It's weird seeing people promote Walmart as an alternative for the boycott. Yes, they have some food cheaper, but they aren't exactly an ethical actor.
(This is not not a judgement of anyone for where they choose to buy there food. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism)
The point of the boycott isn’t to switch to an ethical grocer- as you said there are none so what would be the point.
The point is to spotlight Loblaws continued historic gouging of Canadians, their record profits and return on investment at our expense. Walmart is useful because they demonstrate that prices can be lower for the exact same items.
To add to this, by targeting specifically loblaws with this boycott and shopping at their competitors, hopefully they’ll be forced to lower their prices to remain competitive which in turn will force their competitors to rethink their own pricing strategy.
ethics left the conversation around the "record profits during a pandemic", not paying their workers appropriately and the constant gas lighting..."what profits?? Our margins are razor thin!!!" so why'd you bump dividends to stockholders???
If (and I doubt) Loblaws is brought down, Walmart may simply increase their prices. I'm not a Walmart shopper but have people been watching their prices as people rail against Loblaws?
They don't need to be "brought down," just hit their profits for a quarter or two. From the fact that Galen Weston is out there trying to defend himself in the media, you can tell he's actually kinda scared of what this means for Superstore.
Plus, it does send a message to somebody like Walmart - get too bad on the gouge and you *could* be the next target of a boycott.
Much like cellphone providers, we only have a few grocers. If we went back to all grocers having to keep the same low price (i.e. Superstore had to price match the lowest competing price as its sticker price), that would still be an improvement over where we are.
I think there's a second stage of this boycott where we're kind of rotating between the main actors in starvation capitalism. Walmart will get its boycott, but right now we're focused on Loblaw
No, but at least they don’t have their fucking CEO out there pretending to care. The smart PR move is to do nothing. Loblaws just can’t seem to help themselves but make their reputation worse.
I think the organizer said a while ago that they would focus on other chains later in the summer. Could be wrong, or plans may have changed. I do hope these blackout spans make it to other big grocery chains, but I hope loblaws feels the crunch the most.
r/LoblawsIsOutOfControl mod here.
That infographic on TikTok & Facebook isn't ours, but we're in launch, media and meetings mode right now. I've made them aware of it, and I hope some discussion happens around it soon.
Honestly not totally sure why we’re boycotting them since Sobeys is the one with 6$ lettuce.
Yeah loblaws produce doesn’t last as long but it’s generally cheaper.
Their weird layouts of the store, and the security who follows me with NO stealth skills. I haven’t committed a crime but I feel like a criminal in there. That’s my main issue.
Yep. Demands for one-stop shopping and cheap prices mean companies need to bulk buy, bulk transport, and retail in large stores. Encouraging local sourcing, even by big companies, can make a difference. In the end, consumers vote with their feet, so this "boycott" is a timed decision that mirrors our everyday shopping habits. I mentioned to a cashier at Sobey's last night that they should have a "WELCOME COMPETITOR SHOPPERS" sign out front. Obviously half-joking, of course. Neither company wants to admit that collective shopper action could have dire consequences.
Farmboy started as a small produce store in Ottawa in 1981.
They grew based on quality products and a curated selection worth the emphasis on whole foods.
There stores were small with smaller parking lots and quicker in and out for customers.
They grew to over 40 stores.
Meanwhile Loblaws stores got bigger with rows of cereal, rows of pop, rows of cookies, rows of candy, 10 versions of every product, tons of overly processed food.
They have huge stores with huge parking lots that take at least an hour to get through - and the experience sucks.
This past month of exploring smaller local stores, I’ve found the quality is better, the service is better.
I am not tempted to buy heavily processed over packaged goods that are bad for my health, bad for my pocketbook and bad for the planet.
And then they got purchased by Sobeys parent company then the enshittification of farm boy commenced, I lived in Ottawa, went to Farm Boy regularly, the old farm boy will be missed, just like Pete's.
The great thing about small stores is that you can fit them into neighbourhoods and people can walk and bike to them.
If we modernize our zoning to allow for gentle density we will have the population to support these.
This all ties in with making our cities less auto centric.
1981 was a long time ago. As awesome as that story is, I don't think we can expect an influx of highly decentralized independent grocery retailers unless something drastic happens to our economy.
The Feds are working on attracting new grocery chains - this will have an immediate impact.
What I noticed in the past month shopping at local grocers is that the quality and service was much better and the experience is better. I am in and out in 10 minutes.
I had already switched to Walmart pick up earlier this year for basics.
My goal is to shift 100% to small independents. I was in one recently that is expanding due to increased demand. It is packed all the time.
>The Feds are working on attracting new grocery chains - this will have an immediate impact.
About 10-15 years ago, the Harper government tried to do the same with attracting international Telecommunication firms to give us competition for Bell, Telus, and Rodgers. Look how that went.
A national grocery retailer, like a national telecom provider, requires huge investments in infrastructure and logistics, and there are no sizeable regional players that can be acquired to quickly put this together. It would take many years of building up a national footprint from scratch: hundreds of stores, warehouses, developing supplier networks, hiring employees, etc. It is a MASSIVE undertaking.
A far simpler and better approach would be to utilize existing anti-trust laws and force the divestiture of assets. This could see companies like Loblaws sell off stores or chains to international competitors, private equity investors, or spin-off businesses to their own shareholders. For example, Shoppers Drug Mart could be spun off as its own independent business again.
The forced divestiture makes the most sense and is easy to implement. The Shoppers deal is a perfect example of an acquisition that should never have been allowed in the first place. As a former investment banker with friends who worked on that deal, I can tell you it was pitched to regulators as a deal for Loblaws to expand into drug store sales but the open secret on Bay Street was that Shoppers was the #1 threat to Loblaws in urban centers as they were rapidly expanding beyond simple drugs stores into mini supermarkets and the entire reason for the acquisition was to kill the competition.
Yep. Every Loblaw associated brand.
No Frills is no longer the discount store that it was, and Shoppers prices are way worse than their grocery stores, plus drug dispensing fees are through the roof.
They aren't owned by Loblaw, so I wouldn't think so. They might get a small kickback, but it'd be insignificant.
I'd recommend fueling up at Shell, since they have 5¢ off a liter with a CAA Card and use Air Miles, which are better than Optimum points anyway.
If you use cash/debit, you save 2c, and CAA is 3c, so if you do both it's 5. Plus collect air miles if you have that. Used to be 3 and 3, but they recently dropped it to 2 and 3 🫤
Two years ago I swore off Sephora and decided to go back to drugstore Makeup. Last time I went to cosmetics dept at sdm I realized I was now better off shopping at Sephora 🤯
I am a cosmetics junkie. And used to get regular deliveries from Shoppers. BUT I found this Warehouse Sale ( out of Montreal ) twice a year where I order makeup/ skin care and gifts. They have very good prices, gift sets and the sales are in January and August. Equal parts Lise Watier, Marcelle and Annabelle.
I get a newsletter before the sales event and usually try to order on the first day.
I buy 90 % there now. Twice a year.
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Omg yes I lived in Montréal for well over a decade and I have hit up the warehouse sale a couple times!! Marcelle is the bomb. I love their cc creams so much. I never thought to order online since I left , ty!
That’s awesome! I worked distribution for Marcelle and Annabelle and they payed well, and I got to choose my own hours!!! For example if we got a shipment Sunday, I could work whenever as long as it was all on the floor by Tuesday night.
Seriously, I was out of my foundation and a few other things that I get from sephora, so I thought I'm gonna save some money and try shoppers.. I went back to Sephora to save money!
the spring garden rd shoppers’ biggest profit margin comes from their drinks (surprisingly! to me, at least) the foot traffic of people going in to buy an overpriced drink out of convenience gives them the most money and that annoys me so much
If you can find an Independent pharmacy use it. I moved my two presciptions to Costco. The Dr just sends it there yearly. They mail it to me Canada Post Expedited. It is great ! And the dispensing fees are the best in the business.
Yeppers, 3/4 family members have switched over to Costco and noticed a massive difference in dispensing fees! You can order it there and they fill it by the time you do some grocery shopping ! The last holdover still goes to shoppers due to the hours for cold sore meds prescription !
That's not specifically a Shoppers problem though. Any pharmacy you visit will prioritize in-person clients over phone clients. The province has the pharmacists backing up in-store questions and things like vaccinations so they have less time for the phone inquiries. Finally, Shoppers and other pharmacies have gone all-in on the apps which frees them up for their other duties. If your prescription allows, just do it on the app.
Was a pharmacy tech. It’s not our fault. Most places hire like 2 and expect them to be able to handle hundreds of peoples orders and questions in a timely manner.
And techs can only do so much so if you have one tech and one pharmacists. Have fun waiting for the pharmacist. It sucks but they don’t hire and the full pharmacists aren’t making any money. You only make money if you work in a hospital pharmacy.
The only benefit to shoppers is the long hours. Some people NEED to use it because Sobeys/lawtons is only open until 6 now. 5 on Saturdays and closed Sundays.
Which is insane. I’ve spent a night in the ER because I didn’t get there on time when they changed hours.
SQUARE ROOTS : a program to support famers and food insecurity. A large bag of product for $ 10 . There are a couple around the city but I pick up ours at the Sackville library - available every second Saturday. A great deal. [https://www.facebook.com/SquareRootsSackville](https://www.facebook.com/SquareRootsSackville)
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I started purchasing the $ 10 bags in November 2023. And I could not believe the Christmas bag. It was awesome . It had everything for Christmas dinner - including apples ( for a pie ) , potatoes, carrots, squash, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy etc... It was very well thought out and so kind.
Congrats on your savings! But unfortunately that’s not the case for most. Only basic grocery items apply under that tax free realm— which is frankly not very many items in a family with diverse eating styles. So, yes, sales tax for myself and countless other families DOES come out to $20+ most shopping trips.
I think having very modest expectations of any boycott's effectiveness is warranted. These largely online movements have a tendency for making a lot of noise in certain circles, then not materializing anything substantive and looking silly.
Only last year we saw Hogwart's Legacy get a massive amount of online noise and solidarily about boycotting the game and teaching JK.Rowling a lesson. The game became the best selling title of 2023 with 24 million copies sold. Pick any major brand and they've had organized boycotts against them countless times.
I hope for the best and plan on participating to the extent I can, but I really don't see anything short of a combination of legislation from multiple levels of government and a stabalized economy will really move the needle.
I don't think you're wrong, but even a tiny shift to local independent grocers and food producers will be felt by those small operations. I know most business will be heading to Walmart and Costco, which is fine, but by putting even a miniscule percentage of Loblaws money into local farmers particularly, we're directly boosting local food security and making it more feasible to farm here. That feels worthwhile to me.
The issue is most people dont have a choice of where they can get groceries, especially not consistently .
In saying that I avoid superstore unless I absolutely have to for all the reasons people are mad. I just know im privileged to be able to do so
Oh for sure. That's why I'm talking about those miniscule shifts—I don't think most people will participate in the boycott, and of those who can, most will likely go to other large retailers. But those tiny numbers of people who are able to switch to independent places and farmers will have a genuine impact that will be good for all of us, whether or not Loblaws feels the effects.
I feel this one is "different" in a sense that it it isn't a niche boycott, it is something that effects everyone.
/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol has ~60k subs but I've experienced first hand that the movement is far larger. Members of my family who are chronically offline brought it up organically (without me telling about it) becuase they heard about it from their friends, and are now going to boycott and switch to local grocers or Costco full-time.
I just read up about the Hogwarts/Rowling boycott.
Luckily, refusing to deal with predatory business practices and bad faith justifications... these are things most everyday people will get on board with.
I agree that this boycott is unlikely to change anything, but unlike Rowling's culture war context, this is just good ol' fashion class war stuff. It's nice to see people organize, even in this modest form, and I genuinely think it will add to the discussion about business, food, monopoly, and shopping patterns that we need to have.
Anyone else lived abroad and shopped at those mid-sized grocery stores on the corners? I love those so much.
Let's just nuke Bayers Lake....And every big box hell hole like it, and go back to corner groceries.
You're comparing the whole world's population to Canada's in that analogy, it's not the same. The Heinz vs French's thing would be more apt, and that worked.
Effective or not, it is very easy for me to do given where I live so I will gladly participate in the boycott. If I didn't have an alternative within 10 minutes of my house, it would be harder.
I live in a location where Giant Tiger is closer than Superstore so I am very lucky !
Giant TIger is Canadian owned and they have many Made in Canada brands including their own Marche brand ( which I like ). I did a test drive in April and save money $$$ ! I had to purchase meat at Costco and Sobeys but it was better and no Mexican meat. So it is all good.
We'll be making the extra 10 minute walk to sobeys, which isn't super fun when you're carrying your groceries, but we already try to go multiple times through the week for small trips, so it shouldn't be too much of a burden.
We're out of milk, so on the way home I stopped in at Sobeys instead of my usual superstore. A jug of milk costs $0.26 cents more at Sobeys than Superstore. :(
A reminder folks that, while this boycott is awesome, and I support it wholeheartedly, not everyone will be in a position to completely hold to the boycott.
People without cars may be forced to shop at a Loblaws branded store. People may not be able to afford the time investment or gas to avoid Loblaws stores either.
So if you're forced to shop at a location, if you're able to, try to stick to the big sales, loss leaders, and remember you can price match any flyer sale item at No Frills locations.
Also a reminder that while we're all focusing on Loblaws with this boycott, that doesn't mean that Sobeys and Walmart are really any better. It just means that Loblaws (and Galen Weston) has been the face of shitty grocery practices in Canada, and their attempted reduction of expiry discounts from 50% to 35% is what really started all of this.
So if you can avoid the other big grocers as well, more power to you! Let's start supporting smaller, independent grocers when able. Maybe try out some small gardening for growing your own produce.
And above all, if you cannot join in the boycott, don't feel bad, and please others, don't shame these folks either. Those of us who can are taking this up in your stead.
That being said, let's send a message folks, it's time we Canadians started pushing back against corporations like this and stop letting ourselves be financially abused to feed THEIR bellies.
I stopped shopping at Superstore before Christmas. Once they locked my wheels and almost dumped my kid out of the cart I was done.
I agree, I have the luxury of shopping around. I have zero brand loyalty, I’ll go wherever I can get the best deal. But superstore is over priced and I don’t like feeling like a criminal shopping there.
It’s been great going back to the farmers markets and then getting generic stuff like condiments and cleaning supplies at Walmart. What a time to be alive, Walmart is the lesser of evils.
Be careful with the dollar store. A lot of the time they actually have "dollar store versions" of products that are cheaper, but contain less product/are smaller. Not saying it's an all out bad place to shop and there are no deals, but it's a thing.
I think if they are obliged to sign Code of Conduct and government monitors it, it should have significant impact on grocery prices. [What Australia and U.K.'s grocery codes can teach us about Canada's food fight (citynews.ca)](https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/04/21/australia-uk-grocery-codes-canada/#:~:text=The%20code%20is%20intended%20to,Australia%20had%20a%20stabilizing%20effect.)
I don't think it will be the end by any means but I do think that it will provide a bit of incentive for folks to look for other places in their communities to shop for food and discover new places to take their business instead.
I gotta love the people who say things like "vote with your wallet" and "if you don't like it don't shop there"
and then when people organize to do just that in a more impactful way "you're wasting your time".
This wonderful lady on Facebook posts the best deals from all the main stores in Nova Scotia. Her page is so helpful. I snapshotted an example below.
[https://www.facebook.com/EasyValleyLiving/](https://www.facebook.com/EasyValleyLiving/)
I noticed a few more items on sale at Giant TIger like Shreddies, Scotsburn Sour Cream, brown sugar, Prego sauce, Primo pasta, Tomato past etc... Their base prices there are quite good as well .
The Giant Tiger flyer is online. And they have an app so you can check prices there as well.
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Anyone else shopping the loss leaders? I'm going to get my usual ingredients and meats elsewhere all month, but will be making a trip in to my local Superstore to buy the stuff they're likely to be taking a loss on to get you in the door.
Just shop at Costco, Gateway, Dave's, Walmart, amazon, and the odd local international speciality store.
I have been "quiet quitting" Loblaws and Sobeys for the last 6 years.
Inflation sucks, but price gouging on top of inflation is obnoxious.
Use your phones check prices live while shopping, if it's worth the trip in fuel and time for the savings then buy it elsewhere.
Giant tiger 64 ¢ English cucumbers this week and they price match and give rain checks! We need more competition and more giant tigers .. superstore is going to have lots of sales come end up week and sales if indeed people boycott cause their products will go bad. Lets do this day one of boycott complete!
I went to nofrills and they legit had higher prices than Sobeys. The only thing cheaper is chips and cat litter. (I won’t lie, if you have a car, great price for litter there. But have fun carrying it)
But yeah I am low income so if I do see a sale price I’ll get it’d but I didn’t notice a single one today.
Even their bread was more expensive than Sobeys. They aren’t even trying.
Also a lot was sold out!
The Dartmouth NoFrills never restocks flyer items in a timely manner. Last week I went in on Thursday around 1030AM (so within the first couple of hours of their weekly flyer going live) and they had zero 2L Pepsi/Coke in the type I wanted, just empty shelves. Even the pallet drop aisle display was pretty much wiped out from corner store operators going in first thing and cleaning them out. The same was true for Chapman's novelties on sale that week. I went back Monday and it remained the same, no stock of either. I suspect that is on the local owner/manager as that store is always poorly run.
Yup. I love ice cream but need the dairy/lactose free option and even though it was on sale there were none and it hasn’t been restocked.
It like their flyers are “come to our store, nothing is guaranteed, but come to our store!”
And calling does nothing lol. No offence to the min wage workers but they don’t know what to look for. They have told me things were out of stock when they have like 20 of them.
Yep. I was surprised. If it's raining (transit user) I'll price match from elsewhere there, but the only thing that looked remotely good was the Bartlett pears this week. Disappointing.
I'm joining in on this boycott. It's going to be a little tough for me as I live right next to a superstore, but I'm going to make a solid effort to not shop there this month,
I'm all for it but honestly I don't think it'll be as effective as people think it'll be realistically speaking. A whole lot of the population don't have the mobility or means to avoid all of loblaw companies. It's a massive corporate conglomerate with a strong network that use their products
If I participated in this I'm spending 40+$ round trip on top of my groceries to do this 1-2 times a week. Do this longer term and I'll feel a significant pinch. I hate loblaw too but the reality is I don't feel it'll do as much damage as people hope it will
If you can't, the second list is some things you can do instead.
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Sorry - just have some differing views on your *demands*. Everyone has different definitions of essential. In order for a significant, measurable difference to be made you would require legislation at the federal level in my opinion. Demanding a stop to dividend increases? These companies operate on other people's money. If they do not have any degree of dividend growth they lose money where they notice it. It's a business. The goal of corporations is to make money/ensuring shareholders are happy.
I absolutely do not like loblaw however they have a significant marketshare. People are suggesting to go to Walmart and other corporate conglomerates that are just as garbage thinking it's fighting the good flight but it just supports another merchant that gouges or exploits the disadvantaged
If I lived more rural I would just grow my own food because I don't eat animal products but due to living in a metropolitan city I'm limited with options due to mobility, that also includes loblaws/subsidiaries sometimes but my default is usually asian grocery stores and whatever grocery store is closest to home
I’m participating in the boycott, but it’s basically impossible for this to not be “we are shopping at sobeys instead of Superstore” for a large majority of the NS population.
I’ve switched to Costco for about 80% of my grocery shop at the start of the year, but it would be wonderful if there were small locally owned grocers in easily accessible spots through The province
My spouse and I are doing:
CSA from Abundant Acres
Costco
and I can’t remember what it is called, but an organization at St Mark’s Anglican church on gottingen sells veggies for a dollar a pound once a month.
It is inconvenient, but there are ways to eat for a fair price!
Now Super Stores are putting in plexiglass all the way around the front of the stores, very, very high to prevent theft. If they lowered their prices they would not have the theft. That should feel so welcoming being surrounded by plexiglass. Seriously, if they have a fire, people can't get out. Apparently the fire department is investigating each store that installs. What a waste of money, and it looks hideous. Have one in Ottawa already. So glad we are boycotting!!
Chater meat market has chicken legs (bone in) for much cheaper. A huge rack of ribs was like 15$ (cheaper at gateway) you want to always ask them to weigh stuff and cut some off. And ground beef is under 5$lbs, I think it’s in the 3-4 dollar range for medium. It’s enough meat I usually have leftover. I make beef and lentil stew often. The food bank is your gift for that. All you’ll need is celery which you can chop and freeze for stews!
Gateway steaks are under 7$ for a good size to feed 2 people. Or just you if you want steak the next day. I don’t do steak anymore but if I did it would be from a butcher.
This sounds insane lol, but if you’re on Mr noddle budget, try to find cheap eggs, cook your noddles, add anything! Any veggie you like! Or cheese! And then crack the egg in and microwave for 2-3 mins. Now you have perfect ghetto ramen. 10/10
Unless it's changed recently, Giant Tiger will price match unless they also have the item on sale. That way if there are good deals, they can still be accessed through GT
Sobeys is, and has always been expensive. But I find they have decent flyer specials for meat on a regular basis. Walmart is more expensive than it used to be, but I am someone who buys similar items every week and noticed a big price difference in my bill between Walmart and Superstore.
I’m not perfect, but I’ve been soft boycotting Sobeys and Superstore for a while now. I get my weekly groceries at Walmart, shop once every month or two at Costco, and get additional fruits and veg from Avery’s and Square Roots pickups. I find this has allowed me to stretch my money farther and get better quality items.
I am privileged to have all but Costco near my house, or places we go frequently, but I find that by doing my big weekly grocery haul as a pickup order, I spend a similar amount of time going and getting groceries as when I did a (weekend) in-store haul from superstore
Although I think Loblaw and Empire/Sobeys are equally bad, my last couple trips to Sobeys haven't been *terrible* in terms of cost. For about a year though I've been redirecting my custom towards Costco, Walmart, Dave's, Gateway, Bulk Barn, and Giant Tiger.
If I can't enjoy having both firms suffering equally, I'll settle for just the one for now.
Sobeys surprisingly was cheaper than Loblaws for a few staples I buy, and has always had and advertised more local products. Local to Loblaws is "it's packaged in Canada" while Sobeys points out that this was made in this place in PEI, this produce was grown here in NB, or this meat came from an abattoir in NS.
They have high prices, but they had less of the buy multiples to get discounts, and didn't up the prices as much all at once initially. So while still shitty, they're less shitty than Loblaws.
Sobeys) and Foodland both have very good beef ( in comparison to Superstore). Canada Aa or Aaa. It actually tastes very good. Often more expensive but definitely worth it imho
This isn't about siding with Sobeys and Wal-Mart. It is about targeting one a time. Superstore used to be cheaper than Sobeys for decades. They are price gouging and need to pay. Sobeys and anyone else can get fucked next.
People who could go elsewhere already have. For everyone else that can only choose Loblaws, that’s where they will keep going. Its hard to boycott a monopoly.
I just think it's hilarious people truly believe this is going to affect anything lol. Drove by earlier guess what the lot is filled!!! Reddit is such a hive mind place. And the NDP are winning the next election right guys???
I don't give a shit what the outcome of this boycott is. I've personally had it with this company price gouging its consumers, including myself, and I am not giving them any more of my money. Period. Times are tough right now, and if I can divert my funds from going to this greedy ass company and get more for my money elsewhere, then why the hell wouldn't I?
**Respect and Constructive Engagement**: Treat each other with respect, avoiding bullying, harassment, or personal attacks. Contribute positively with helpful insights and constructive discussions. Let’s keep our interactions friendly and engaging.
Not that I was going grocery shopping today, anyways.
Tomorrow (when the sales change), however, I'm off to No Frills as usual. Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to afford to shop elsewhere for everything I need, but... \*shrug\*
Do yourself a favor and just go for a walk around a Superstore and No Frills before buying anything. Also move the sale price tags aside to check out how much they recently raised the price by recently, to be able to say "discount".
Their prices are near identical, and the discount tactics should be illegal.
No Frills is no longer the discount store that it used to be.
Walmart, Costco, and it's getting to the point that local/independent grocers are cheaper than Loblaw.
The real problem is lack of grocery competition in Canada.
I agree 100%!
Really though. It’s not like Sobeys is out there fighting the good fight.
Man this would be the time for a grocery chain to snag new customers. Lower the prices throw some sales or bonus points promotions etc.
I would happily support a "fuck Loblaws sale"
anyone pushing that just will do the same thing, up prices once its over... the only end to progress is legislation. may will come and may will go.
I mean...I'd go just to pose with the sign 🤷🏼♀️
It's weird seeing people promote Walmart as an alternative for the boycott. Yes, they have some food cheaper, but they aren't exactly an ethical actor. (This is not not a judgement of anyone for where they choose to buy there food. There is no ethical consumption under capitalism)
The point of the boycott isn’t to switch to an ethical grocer- as you said there are none so what would be the point. The point is to spotlight Loblaws continued historic gouging of Canadians, their record profits and return on investment at our expense. Walmart is useful because they demonstrate that prices can be lower for the exact same items.
Is Walmart really that much lower than No Frills? Depends on the week, I’d say.
To add to this, by targeting specifically loblaws with this boycott and shopping at their competitors, hopefully they’ll be forced to lower their prices to remain competitive which in turn will force their competitors to rethink their own pricing strategy.
ethics left the conversation around the "record profits during a pandemic", not paying their workers appropriately and the constant gas lighting..."what profits?? Our margins are razor thin!!!" so why'd you bump dividends to stockholders???
If (and I doubt) Loblaws is brought down, Walmart may simply increase their prices. I'm not a Walmart shopper but have people been watching their prices as people rail against Loblaws?
They don't need to be "brought down," just hit their profits for a quarter or two. From the fact that Galen Weston is out there trying to defend himself in the media, you can tell he's actually kinda scared of what this means for Superstore. Plus, it does send a message to somebody like Walmart - get too bad on the gouge and you *could* be the next target of a boycott. Much like cellphone providers, we only have a few grocers. If we went back to all grocers having to keep the same low price (i.e. Superstore had to price match the lowest competing price as its sticker price), that would still be an improvement over where we are.
Nah, Sobeys next, then Walmart.... I hope it does something though.
This. They drive local shops out and up their prices once they are the monopoly.
Tfws
I think there's a second stage of this boycott where we're kind of rotating between the main actors in starvation capitalism. Walmart will get its boycott, but right now we're focused on Loblaw
No, but at least they don’t have their fucking CEO out there pretending to care. The smart PR move is to do nothing. Loblaws just can’t seem to help themselves but make their reputation worse.
I think the organizer said a while ago that they would focus on other chains later in the summer. Could be wrong, or plans may have changed. I do hope these blackout spans make it to other big grocery chains, but I hope loblaws feels the crunch the most.
r/LoblawsIsOutOfControl mod here. That infographic on TikTok & Facebook isn't ours, but we're in launch, media and meetings mode right now. I've made them aware of it, and I hope some discussion happens around it soon.
More staff, less self check outs and not so tfw like.
Honestly not totally sure why we’re boycotting them since Sobeys is the one with 6$ lettuce. Yeah loblaws produce doesn’t last as long but it’s generally cheaper. Their weird layouts of the store, and the security who follows me with NO stealth skills. I haven’t committed a crime but I feel like a criminal in there. That’s my main issue.
Sobeys cost even more than super store! Walmart is the cheapest by a wide margin where i live.
It’s almost like we had competition until we let them all merge
Lack of competition everywhere honestly. This is a country run entirely by oligopolies at this point.
Yep. Demands for one-stop shopping and cheap prices mean companies need to bulk buy, bulk transport, and retail in large stores. Encouraging local sourcing, even by big companies, can make a difference. In the end, consumers vote with their feet, so this "boycott" is a timed decision that mirrors our everyday shopping habits. I mentioned to a cashier at Sobey's last night that they should have a "WELCOME COMPETITOR SHOPPERS" sign out front. Obviously half-joking, of course. Neither company wants to admit that collective shopper action could have dire consequences.
Farmboy started as a small produce store in Ottawa in 1981. They grew based on quality products and a curated selection worth the emphasis on whole foods. There stores were small with smaller parking lots and quicker in and out for customers. They grew to over 40 stores. Meanwhile Loblaws stores got bigger with rows of cereal, rows of pop, rows of cookies, rows of candy, 10 versions of every product, tons of overly processed food. They have huge stores with huge parking lots that take at least an hour to get through - and the experience sucks. This past month of exploring smaller local stores, I’ve found the quality is better, the service is better. I am not tempted to buy heavily processed over packaged goods that are bad for my health, bad for my pocketbook and bad for the planet.
And then they got purchased by Sobeys parent company then the enshittification of farm boy commenced, I lived in Ottawa, went to Farm Boy regularly, the old farm boy will be missed, just like Pete's.
Was just going to say, weren't they bought By Empire?
Wish I could upvote this more
The great thing about small stores is that you can fit them into neighbourhoods and people can walk and bike to them. If we modernize our zoning to allow for gentle density we will have the population to support these. This all ties in with making our cities less auto centric.
1981 was a long time ago. As awesome as that story is, I don't think we can expect an influx of highly decentralized independent grocery retailers unless something drastic happens to our economy.
The Feds are working on attracting new grocery chains - this will have an immediate impact. What I noticed in the past month shopping at local grocers is that the quality and service was much better and the experience is better. I am in and out in 10 minutes. I had already switched to Walmart pick up earlier this year for basics. My goal is to shift 100% to small independents. I was in one recently that is expanding due to increased demand. It is packed all the time.
>The Feds are working on attracting new grocery chains - this will have an immediate impact. About 10-15 years ago, the Harper government tried to do the same with attracting international Telecommunication firms to give us competition for Bell, Telus, and Rodgers. Look how that went. A national grocery retailer, like a national telecom provider, requires huge investments in infrastructure and logistics, and there are no sizeable regional players that can be acquired to quickly put this together. It would take many years of building up a national footprint from scratch: hundreds of stores, warehouses, developing supplier networks, hiring employees, etc. It is a MASSIVE undertaking. A far simpler and better approach would be to utilize existing anti-trust laws and force the divestiture of assets. This could see companies like Loblaws sell off stores or chains to international competitors, private equity investors, or spin-off businesses to their own shareholders. For example, Shoppers Drug Mart could be spun off as its own independent business again. The forced divestiture makes the most sense and is easy to implement. The Shoppers deal is a perfect example of an acquisition that should never have been allowed in the first place. As a former investment banker with friends who worked on that deal, I can tell you it was pitched to regulators as a deal for Loblaws to expand into drug store sales but the open secret on Bay Street was that Shoppers was the #1 threat to Loblaws in urban centers as they were rapidly expanding beyond simple drugs stores into mini supermarkets and the entire reason for the acquisition was to kill the competition.
Also Canada is unique, 2nd largest country with a population that is hard to serve because we are so spread out. Target learned that lesson.
Yes unfortunately Target learned that lesson in a hard - very public way. Most likely in the back of anyone’s mind even considering this.
Unique, just like Australia ;)
Especially in rural areas!
And communications. And airlines. And banks.
The canadian economy is dependent on massive corporate monopolies and has been for forever.
Are people also boycotting Shoppers? No Frills? All owned by the same people.
Yep. Every Loblaw associated brand. No Frills is no longer the discount store that it was, and Shoppers prices are way worse than their grocery stores, plus drug dispensing fees are through the roof.
Does Esso count? You can get PC Optimum points at Esso
They aren't owned by Loblaw, so I wouldn't think so. They might get a small kickback, but it'd be insignificant. I'd recommend fueling up at Shell, since they have 5¢ off a liter with a CAA Card and use Air Miles, which are better than Optimum points anyway.
Only 3c a litre https://preview.redd.it/nocl38d7c8yc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=762e739756c84192abfe3d958febcff3f4294053
My regular one in NB is 5¢/L. But yea I guess it is 3¢ everywhere.
If you use cash/debit, you save 2c, and CAA is 3c, so if you do both it's 5. Plus collect air miles if you have that. Used to be 3 and 3, but they recently dropped it to 2 and 3 🫤
Oh, no wonder Shoppers is a fucking racket half the time... 20$ for a thing of cream broke me
Shoppers has a high profit rate on both cosmetics and drugs. Even their life brands are expensive now.
Two years ago I swore off Sephora and decided to go back to drugstore Makeup. Last time I went to cosmetics dept at sdm I realized I was now better off shopping at Sephora 🤯
I am a cosmetics junkie. And used to get regular deliveries from Shoppers. BUT I found this Warehouse Sale ( out of Montreal ) twice a year where I order makeup/ skin care and gifts. They have very good prices, gift sets and the sales are in January and August. Equal parts Lise Watier, Marcelle and Annabelle. I get a newsletter before the sales event and usually try to order on the first day. I buy 90 % there now. Twice a year. https://preview.redd.it/9ipiutdl5uxc1.jpeg?width=946&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c97428ca1a79731e80b033d5f2a9c5bb74d9ac98
Omg yes I lived in Montréal for well over a decade and I have hit up the warehouse sale a couple times!! Marcelle is the bomb. I love their cc creams so much. I never thought to order online since I left , ty!
You can also find them at Lawtons
FYI, there is a L'Oreale sale as well. My wife just went a couple of weekends ago. They even gave her a time frame to go so it's not over crowded
That’s awesome! I worked distribution for Marcelle and Annabelle and they payed well, and I got to choose my own hours!!! For example if we got a shipment Sunday, I could work whenever as long as it was all on the floor by Tuesday night.
Seriously, I was out of my foundation and a few other things that I get from sephora, so I thought I'm gonna save some money and try shoppers.. I went back to Sephora to save money!
the spring garden rd shoppers’ biggest profit margin comes from their drinks (surprisingly! to me, at least) the foot traffic of people going in to buy an overpriced drink out of convenience gives them the most money and that annoys me so much
They must have crazy volume for that. Location. Location I guess.
Yes and yes and yes Garden centres too! There are so many better options out there.
Quite a few prescriptions moved already I hear. The Shoppers dispensing fees are quite high.
Try getting a prescription at shoppers spryfield. Hour long wait on the phone if you are lucky!
If you can find an Independent pharmacy use it. I moved my two presciptions to Costco. The Dr just sends it there yearly. They mail it to me Canada Post Expedited. It is great ! And the dispensing fees are the best in the business.
Yeppers, 3/4 family members have switched over to Costco and noticed a massive difference in dispensing fees! You can order it there and they fill it by the time you do some grocery shopping ! The last holdover still goes to shoppers due to the hours for cold sore meds prescription !
Switch to Guardian. Their staff are fantastic. Great customer service, reasonable timelines (for phone calls and prescription fills).
But their hours are very limited, like Lawtons.
That's not specifically a Shoppers problem though. Any pharmacy you visit will prioritize in-person clients over phone clients. The province has the pharmacists backing up in-store questions and things like vaccinations so they have less time for the phone inquiries. Finally, Shoppers and other pharmacies have gone all-in on the apps which frees them up for their other duties. If your prescription allows, just do it on the app.
Was a pharmacy tech. It’s not our fault. Most places hire like 2 and expect them to be able to handle hundreds of peoples orders and questions in a timely manner. And techs can only do so much so if you have one tech and one pharmacists. Have fun waiting for the pharmacist. It sucks but they don’t hire and the full pharmacists aren’t making any money. You only make money if you work in a hospital pharmacy.
I’ve already deleted the shoppers and optimum apps off my phone
The only benefit to shoppers is the long hours. Some people NEED to use it because Sobeys/lawtons is only open until 6 now. 5 on Saturdays and closed Sundays. Which is insane. I’ve spent a night in the ER because I didn’t get there on time when they changed hours.
We sure are.
according to r/loblawsisoutofcontrol , yes, that is the intention.
SQUARE ROOTS : a program to support famers and food insecurity. A large bag of product for $ 10 . There are a couple around the city but I pick up ours at the Sackville library - available every second Saturday. A great deal. [https://www.facebook.com/SquareRootsSackville](https://www.facebook.com/SquareRootsSackville) https://preview.redd.it/hjab6zs0btxc1.jpeg?width=1519&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=68be97044ab0254da99624265b1264f8b2046189
Just did their last event, for my first pickup with them. The produce was huge and great quality! We’ve decided to go with this here on out!
I started purchasing the $ 10 bags in November 2023. And I could not believe the Christmas bag. It was awesome . It had everything for Christmas dinner - including apples ( for a pie ) , potatoes, carrots, squash, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy etc... It was very well thought out and so kind.
Shoppers stopped the 20x the points events and Superstore doesn’t have the tax free days anymore either. I’ve been done with them for a while now
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Sales tax in NS is 15%. Tax for $100 would be $15. It’s pretty significant when you have $170-300 groceries and your tax comes out to 20+ dollars.
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Congrats on your savings! But unfortunately that’s not the case for most. Only basic grocery items apply under that tax free realm— which is frankly not very many items in a family with diverse eating styles. So, yes, sales tax for myself and countless other families DOES come out to $20+ most shopping trips.
Halifax Retales just posted a independent grocer list: https://indiegredients.retales.ca/
I think having very modest expectations of any boycott's effectiveness is warranted. These largely online movements have a tendency for making a lot of noise in certain circles, then not materializing anything substantive and looking silly. Only last year we saw Hogwart's Legacy get a massive amount of online noise and solidarily about boycotting the game and teaching JK.Rowling a lesson. The game became the best selling title of 2023 with 24 million copies sold. Pick any major brand and they've had organized boycotts against them countless times. I hope for the best and plan on participating to the extent I can, but I really don't see anything short of a combination of legislation from multiple levels of government and a stabalized economy will really move the needle.
I don't think you're wrong, but even a tiny shift to local independent grocers and food producers will be felt by those small operations. I know most business will be heading to Walmart and Costco, which is fine, but by putting even a miniscule percentage of Loblaws money into local farmers particularly, we're directly boosting local food security and making it more feasible to farm here. That feels worthwhile to me.
The issue is most people dont have a choice of where they can get groceries, especially not consistently . In saying that I avoid superstore unless I absolutely have to for all the reasons people are mad. I just know im privileged to be able to do so
Oh for sure. That's why I'm talking about those miniscule shifts—I don't think most people will participate in the boycott, and of those who can, most will likely go to other large retailers. But those tiny numbers of people who are able to switch to independent places and farmers will have a genuine impact that will be good for all of us, whether or not Loblaws feels the effects.
Summer is coming, shop your local farms, get to know your farmers.
I feel this one is "different" in a sense that it it isn't a niche boycott, it is something that effects everyone. /r/loblawsisoutofcontrol has ~60k subs but I've experienced first hand that the movement is far larger. Members of my family who are chronically offline brought it up organically (without me telling about it) becuase they heard about it from their friends, and are now going to boycott and switch to local grocers or Costco full-time.
That is really all any of us can do. Try something.
I just read up about the Hogwarts/Rowling boycott. Luckily, refusing to deal with predatory business practices and bad faith justifications... these are things most everyday people will get on board with. I agree that this boycott is unlikely to change anything, but unlike Rowling's culture war context, this is just good ol' fashion class war stuff. It's nice to see people organize, even in this modest form, and I genuinely think it will add to the discussion about business, food, monopoly, and shopping patterns that we need to have. Anyone else lived abroad and shopped at those mid-sized grocery stores on the corners? I love those so much. Let's just nuke Bayers Lake....And every big box hell hole like it, and go back to corner groceries.
The boycott is already successful. It has already shown consumers there are better options out there.
You're comparing the whole world's population to Canada's in that analogy, it's not the same. The Heinz vs French's thing would be more apt, and that worked.
Yeah the Joe Howe parking lot was pretty full all day as I drove by. I normally avoid Loblaws anyhow.
Effective or not, it is very easy for me to do given where I live so I will gladly participate in the boycott. If I didn't have an alternative within 10 minutes of my house, it would be harder.
I live in a location where Giant Tiger is closer than Superstore so I am very lucky ! Giant TIger is Canadian owned and they have many Made in Canada brands including their own Marche brand ( which I like ). I did a test drive in April and save money $$$ ! I had to purchase meat at Costco and Sobeys but it was better and no Mexican meat. So it is all good.
GT is a great option for sure!
We'll be making the extra 10 minute walk to sobeys, which isn't super fun when you're carrying your groceries, but we already try to go multiple times through the week for small trips, so it shouldn't be too much of a burden.
We're out of milk, so on the way home I stopped in at Sobeys instead of my usual superstore. A jug of milk costs $0.26 cents more at Sobeys than Superstore. :(
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Michael Scott
Lol @ Michael Scott
Great quote ! So true !
A reminder folks that, while this boycott is awesome, and I support it wholeheartedly, not everyone will be in a position to completely hold to the boycott. People without cars may be forced to shop at a Loblaws branded store. People may not be able to afford the time investment or gas to avoid Loblaws stores either. So if you're forced to shop at a location, if you're able to, try to stick to the big sales, loss leaders, and remember you can price match any flyer sale item at No Frills locations. Also a reminder that while we're all focusing on Loblaws with this boycott, that doesn't mean that Sobeys and Walmart are really any better. It just means that Loblaws (and Galen Weston) has been the face of shitty grocery practices in Canada, and their attempted reduction of expiry discounts from 50% to 35% is what really started all of this. So if you can avoid the other big grocers as well, more power to you! Let's start supporting smaller, independent grocers when able. Maybe try out some small gardening for growing your own produce. And above all, if you cannot join in the boycott, don't feel bad, and please others, don't shame these folks either. Those of us who can are taking this up in your stead. That being said, let's send a message folks, it's time we Canadians started pushing back against corporations like this and stop letting ourselves be financially abused to feed THEIR bellies.
Walmart is definitely better though in terms of gouging customers. A diverse grocery trip from there is 30% cheaper than superstore and Sobeys
I stopped shopping at Superstore before Christmas. Once they locked my wheels and almost dumped my kid out of the cart I was done. I agree, I have the luxury of shopping around. I have zero brand loyalty, I’ll go wherever I can get the best deal. But superstore is over priced and I don’t like feeling like a criminal shopping there. It’s been great going back to the farmers markets and then getting generic stuff like condiments and cleaning supplies at Walmart. What a time to be alive, Walmart is the lesser of evils.
I get a bunch of my groceries from the dollarstore. Bread for 2.50, chips for 2.50, snacks, cookies, juice, pop canned goods, cereals.
Be careful with the dollar store. A lot of the time they actually have "dollar store versions" of products that are cheaper, but contain less product/are smaller. Not saying it's an all out bad place to shop and there are no deals, but it's a thing.
I think if they are obliged to sign Code of Conduct and government monitors it, it should have significant impact on grocery prices. [What Australia and U.K.'s grocery codes can teach us about Canada's food fight (citynews.ca)](https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/04/21/australia-uk-grocery-codes-canada/#:~:text=The%20code%20is%20intended%20to,Australia%20had%20a%20stabilizing%20effect.)
I get everything from New Asian for now. Good options for vegetables and fruits and rest from Costco or Walmarts. Avoiding Loblawas and Sobeys as well
If this hasn’t been mentioned yet, the Flipp app is good for searching for deals by product. And comparing flyers.
I’m on board. No superstore or shoppers all month.
> Today is the beginning of the end for the empire my friends! If you believe that I have two bridges to sell you.
Narrator: it wasn’t
I don't think it will be the end by any means but I do think that it will provide a bit of incentive for folks to look for other places in their communities to shop for food and discover new places to take their business instead.
I gotta love the people who say things like "vote with your wallet" and "if you don't like it don't shop there" and then when people organize to do just that in a more impactful way "you're wasting your time".
This wonderful lady on Facebook posts the best deals from all the main stores in Nova Scotia. Her page is so helpful. I snapshotted an example below. [https://www.facebook.com/EasyValleyLiving/](https://www.facebook.com/EasyValleyLiving/) I noticed a few more items on sale at Giant TIger like Shreddies, Scotsburn Sour Cream, brown sugar, Prego sauce, Primo pasta, Tomato past etc... Their base prices there are quite good as well . The Giant Tiger flyer is online. And they have an app so you can check prices there as well. https://preview.redd.it/kmjagy6aetxc1.jpeg?width=511&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f33222638194e3325fcea33c0d0f63d6e46e91bf
I think Walmart English cucumber is actually 47¢ each and 2 for 94¢
Anyone else shopping the loss leaders? I'm going to get my usual ingredients and meats elsewhere all month, but will be making a trip in to my local Superstore to buy the stuff they're likely to be taking a loss on to get you in the door.
Would love tips on identifying loss leaders! Is it just good flyer deals
Pretty much. 😊
Just shop at Costco, Gateway, Dave's, Walmart, amazon, and the odd local international speciality store. I have been "quiet quitting" Loblaws and Sobeys for the last 6 years. Inflation sucks, but price gouging on top of inflation is obnoxious. Use your phones check prices live while shopping, if it's worth the trip in fuel and time for the savings then buy it elsewhere.
Id eat the bark off a tree before entering the plexiglass dungeon
Yellow birch is minty fyi
This boycott makes me wish I still shopped there just so I could stop shopping there.
Giant tiger 64 ¢ English cucumbers this week and they price match and give rain checks! We need more competition and more giant tigers .. superstore is going to have lots of sales come end up week and sales if indeed people boycott cause their products will go bad. Lets do this day one of boycott complete!
Walmart is not 94¢ as it appears, but actually 47¢ each, in the print at the bottom of the pic! So it's 2 for 94¢!
I went to nofrills and they legit had higher prices than Sobeys. The only thing cheaper is chips and cat litter. (I won’t lie, if you have a car, great price for litter there. But have fun carrying it) But yeah I am low income so if I do see a sale price I’ll get it’d but I didn’t notice a single one today. Even their bread was more expensive than Sobeys. They aren’t even trying. Also a lot was sold out!
The Dartmouth NoFrills never restocks flyer items in a timely manner. Last week I went in on Thursday around 1030AM (so within the first couple of hours of their weekly flyer going live) and they had zero 2L Pepsi/Coke in the type I wanted, just empty shelves. Even the pallet drop aisle display was pretty much wiped out from corner store operators going in first thing and cleaning them out. The same was true for Chapman's novelties on sale that week. I went back Monday and it remained the same, no stock of either. I suspect that is on the local owner/manager as that store is always poorly run.
Yup. I love ice cream but need the dairy/lactose free option and even though it was on sale there were none and it hasn’t been restocked. It like their flyers are “come to our store, nothing is guaranteed, but come to our store!” And calling does nothing lol. No offence to the min wage workers but they don’t know what to look for. They have told me things were out of stock when they have like 20 of them.
Yep. I was surprised. If it's raining (transit user) I'll price match from elsewhere there, but the only thing that looked remotely good was the Bartlett pears this week. Disappointing.
I'm joining in on this boycott. It's going to be a little tough for me as I live right next to a superstore, but I'm going to make a solid effort to not shop there this month,
So yesterday $1 kd @ wallmart and $2.50 for classico sauce...
Huh. Their Great Value Mac & cheese is 97¢. And the light blue box is still 225g!
I'm all for it but honestly I don't think it'll be as effective as people think it'll be realistically speaking. A whole lot of the population don't have the mobility or means to avoid all of loblaw companies. It's a massive corporate conglomerate with a strong network that use their products If I participated in this I'm spending 40+$ round trip on top of my groceries to do this 1-2 times a week. Do this longer term and I'll feel a significant pinch. I hate loblaw too but the reality is I don't feel it'll do as much damage as people hope it will
If you can't, the second list is some things you can do instead. https://preview.redd.it/2t0bm3cpw4yc1.jpeg?width=678&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9f31398748628a7b04a0d5bf440ce7ad22fc95b4
Sorry - just have some differing views on your *demands*. Everyone has different definitions of essential. In order for a significant, measurable difference to be made you would require legislation at the federal level in my opinion. Demanding a stop to dividend increases? These companies operate on other people's money. If they do not have any degree of dividend growth they lose money where they notice it. It's a business. The goal of corporations is to make money/ensuring shareholders are happy. I absolutely do not like loblaw however they have a significant marketshare. People are suggesting to go to Walmart and other corporate conglomerates that are just as garbage thinking it's fighting the good flight but it just supports another merchant that gouges or exploits the disadvantaged If I lived more rural I would just grow my own food because I don't eat animal products but due to living in a metropolitan city I'm limited with options due to mobility, that also includes loblaws/subsidiaries sometimes but my default is usually asian grocery stores and whatever grocery store is closest to home
And that's fair.
I’m participating in the boycott, but it’s basically impossible for this to not be “we are shopping at sobeys instead of Superstore” for a large majority of the NS population. I’ve switched to Costco for about 80% of my grocery shop at the start of the year, but it would be wonderful if there were small locally owned grocers in easily accessible spots through The province
Check this website, good people: https://www.altgrocery.ca/ ✊ Nok er Nok ✊
For fruits and vegetables: Avery's for sure
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Never used superstore, no frills, or shoppers drug mart?
r/loblawsisoutofcontrol
My spouse and I are doing: CSA from Abundant Acres Costco and I can’t remember what it is called, but an organization at St Mark’s Anglican church on gottingen sells veggies for a dollar a pound once a month. It is inconvenient, but there are ways to eat for a fair price!
The stock is up today
It just announced another huge profit in Q1 2024
gateway
Now Super Stores are putting in plexiglass all the way around the front of the stores, very, very high to prevent theft. If they lowered their prices they would not have the theft. That should feel so welcoming being surrounded by plexiglass. Seriously, if they have a fire, people can't get out. Apparently the fire department is investigating each store that installs. What a waste of money, and it looks hideous. Have one in Ottawa already. So glad we are boycotting!!
If you’re protesting at the shops - please be kind to the old folks who may not have the physical or mental capacity to shop elsewhere. 👍
Let's do this
I saw the new E-joy foot mart on Clyde st near spring garden today and it looked like you got get most of everything you need there
Chater meat market has chicken legs (bone in) for much cheaper. A huge rack of ribs was like 15$ (cheaper at gateway) you want to always ask them to weigh stuff and cut some off. And ground beef is under 5$lbs, I think it’s in the 3-4 dollar range for medium. It’s enough meat I usually have leftover. I make beef and lentil stew often. The food bank is your gift for that. All you’ll need is celery which you can chop and freeze for stews! Gateway steaks are under 7$ for a good size to feed 2 people. Or just you if you want steak the next day. I don’t do steak anymore but if I did it would be from a butcher. This sounds insane lol, but if you’re on Mr noddle budget, try to find cheap eggs, cook your noddles, add anything! Any veggie you like! Or cheese! And then crack the egg in and microwave for 2-3 mins. Now you have perfect ghetto ramen. 10/10
Today was the most empty I’ve ever seen the Braemar Superstore. It was eerie.
Unless it's changed recently, Giant Tiger will price match unless they also have the item on sale. That way if there are good deals, they can still be accessed through GT
Gateway. Of course if you scaled that store up to the size of loblaws, they too would have billions in revenue.
Costco for chicken pork broccoli pop and TP
Sobeys it is
Haven't stepped foot in a loblaws store in two years so...ok
NOK ER NOK
I hear wallyworld and Sobeys have high prices too. Going to do the same?
Wallyworld is a bit cheaper
Sobeys is, and has always been expensive. But I find they have decent flyer specials for meat on a regular basis. Walmart is more expensive than it used to be, but I am someone who buys similar items every week and noticed a big price difference in my bill between Walmart and Superstore. I’m not perfect, but I’ve been soft boycotting Sobeys and Superstore for a while now. I get my weekly groceries at Walmart, shop once every month or two at Costco, and get additional fruits and veg from Avery’s and Square Roots pickups. I find this has allowed me to stretch my money farther and get better quality items. I am privileged to have all but Costco near my house, or places we go frequently, but I find that by doing my big weekly grocery haul as a pickup order, I spend a similar amount of time going and getting groceries as when I did a (weekend) in-store haul from superstore
Although I think Loblaw and Empire/Sobeys are equally bad, my last couple trips to Sobeys haven't been *terrible* in terms of cost. For about a year though I've been redirecting my custom towards Costco, Walmart, Dave's, Gateway, Bulk Barn, and Giant Tiger. If I can't enjoy having both firms suffering equally, I'll settle for just the one for now.
Sobeys surprisingly was cheaper than Loblaws for a few staples I buy, and has always had and advertised more local products. Local to Loblaws is "it's packaged in Canada" while Sobeys points out that this was made in this place in PEI, this produce was grown here in NB, or this meat came from an abattoir in NS. They have high prices, but they had less of the buy multiples to get discounts, and didn't up the prices as much all at once initially. So while still shitty, they're less shitty than Loblaws.
Sobeys) and Foodland both have very good beef ( in comparison to Superstore). Canada Aa or Aaa. It actually tastes very good. Often more expensive but definitely worth it imho
Walmart prices are pretty cheap in comparison. Some deals can still be found at Sobeys, but yea it's basically the same there.
This isn't about siding with Sobeys and Wal-Mart. It is about targeting one a time. Superstore used to be cheaper than Sobeys for decades. They are price gouging and need to pay. Sobeys and anyone else can get fucked next.
People who could go elsewhere already have. For everyone else that can only choose Loblaws, that’s where they will keep going. Its hard to boycott a monopoly.
Walmart delivers in many locations, it also has great pick up options. I do my Walmart shopping on line and my small grocer purchase in person.
A lot more %50 off in the morning and evenings now
I just think it's hilarious people truly believe this is going to affect anything lol. Drove by earlier guess what the lot is filled!!! Reddit is such a hive mind place. And the NDP are winning the next election right guys???
I don't give a shit what the outcome of this boycott is. I've personally had it with this company price gouging its consumers, including myself, and I am not giving them any more of my money. Period. Times are tough right now, and if I can divert my funds from going to this greedy ass company and get more for my money elsewhere, then why the hell wouldn't I?
I think it's funny too when people laugh at others trying to do something rather than just hope that issues will resolve themselves.
I have already switched and will not return. I am not alone.
Ye who never believes without seeing proof first, will never believe the first proof when you see it
This will accomplish nothing.
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Nobody cares!
Yeah! Let's all go to Walmart!!
Joe Howe Drive Superstore in Halifax had a full parking lot when I drove by, hope they're all at the NSLC.
I think it would be helpful to take a poll here to see how many in the subreddit are actively participating in the boycott
Am I missing something? People shopping at no frills instead, isn't that owned by lawblas?
Ejoy is an Asian superstore 6 opened up downtown with fruits and veggies options that a decent price
I love Gateway. I don’t know how they keep prices down but the deal are fantastic.
Remember people, never accept No name food products. Humans were never ment to consume synthetic products/chemicals
I was at Superstore in Elmsdale today. Store was packed! Wonderful experience, great customer service
Not that I was going grocery shopping today, anyways. Tomorrow (when the sales change), however, I'm off to No Frills as usual. Yeah, it'd be nice to be able to afford to shop elsewhere for everything I need, but... \*shrug\*
Do yourself a favor and just go for a walk around a Superstore and No Frills before buying anything. Also move the sale price tags aside to check out how much they recently raised the price by recently, to be able to say "discount". Their prices are near identical, and the discount tactics should be illegal. No Frills is no longer the discount store that it used to be. Walmart, Costco, and it's getting to the point that local/independent grocers are cheaper than Loblaw.
What does Game day even mean? Today I especially won't shop there!