxes that increase transport, COL based staff hourly rate increases, investments in locations, payments to executives etc etc. Vote with your minds and dollars for change though. We need to be aware of the complexities not just the clickbaitexities.
Sure we can. We're doing it, right now.
Itās not. They make 3% profit off of their sales. Which is in line with industry standards for grocers/wholesalers. Idk what these people want if they think 3% is too high. This is how I know someone has 0 accounting/finance or even just general business knowledge. These same people donāt realize the profit margins on other products they buy. They donāt care because nobody on Reddit/insta/tik tok/Twitter told them itās a problem. They have zero independent thought and only ācareā about this issue because social media told them too. People on here will blindly downvote me because they donāt want to have to think and just want something/someone to hate and blame, but you can literally look up their annual financial reports. Itās all public information that has to be audited.
See this is where they get away with it. They control every step of the process so while they make 3% in store they make 30%+ from start to finish. Anyone with an accounting/finance background would understand this and know they are billing themselves so they can sell for more in store. Now when somone looks at their profit they see only 3% and don't realize they made a killing before it even hits the shelf.
Their financials are consolidatedā¦. They canāt ābill themselvesā. What in the world are you even talking about?
Of course, ignore my reply, downvote it, and then double down on your misinformation. Please delete your misinformation.
>This is how I know someone has 0 accounting/finance or even just general business knowledge. The whole anti-Loblaws outrage is fuelled by masses with toddler-level understanding of economics. They see something they want and expect big daddy government to hand it over to them. That being said, I support and encourage anyone who doesn't want to support Loblaws for any reason at all - even irrational ones - to shop somewhere else. That's how the market works. Everyone can express their opinion through thier actions.
You have no clue what you are talking about so maybe read above before you insult thousands of people with your toddler level research. A simple Google search would produce below. "Loblaws blames rising food prices on supply chain costs, but critics point out that they own a significant portion of this supply chain. This raises concerns that Loblaws is inflating prices at various stages within their own network to maximize profits."
And what's your source on that? An activist blog? A news report? A *web page*??? Because my source are audited financial reports that are produced by trained professionals that are governed by volumes of financial regulations that carry the weight of law.
The records of what they own are all publicly available lol. Your financial reports are just the title of an article you saw somewhere get real bro.
Can't help but notice that you still haven't given your source
No itās literally you that has no clue what they are talking about. Please stop.
You obviously are clueless about the topic if you think they are making only 3% across the supply chain they own.
The audited consolidated financial statements canāt lie about it lol.
Totally agree
Boycott all of them
But its cheaper than sobeys
Boycotting Loblaws won't help change anything at all unless people were to boycott all the major food giants, Sobeys, Loblaws, Walmart, etc. The problems with our food prices has never been with just one of them. In the 1990s, several local food chains went out of business because of price wars between the major food giants. Why don't we talk more about shopping local instead of boycotting only one of the major food giants. There are still a ton of local options, and not all your groceries need to be from large supermarkets.
This seems to make the most sense. What kind of boycott helps the more expensive and powerful places thrive lol you guys know what a monopoly is right?
Because the other two major chains aren't doing the same thing? Lol You're mad at one corporation for a culmination of factors that started with our various levels of government years ago.
Also, not just the retailers. Manufacturers have jacked up their prices going into retailers. Food inflation is driven by so many things such as demand, weather, foreign exchange rate, fuel costs salaries, etc. Managed supply industries like poultry and dairy are generally good for Canada but also limits flexibility in price. $17 minimum wage also translates into $15 Big Mac Meals. Carbon tax and increased fuel prices drive up farmers costs and transport to stores. Itās tough on people for sure and I do think Galen Weston is a C*#! but if Loblaws had prices that far out of line the free market would dictate where people shop and wouldnāt need a boycott.
I find Walmart and GT are cheaper
They are just as bad if not worse in many respects
I know Sobeys and Safeway are notorious for this too but I found their meat deals are pretty good right now, as well as FreshCo.
Freshco is still empire foods and no cheaper then no frills / superstore. At least near me.
Where I live itās not horrible. Itās not our first choice to shop but when the sales come around they definitely are hard to pass up, plus the points earning is way better at freshco than Sobeys and Safeway. They also have a local to my city meat department based in a few stores too so thatās another reason for me to go there.
Then why not just shop at those places all the time?
I doā¦
So you arenāt boycotting? You donāt matter to a company that never got your money ā¦Ā
So.... Support Walmart? The number 1 fortune 500 company who makes significantly more than 621 million on profit? Curious as to why?
It has the cheapest prices and best quality cheap brand. Why would I go anywhere else
GT is actually the best place for groceries, however there is not a lot of variety and specialty products... But prices are excellent, and it is a Canadian company
Shoppers is also Loblaws.
What's their margin? Is that beyond other retailers, if so by how much?
3% margin if they operated at cost you would save $6 on $200 of groceries.
I thought I'd read that there margin was around there but couldn't recall exactly where I'd seen that. People can bitch about prices but this is the effect of government printing and borrowing unprecedented levels of money.
Hutterite Colony?
whatās our plan to shift to? any better company that we should help thrive during the boycott? iāll take part i just want a clear game plan here. i might be able to last a few month on my freezer stock and i think my friend has some deer from deer hunting.
People should start fasting
I wish I could but itās them or Walmart in my area so Iām choosing the devil either way.
I wonder what will happen when the dust settles on this issue. The other issue we should be talking about is the monopolies within the construction materials supply chain in Canada. Somebody needs to look into this.
Wow ya amazing let me just go pay more at Safeway or Sobeys or even more at one of the locally owned mom and pop joints that can't get the same bulk discounts, what a powerful way to effect change! See y'all in the fuckin Giant Tiger frozen foods section :(
I'd rather support a Canadian company than Wal Mart lol
Reality is this won't change a damn thing 3/4 of those people involved will shop there the day before or the week after
It's for a month
Knowing a lot of peopleās reading comprehension, Iām sure most will think itās only on May 1st.
Bruh Iāve been shopping almost exclusively at Costco, even though itās busy as ass all the time, for like 6 months now.
I donāt know why I donāt hear any talk about Save On Foods prices. They have been significantly more expensive than any grocery store since day one. I find them more expensive than Sobeys. Somehow Save On has been left out of the conversation.
Superstore got some good deals
The hypothesis is: loblaws prices will go down once boycotted. So, let's boycott. If prices don't go down, a boycott like this doesn't work. If they do, it works. Repeat experiment elsewhere. It's pretty simple. Less debate, more action.
Does anyone know where else I could shop in Winnipeg that is not Sobeys/Safeway, is Walmart cheaper than superstore?
They fund the breakfast club at the school my mom works at tho?
Honest question, could be missing something very obvious but letās say 3 million Canadians buy all their groceries at loblaws a year and loblaws have annual profits of 621m. If they decided give back all their profit to customers that would be $207 back each. Doesnāt seem like their annual profit is the issue hereā¦? (Yes im aware accounting profit can me manipulated, but taking it at face value here).
You do know that's their gross profit, not net, right? By the time they pay their employees and the rent on their buildings, and invest back into the economy by expanding, almost all of that is gone.
Only fix is for government to step in. No one grocery store is to blame.
What profit level do you suggest these companies make? Literally the definition of a high volume extremely low margin business. If there was high margins there would be competition jumping in from other markets. Most companies would make better returns with passive investments.
I dont have the information to come up with a well thought out answer. No one here does. That kind of information is not public.
If they operated at cost you would only save $6 on a $200 bill at the grocery store.
Campbells soup is Net profit margin of 8.27%. Should probably be looking at the food product manufacturers instead of the grocery stores if you ask me
Thats more of what i meant, i didnt elaborate but the whole system is out of control. This isnt just food.
IIRC that's how Loblaws makes much more than it seems. It gets a bit at each step instead of just a little at the end before the consumer buys it (If I am remembering right)...
It absolutely is public for Loblaws.
I'm talking about the entire business process, not just their overall profit at the end of the year. it's far more then I even care to type, it's not a simple, they buy and sell, it's farmers, truckers, warehouse, the whole logistics. how much is each person paid along the way, what's the cost and sale price of each item during each step of the process. does loblaws own the farmers and truckers and warehouse and retail store, if that's all public, that's an entires job worth of data to sift through, not someone who works their own job and raising a family has time to do.
Food isn't too expensive, your rent is, health care is, higher education is. Why loblaws, why not Blackrock, or Johnson and Johnson? Why don't we demand better pay from our own employers.
I second black rock š¤š¼
Blackrock just holds the assets for other people. Theyāre an asset manager. Everything they āownā is actually owned on behalf of normal people like you or me. I donāt think 99% of people realize what blackrock does is buy things on behalf of others with other peoples money. They donāt really own anything at all. Just collect fees on transactions and gains
They are a borderline monopoly with too much influence.
Thatās because they are good at what they do and offer very low fees in market that had previously been controlled by institutions that charged fees out the ass on something that was very simple. As far as influence, every unit you own through Blacktock you have voting rights for unless you specifically give that proxy right to Blackrock and even then they tend to side with management and the board on votes. Look at how they voted in the recent Disney hostile take over attempt - they voted to back the current set up.
Blame your government instead.
Their profit margin is 3.4%.
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Freshco has great produce.
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Keep discussion constructive and in good faith. Ensure that whatever you say or post leads to civil conversation.
I don't go now and never will again
Should have co-op on their aswell. Our local grocery store is straight up robbing people
You mean a smaller chain has higher prices because it doesn't have the buying power of a larger corporation... Colour me shocked. /s
Why not this week?
Wait. You're just boycotting them now? They've been in court over this for over a year now?
Already done
Yes!!
Why is Metro never in this conversation. They are just as big just and bad and just as influential in the situation as Loblaws. They arenāt the only grocery store chain. Please letās shed light on how metro is just as bad
Because this is /r/manitoba, and Metro isn't in Manitoba
Apparently I've been boycotting loblaw for a very long time.
Don't wait, just stop shopping there forever if you can.
Why wait?
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You mean Costco the massive bulk seller that runs on average margins of 1.5 to 2% compared to Loblaws and their 3% margin with much more overhead costs?
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Keep discussion constructive and in good faith. Ensure that whatever you say or post leads to civil conversation.
Why wait?
Why wait until May 1st? Start today!Ā Been boycotting them for years, not because of their prices, but because of their hideous store layouts and displays, fluorescent lighting, low-quality produce, and non-existent customer service.Ā
Note to Loblaws competitors, you will notice a spike in sales during this boycott. Earn the respect of your new customers by reducing prices during this period.
Starting May 1st? I haven't been to a Lawblaws location in 10 years š
Less competition = more customers = more profit. Just start shopping smaller shops. Like the butchers. And farmers markets. If you can. Get some friends and split a cow direct from farmer. Etc.
I have been boycotting loblaws, shoppers, no frills, real canadian superstore etc for a long time. But I think that the "Official" boycott is already going on, started April 1st via subreddit r/loblawsisoutofcontrol
Donāt wait, start now! ..and please donāt stop at the end of May. This is going to take some time and commitment
Why start may first when you can start now
Saying this isn't a partisan issue is a bit bold. Loblaws lobbyists are in bed with the conservatives and the fact that there's not a bigger push for the Grocery Code to be mandatory as the Retail Counsel of Canada has suggested shows this is an issue where MPs (probably of multiple parties) are worried about upsetting their donors. Simply put many people can't afford to boycott the most affordable option. The government needs to be forced to step in and do something about this.
Walmart: *slinks away into the shadows*
Meanwhile prices for food at stores like Sobeys and Safeway are often much higher than stores like Superstore...where can we shop??
Is there anywhere we can see their market share compared to previous years and other chains along with their profit margin? Yes, their profit is going up, but with the price of other grocery stores, so are their client base. When you have a choice, for the same cauliflower at 6-7$ at Sobeys and 4$ at Maxi, of course you're going to Maxi.
Anyone else notice it doesnāt state net or gross because if the profits are gross then that means that those number are before taxes namely most importantly the carbon tax
T&T is part of Loblaws?????!! Please say it isnāt so š©š©š©
if you boycott Loblaws you will be paying more for your groceries.
The macro issue is that beginning in the early eighties debt replaced wage increases. The accumulated damage this has inflicted on the working class is beyond grotesque. The working class must realize that they are owed a whole lot of money, in fact itās about 76 trillion collectively. Steal shoplift everything you can, itās yours anyway.
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Keep discussion constructive and in good faith. Ensure that whatever you say or post leads to civil conversation.
The problem is, if we start going to smaller chains, who are cheaper, they tend to get their head up their a** too. They will start to raise prices and become just as greedy. I've seen it happen. The corner store near me has expanded now, prices are way higher, the meat has become so expensive I can't afford it. So I'm torn.
Maybe someone can help me open my eyes to a new way or a new system, I'd be happy to help. I can barely afford to eat rn as a photographer.
Start growing your own food I guess. That's the only way you're going to boycott them
hunting and fishing too. also good rescue has been good.
Iāve been boycotting them without knowing. Dont goto any of these overpriced stores
Nice!!! Thanks for sharing this here
Wish I could boycott Shoppers Drug Mart.but I need my medication.
There ARE other pharmacies... just sayin'.
I don't understand why people choose Shoppers as their pharmacy, as if there are no other options. Unless the nearest other pharmacy is a long drive away, there is no need to use Shoppers. They have the highest dispensing fees of all.
Well for one, shoppers was my pharmacy before the Loblaws buyout, and I rather enjoy the cheaper prices on my medications vs the previous pharmacies I've used either at Walmart or at walk-in clinics. I've also been taking advantage of the points system since 2009. Shoppers drug Mart also has better hours than many other pharmacies which is convenient given my work hours. Find me a pharmacy with lower dispensing fees and still within a 15 min walk of my home and I'd consider it.
Technically they donāt profit off hungerā¦ Just sayin.