Loblaws
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Founders |
Theodore Loblaw J. Milton Cork |
| Headquarters | Brampton, Ontario |
| Products | Alcoholic beverages (Québec and Ontario; wine has been added to some branches in British Columbia), General Grocery, General Merchandise, Pharmacy, and Photolab |
| Parent | Loblaw Companies |
| Subsidiaries |
Loblaw Great Food / Loblaws CityMarket Atlantic Superstore Dominion No Frills Extra Foods Real Canadian Superstore Fortinos Your Independent Grocer / Independent CityMarket Valu-mart Zehrs Markets Maxi / Maxi & Cie Provigo Bloorstreet Market SaveEasy Joe Fresh Wholesale Club / Club Entrepôt Axep Freshmart Shop Easy Foods SuperValu L'Intermarché Atlantic Cash & Carry Les Entrepôts Presto Lucky Dollar Foods NG Cash & Carry T & T Supermarket |
| Website | www.loblaws.ca |
Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor.[1]
History
Founded by Theodore Loblaw and John Milton Cork in 1919, Loblaws stores used to operate across Canada until the early 1960s, when most locations in western Canada were rebranded as SuperValu, and later as Real Canadian Superstore. The company also once operated stores in upstate New York, Northwest Pennsylvania, and Northeast Ohio. These were sold to Bells Markets in the mid-1970s. Some of the Loblaws stores in northwestern Pennsylvania continued operation into the early 1990s. What is likely the final empty Loblaws building in New York, in Johnstown/Gloversville, was demolished in 2015, having been standing empty since the chain's departure in the 1970s, even with the name still on the sign, showing no reuse of the site.
Actor William Shatner did a number of television commercials for Loblaws in the 1970s, and finished the ad spots by saying originally "At Loblaws, more than the price is right; but, by gosh the price is right!", later shortened to "At Loblaws, more than the price is right."
Beginning in 2008, some new and renovated Loblaws stores were given a new store format and were named "Loblaw Great Food", dropping the red-orange curved-L logo. Stores under this banner are also subject to slightly different collective-agreement terms with the United Food and Commercial Workers, the union representing Loblaw employees. The chain's location on the site of the former Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, opened in late 2011, is promoted as simply Loblaws and uses the familiar "L" logo, but is officially named "Loblaws Great Food", indicating that similar terms are in place at that store.[2]
On July 19, 2013, Loblaws introduced their new concept "Loblaws CityMarket" in British Columbia (in North Vancouver, Richmond and Vancouver). Loblaws CityMarkets are now operational in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. On July 23, 2015, Loblaws announced the planned closure of 52 non-profitable stores over the next year.[3]
Bread price-fixing scandal
In December 2017, Loblaws and George Weston Limited disclosed to the Competition Bureau that it had arranged to fix the price of bread from 2000 to 2014. In response, the chain offered a $25 gift card to Canadian customers as a gesture of goodwill, but was met with public backlash over its restrictions and lack of remorse.[4][5]
See also
References
- ↑ "Loblaws Inc". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
- ↑ UFCW Local 1000A (2011-11-30). "New Loblaws Great Food Opens at Historic Maple Leaf Gardens Site". Retrieved 2011-12-15.
- ↑ http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/loblaws-closing-52-unprofitable-stores-over-next-12-months-1.3164578
- ↑ Sagan, Aleksandra (December 22, 2017). "Loblaw hit with backlash over response to bread price-fixing scheme". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- ↑ Strauss, Marina (January 8, 2018). "Loblaw's bread-fixing gift card assailed as 'deceitful public relations' campaign". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 8, 2018.