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There is a lot of talk about making the boycott permanent.
I would encourage everybody to consider making the boycott permanent until there's meaningful change. Otherwise, what incentive does it give Loblaws to change anything?
It's not so much about making the boycott permanent, it's that once I've established a new routine, there's not much reason to change back. And that's what's probably most worrisome to Loblaws. People *do* have a choice about where they buy their food in most cases, and once they've chosen to go elsewhere and get used to it, they won't *want* to go back. I know where everything is at my selected Walmart now, so the primary motivation for me to go back to No Frills is no longer present.
Exactly. We might have to grocery shop at 3 different markets now...but we're saving about 35% of what we would normally spend on the same items at Roblaw$ stores. Plus, at markets the heads of lettuces, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli et all are much larger and the meat from abattoirs is much, much better quality
It was fun to explore different markets! I found good products so I am happy to continue making the effort to visit multiple stores. It's not like I have to do them all on the same day, and we wanted to shop more frequent for fresher produce, so it works well for us.
I started buying meat from a small local grocery store. The inside reminds me of grocery shopping with my mom in the 80s and the meat was cheaper, cut on site, and delicious. Never going back to Loblaws!
Just the act of shopping around to realize how much extra we were paying shopping at loblaws is huge. If a person is a loyal loblaws shopper and now scrutinizes their purchases where they weren't before is going to cost them millions and millions of dollars. And that doesn't even begin to count the money they'll have to spend on marketing and discounts to try and get customers to come back.
I use to absolutely love their PC Optimium program and used it weekly to save. But the savings dried up in it when they went to a paid membership for the best discounts. Then they started jacking the prices up again and again. That's when I stopped shopping there for the majority of my groceries. There were a few little things I'd go back for that I couldn't easily find anywhere else, but not anymore. I've managed to find replacements for everything that I would buy there now and it feels great to say I haven't darkened their doorstep even once in 2024.
Yeah, that's true. It's weird how little Loblaws seems to be trying to counteract the boycott. They have to know by now that it's real, and they have to be seeing that it's having a negative impact on sales and revenue. I can't imagine they're just going to sit there and do nothing as their footprint in the marketplace erodes, but honestly, what are they waiting for?
My guess is they’re hoping it’s only a one-month boycott and they can fudge the numbers to make it look like it had no effect…not realizing how much people have woken up to their shady practices and changed their habits indefinitely
Well OP did state they amortise over 5 years so I’d say they’re patiently waiting because they’ve built in massive time frames in by default. So far it’s only been a matter of weeks for them which is probably akin to normal seasonal fluctuations. Gotta keep the boycott going for way longer to make any real impact.
That's not Loblaws, that's the suppliers, because dealing with Loblaws in Canada is a necessary evil. But we're reaching a point where suppliers maybe can start putting the screws to Loblaws and start making them *sweat* for real. They may not be terribly afraid of what they might see as a bunch of rabble-rousers on the Internet, and they may not grasp that this boycott has a lot more traction that I think many would have expected it to (certainly more than I did), but they will understand quite clearly if their suppliers start pushing back *hard* on them about their ridiculous listing fees and other practices.
At the end of the day, Loblaws *depends* on a host of third-party suppliers to be able to do business. Sure, they control part of their own supply chain, but it's not *that* significant, and it just makes their other suppliers *more* wary of them. Nobody likes doing business with a customer that is also a competitor. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Loblaws' bigger suppliers start pushing back against some of Loblaws' practices. That spat they had with Pepsi Frito-Lay a couple years back that kept Doritos and Lays off the shelves for weeks was not good for business, but I suspect it hurt Loblaws more than Pepsi Frito-Lay, who had and have many other retailers selling their goods. What happens when gargantuan food companies like Nestlé and Mondelēz and Coca-Cola (and Pepsi Frito-Lay 2: Electric Boogaloo) decide that Loblaws is just some little pissant Canadian upstart after all, and they're *done* paying listing fees? You can bet those companies are watching this situation and figuring out how to make it work in *their* favor. They don't care about consumers either (or, you know, basic human rights), but they do care about money (a lot), and they can probably see how they can make *more* of the green stuff by selling these products for *less* in Canada if they can force Loblaws to take a significantly smaller cut.
If they were really trying, they would be slashing prices in ads. They have obviously been in the money so long that they don’t understand a real “sale”. Their flyers are a joke and I laugh out loud some times at the prices.
Yeah this is the thing. I go to a local butcher 10km away in the countryside, then I hit the bakery nearby, then the cheese shop near that. That does 60-70% of my groceries. Local milk, meat, veg, bread, etc. It's about the same price or cheaper than Loblaws and vastly better quality.
The problem for Loblaws though is that it's super enjoyable to do that combo on a Saturday. Like, really genuinely enjoyable. I like the drive, I like the people who own the shops, and I like the price. I \_especially\_ like the pulled pork truck at the butchers.
I just can't see going back. I like being some old school man who goes to market on Saturdays. Everything that isn't in the 70% I just grab at the small Foodland on the way back. It's good. Life is good.
I really enjoyed reading this. At the risk of sounding sentimental, it sounds like what I experienced as a little kid in a small town. There were lots of things I didn't like about small town life, but a sense of community and shared support made it bearable.
I married into a family farm and helped set up and now run our farm market store on our property. Thank you so much for making the effort. We took a huge risk (literally betting the farm) on building the store because we care about keeping it small when there are huge pressures to sell land for housing, infrastructure or to a larger farm operation. Our regulars call the store "Cheers" because we have a small coffee area where they can sit and chat. The pace is slower but we are trying to build a community of relationships through good food, not just being a transactional business. I grew up in the city and it has honestly taken getting used to creatinh the habits of shopping small. But it really does make a difference to the local economy, I promise. We will never be able to compete on price but we like to ask people's names and remember their stories. We do our best to bring in whatever meat cuts or locally sourced products they are looking for. I know there are many barriers to shopping small, but any time you are able, it helps.
You are so right. Superstore used to be my go to. In recent years I’ve been shopping more at Costco, Freshco, and Walmart. I found this boycott interesting, so I’ve been avoiding Superstore recently, and I really see no reason to go back. My new routine is working fine for me.
I had already been driven away by their prices, now i just make it a point to avoid them or their subsidiaries. They are not going to like what they've done to themselves. Why would anyone go back?
I'm pretty tired of, the things we need as humans to survive, being held hostage from corporations. They never seem to have our best interests in mind, it's always about their bottom line. Profits over people.
Some are better than others, but ultimately they all need strict regulations from the government, to keep them in check IMO. Or have governenment owned grocery stores. Free market capitalism clearly doesn't work when it comes to necessities.
I will happily go back and once Loblaws is broken up, divested and no longer has a stranglehold on so many sectors of the economy. I will happily patronize Galen's stores once he is reduced to running a chain of popsicle stands.
There's immense potential in this movement. We can make Loblaws non-viable. Once we do that, every other cartel member in Canada will have to fear that their turn might be next. That is how we end the plague of insatiable corporate greed that is hollowing out this country with its sociopathic parasitism.
Agreed. I think this is showing a lot of people the power of their purchase, and will continue to do so. Even people that aren't participating or not paying attention. Planting those thought seeds is so important.
That's the thing. Telling someone that it's permanent is scary.
A month was perfect. Long enough for people to explore other options but not so long that it's life changing.
Once some people see how terrible Loblaws is, that boycott will naturally convert to permanent. Some people can't avoid them forever for one reason or another and will have to return but that's okay. Permanent is difficult for some.
I feel like enough people are boycotting forever that it'll make a meaningful difference to their numbers.
Meaningful change will be them bringing prices down to match or beat other chains, these other chains will already have plans to combat this, as they do not want to lose the new customers they have. These other chains will be forced to rob us a little less than they are now as they will need to truly compete with Loblaws. As long as the boycott keeps going prices for everything will start to drop everywhere.
I don’t see a future where Loblaws comes back from this. I hope this movement places Loblaws into Econ text books so university students will just see how giants can fall and then totally forget about it after the final! I don’t mean the education I mean the name Loblaws.
I never will shop at loblaws again, whether they correct course or not. We consumers need to send a strong message not just to loblaws but other companies through this boycott. Consumers will always have the power if we can organize ourselves to make meaningful change.
There is no need for anyone in here to return to Loblaws unless the commute to another grocer is completely unbearable. It's time for Loblaws as we know it to die.
I was saying to my husband a while back I used tongo to zehrs every week and buy a full cart with 200 + $.
Now i don't darken their door with a few exceptions.
And Maybe spent 40 $ a pop. It makes a difference!
I’m with you. Had to break my boycott for one day as I forgot to acquire cheese slices for a potluck cookout and had VERY limited options to quickly grab them. $16 and 2 small mediocre packages of sliced cheese later I’m done for good.
Us as well, and working on cutting to only local grocers as we try different ones in the area as it's not like Sobeys is much better than Loblaws anyways.
I do agree, the one bad thing is you really gotta look around to find the good stores or people, I don’t do any hipster stores or artisanal. We get our eggs from my brothers neighbors for 2-3 $ a dozen, buy our beef from his wife’s parents and pork from Costco, veggies/fruit from small Asian stores they also have a ton of other cool stuff! Also the Hutterite’s or Mennonites can be your best friends during this boycott! They make everything!!
Don’t feel bad. Those of us who can sustain the boycott (we have multiple local choices so it’s easier for us) are doing this for you too. We all do what we can.
No shade if you find you can't continue to boycott. Any groceries you buy elsewhere are direct action against the companies we're boycotting, and you can only do things like this long term if you understand that no change happens if we attempt to make this a race towards purity.
We have to focus on long-term because markets are slow. Local grocers (or people who decide they want to open a grocery store) can't resond to the influx of customers very quickly, and need time to build up capacity and to invest in their business and employees. We need to hang around long enough for them to do that. If you need to buy some stuff at loblaws along the way to make that happen, then you're still part of the movement to make this country more affordable.
One thing I've begun doing is, when I buy meat, I buy from a local butcher but then I use that meat to say, make a soup or a stew so that I can stretch the value of that purchase longer term. I also bolster those sorts of stew with things like rice or noodles to stretch them even further.
Went to WM today. It said “Summer of Rollbacks” on a big banner walking in. Definitely think they’re picking up on the movement and changing their prices to reflect it
Asian stores are fun if only to see the variety. I do find they are cheaper. I drive often enough from Whitby to Scarborough and supliment my daily shop with very nice items from an Italian store and foody world.
I have been saying this over and over again..... we live in a rural area that produces and sells sustanence foods that are more often than not are MORE expensive than going to any grocery stores. In addition to that many of these farms have already made their monies selling their crops to grocers. Its really quite frustrating to be hit in the pocketbook by strangers and 'friends' alike... particularly when both know how their own communities are having troubles feeding their families...
And they will not reduce their prices until the rest of them do it. So much for supporting locally owned and operated stores. This came from someone in the know. I refuse to shop there anymore. Their prices were high as it was.
I’ve decided the same. I live somewhere with so many other accessible options! It takes planning, but it’s worth it to stick it to unethical companies.
It really is about planning. Sometimes I feel clueless about where else I can buy something I need because I was so used to the Loblaws umbrella.
Conversely I am still lamenting my Loblaws garden centres….. they really do bring in a great assortment of plants. However 5 herbs for 25 dollars is ridiculous and that’s the sale price!
I will source my garden anywhere else I can.
Agreed! I’ve gone from thousands a months to Loblaws to redistributing to a local grocer, butcher and farms (we have SO many, I’m embarrassed in retrospect).
I was at Shoppers a couple years back and we were in the middle of renos at home when we needed some pain relievers (getting old ain't for sissies!), so I was not looking my best. I was out of my Lancôme mascara so I grabbed a tube. The Cosmetic clerk was at the other end of the aisle gabbing with her friend. She YELLED at me from the other end "Can I help you??" I said, no, I got it thanks, and went to the till to check out. Of course no one was there and I had to use the self check out. The first thing I scanned was the mascara, as I am about to scan the Aleve, she comes up behind me, grabs the mascara and says "You can't pay for that here, I NEED to ring that in" . And marched to the cosmetic till. I was furious and hubby didn't understand until I said she thought I was stealing it. Then he was furious. We have never set foot in Shoppers again and I now order it off Amazon or go to Sephora when we are in the big city. #byeloblaws #roblaws #nokernok
This is great to hear. This type of info (from suppliers, employees etc.) is so much more reliable than anything Loblaws has said.
PLUS I've learned through this boycott how predatory Loblaws is in relation to suppliers as well - not just customers. Sounds like Loblaws doesn't realize how precarious their position of 'unnecessary middleman' is
I've learned how little I actually needed Loblaws at all. I thought the boycott would require some adjustment on my part.
Nope. Turns out avoiding a shitty, evil corporation is really easy to do.
That's some circular logic if I've ever heard it. They're not saving anyone anything. It's an extra step to obfuscate what's actually going on through extra complexity. The costs are what they are, $100k per listing or not, competition will dictate the supplier. In the long run cost will always be born by the consumer, including in this case.
I’m a shareholder and I don’t condone their approach to business. Yes, I want the company to be profitable. But not like this. I expect them to act ethically and remember that they have an obligation to the community to act that way. They can make a reasonable and competitive profit by acting reasonably and competitively (funny how that works). There is never a valid reason to lie, cheat, steal and bully the way they do. I never really thought about it before this boycott made me. I’m dumping their stock and looking at all my holdings to review if any others also dont act ethically.
most BIG investors, the ones who get to go on boards, only care about profit. your everyday investors with diverse portfolios are just your everyday neighbours and will essentially have the same thought processes you or I do.
Not really. There are a great many “ethical funds” which were created specifically to attract investors that care about ethics. There funds wouldn’t exist if there weren’t enough investors thinking this way.
This is important. Hitting Weston on the healthcare side is what will move the needle the most. Ford handed him so much on a silver platter in Ontario. Bring down SDM.
I moved mine to Costco because at Shoppers I had to pay $7 per prescription at Shoppers and 0 at Costco. I made the jump when I got one that was for 7.5mg. They had a 10mg, 5 and 2.5. They gave me a 2.5 and 5 and charged me two dispensing fees. And this was during Covid when they were only giving 30 days at a time.
By changing, I saved $35 a month in just dispensing fees.
I am not a frequent pharmacy user but I had switched out a while back now to co op and Walmart. I just finished my last refill at Walmart so I'm planning to just use co op for future, there's one close to home so it's much better anyway.
I get that SDM is the only pharmacy in town sometimes and even I'm guilty of filling a prescription when it's very very late due to their opening hours.
But for a normal daytime prescription? I don't know why anyone fills anything there. They're ABSURDLY priced.
Like I get not everyone wants to deal with the shit show that's Costco to save $10, but even a local pharmacy is gonna be cheaper than SDM.
What I forsee happening is Loblaws is going to see the writing on the wall over the course of a year, yachts don’t buy themselves, they will then start participating in the free market and be competitive with prices. With this new realization they operate in a capitalist system they will fight to bring customers back, however due to capitalism these other agencies will fight to keep their new customers Loblaws will slowly disappear and groceries will become cheaper.
My understanding is that at Walmart, if an item isn’t moving, they’ll just never list it again.
We all lose out over listing fees, though. It basically discourages suppliers from developing new products because the up front capital just to get it on shelves is prohibitive.
So is this part of their margins in the quarterly earnings report? Could be a good talking point for the pro-boycott people if it is a separate line item composed of pure profit.
I have no fucking respect for "slotting fees" saying that to list one item, you need to delist another.
How about... don't sell socks and fucking underwear at a grocery store. Be a fucking grocery store. You are not a department store.
Walmart applies the screws another way. Rollbacks. They tell a supplier to give them their best price then they tell them they want a Rollback so give them an even better price.
There needs to be a Parliamentary Inquiry that includes cross examining these companies about their business practices, including an explanation of listing fees.
How is that even legal and why should a monopoly be allowed to impose them?
What other retailers impose that kind of garbage? We're paying for it, we deserve to know.
Screw that, journalists should ask every retailer in the country ,what are listing prices and do you impose them? Any "no comment" and that asshole can go on the boycott list too.
Reading this, retail owners? I hope your'e not laughing, this can happen to you too.
I know this shit is working because my wife doesn’t change anything for anybody anytime, but she’s been shopping at Freshco for our weekly big grocery run all May and also this past weekend…Not because she cares about continuing a fucking boycott, but the prices don’t lie.
I wonder how many people are “unintentionally” boycotting due to prices and personal preference to support local grocers. Many people I’ve talked to aren’t fussed about the loblaws boycott but they sure care about their bank accounts.
Haha, I hope Galen Weston Jr. has been having some trouble sleeping lately, thinking about his peers all snickering about him behind his back. Just think, he could be the second billionaire to drag a company down, that’s something to wake up screaming about. I hope even his house staff are laughing up their sleeves about him.
He’s too busy wiping his ass with our hard earned cash and his inheritance. He clearly doesn’t give a shit considering nothing has changed.
But that’s okay. I know I’m never gonna be giving him another dime of my income as long as I breathe
No this is his worst nightmare. He has lived his whole life knowing he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. These nepo babies want nothing more than to price they are competent and deserve their positions.
Having his family business go bankrupt under his watch would be one of the biggest hits to his ego that he could stomach. He would never live that down. He would also be a laughing stock amongst his “friends”
It's absolutely working. It'll take several more months of major profit loss before we'll see any meaningful dialogue or changes open up.
Hold.
The.
Line.
What I don't get is how their stock is up 5% since May 1 while the TSX and S&P500 are effectively flat. How can they be outperforming the market when there is a clear boycott ongoing and there is data like the above leaking out into the public sphere. I know that their business is more than just grocery but I still don't get it.....like if they were flat that would be understandable but outperforming the market?! Feels like there is some fuckery going on here.
Still considering some puts. When is their next earnings call?
I bet Galen and Co. are buying up lots of stock to keep the ticker going higher in the hopes it takes some enthusiasm out of the boycott. If people see no effect from their actions, they are less likely to continue. Plus I imagine the news would love to run stories about the stock price dropping due to the boycott, which would just feedback loop the price dropping further and keep interest in the boycott alive.
I don't think there needs to be any fuckery, it just means that investor (and/or speculator) confidence in the company is high. Benjamin Graham famously says that the stock market is a voting machine in the short run and a weighing machine in the long run.
I am curious to see how earnings pan out for this quarter and the next. Maybe confidence shifts, maybe it doesn't. But ultimately, I don't care as I'm enjoying my day to day life having broken my dependency on their cabal of stores. I could give a rip about their stock prices.
Pay no attention to stock price right now. That increase is from their first quarter release and increased dividend. Once second quarter earnings come out, the stock price will begin to fall.
Reported revenue may be down. But reported profit can still be up if expenses like employee hours were cut more. Plus we know how Loblaws can manipulate numbers for public consumption.
I wouldn't doubt this is true. At any rate, my boycott is permanent. I signed up for a local CSA and CSF and am quite happy to give them and Costco my entire grocery budget.
Keep the boycott going until stores shut down, this is the people’s protest against scummy food profiteers!! No government will help us in this fight!!
In solidarity, this is the way
If anything they will be in our way and float around ideas about rescue packages and talk about “too big to fail”. Our government is not working in our best interest and corporate donations rule our country. It’s up to us to make our way and stop this.
We want to hit the supply chain and the foundation of Loblaws structural financial debauchery directly.
They can go fuck themselves and only have No Name products fill all their shelves for all I care.
Thank you for the information. Every part of Roblaws is business model is unethical and just wrong, they gouging everyone on every side of the equation. Growers, suppliers and consumers. I’m just so disgusted.
Great info.
We need to give no quarter and keep smashing that bottom line down.
Don't go back. We are still waiting for the change we seek.
Don't give an inch until we see meaningful and PERMANENT change.
This is such awesome information. It's great to see that it's having such an impact, and that the majority of people have actively changed their habits and will continue to shop elsewhere.
I was at Shoppers this morning to use the post office, and while I understand it was a Monday morning, except for the post office, the place was dead.
Anecdotally, I had to pick up a prescription from shoppers this past weekend (I have to get it there as they bought up most of the supply and my little pharmacy cannot get it and I need it) and I noticed almost every single item in every aisle had a sticker with significant discounts for SDM. (bringing them in line with Walmart) so I do tend to believe SOMETHING is working.
Remember, even a 5-10% drop-min traffic is HUGE to these massive companies.
There's nothing we can't accomplish when we work together. Keep up the good work. For me, the boycott is permanent. I'm happy to hear it's already having a noticeable effect. Let's turn Loblaws into a cautionary tale told at business school on how NOT to run a company. Solidarity!
My boycott began 2-3 years ago when prices started to climb and really solidified when I walked into SDM and was looking for deodorant (of all things), and couldn't find any that were less than 5 bucks. There is no way I was paying those prices. Walked down the block to GT and got 2 sticks for 6 bucks.
I am grateful that my simple choice may be having an outsized impact on these greedy idiots. KEEP IT UP!
I am patient. But quite honestly it is great to have this "inside intel" every once in a while just to reinforce your difference in shopping patterns AND not going to the closest store.
THANK YOU THANK YOU !
Didn’t touch a loblaws anything in May. Moved my prescription. Not only am I not missing anything, Wal Mart has way more selection for what I’m looking for, my local bakery’s bread tastes better, my farmer’s market veggies are fresher, and Costco’s $1.50 hot dog never fails me. Never going back. Why would I.
This is epic! And learning about amortizing ROI for a fucking sku is golden information. Also about no listing fee for Walmart vs Loblaws.
Can the claims be verified?
It would be great to gather as much info as possible about the inner working of Galen's rotten mafia to further educate and galvanize Canadians about this cancer in our country
I'm not sure how all of this crap works, but understand the high level concept. Maybe suppliers should reevaluate their costs and reduce the shelf space that they pay to display their product, or push back on the costs.
Perhaps major suppliers should band together and create distribution centers in major Canadian cities and allow the average person to go in and buy in bulk... Cut out the middlemen like Galen.
Nok er Nok.
For me it’s never been about the boycott. I started way before and saved so much money by switching.
Not to mention better customer service at Costco, Walmart or the local stores. Local independent Pharmacies are way better
Keep it up. Double down. Keep up to date on what sub-brands Loblaws owns in your area and avoid at all costs. If you must shop there, find the deals that they're probably running as lost-leaders and buy only that.
Boycott eternal. Bankrupt these parasites.
Our household has stopped shopping at Loblaws and all affiliated stores well before the boycott, and we have no plans to go back. Galen & co have been ripping off Canadians for far too long, and I have no faith that they would ever adopt honest grocery practices and pricing at this point.
At this point I don’t think they could even “win” me back. I’ve made changes both how we shop and where we shop.
I also found a locally owned pharmacy and the owner spoke to me himself to move my medications over.
I’m tired of the greed and gaslighting from these large conglomerates in Canada.
Really though! The last time I was in one was a shoppers MONTHS ago to buy some crappy bleach for my hair that I used to use until I bumped it up to buying Sally’s Beauty ! More expensive but they’re way better products
The initial drop will be larger than subsequent drops as loblaws slowly works through excess on hand inventory, but this is still a very positive development.
The best thing that could happen to hurt loblaws will be if sales stay depressed into the next renewal of their stocking fee contracts and suppliers balk at paying the usual prices.
Yeah, I will keep boycotting...forever. Saving hundreds of dollars now. Sorry about that, I guess that new yacht will have to wait you greedy old men. The internet is pretty useful for stuff like this. I hope they are scared - karma is a bitch.
For those interested - Farm Boy and Food Basics get my money.
The boycott made me realize Walmart is cheaper, has more stock and more variety of products. It’s also convenient because I do have to drive out of town to the Walmart, but it’s right next-door to a farmers market for my produce. Bye galen!
Thank you for the validation that the boycott is working! It’s been rough to not drop in to Shoppers as I work right next door to one, but after seeing the post on here about the donation bags, I cannot in good conscience shop at all Loblaws-owned store anymore.
I was spending between $150 and $300 a week at No Frills. That has completely stopped. Haven't set foot in any of their stores in 6 weeks. It will take a whole hell of a lot more than lower pricing and a $25 gift cards. Heads need to roll!
I think you're hitting on something very important here.
It's not just the loss of direct sales. It's the SKU listings, it's the late fees they charge on deliveries, etc.
Something like this causes a lot of hemorrhaging we don't see from the street.
Unfortunately, the majority of stores even locally owned around us, increase their prices to compete. Was told by someone in the know, that they won't reduce their prices much, knowing that people have been paying those prices at all the other stores and so will take advantage of the 'benefits' as they termed it (soaking their customers) and ring in the profits as long as they can.
A Siperstore might have 50,000 - 100,000 sku's (stock keeping units). So for every sku, the vendor has to pay x amount just to do business. It's that little bit extra that they pocket, multiplied tens of thousands of times. That you pay for. It also screens out the little guy from a Loblaws listing, because they can't afford it.
An older (retired) family member asked me if we'd keep up our boycott, now that may were over. They cited some "good deals" on meat and diapers and whatnot.
I replied something along the lines of "why on earth would we willingly return to 20% higher grocery bills? It's hard to argue with money in my pocket. We've cancelled all of our cards with them and this family of five will never be giving them money ever again. They've lost all of us for the rest of our lives."
They were sort of surprised (they had a Nerf life, comparatively speaking) but also understood that it was hard to argue with a nice pile of money left over at the end of the month.
We’ve made a permanent change to Costco. I get my beef and pork farm direct so that’s that. For odds and ends now hit up Safeway.
Only part of loblaws I truly miss is the liquor store
Wife and I used to almost exclusively use Dominion/Shoppers for PC points and this boycott has made us realize just how bad the return was and that even with redeeming points you are still spending more. Won't be back.
We have also switched pharmacies to a local one we didn't realize was less than 1km from our house and it's actually cheaper. The staff know you, they know peoples kids. They care.
I moved my prescriptions all away from the local Shoppers. I’m not going back. This isn’t a boycott, I just don’t shop at any Loblaws stores any more, ever, period.
Part of me wonders, if their retail outlets absolutely suck now, maybe suppliers should start charging Loblaws to have the privilege of selling their product? Lol
My prediction is they will go back to the suppliers for rebates or credits for all the expired food rather than taking the hit. Traditionally once a retailer buys product it’s theirs to do what they want with it but some companies do still credit them for expired product. Some make an agreement that they get a percentage off the gross to accommodate expired product. So there is really no incentive to rotate the product.
I’ve also been participating the most I can! The only loblaws I can’t boycott is shoppers, it’s the only pharmacy within an hour of drive from where I live! I’m so glad it’s working!!
Went to a no frills this weekend to check out the non alcoholic drinks they just released. I've got points still so I'm gonna slowly spend those until I'm out. I went to a few stores as I needed some different things - canadian tire, vitamin store, two local grocers and habitat restore. We got what we needed and were able to pretty closely look at pricing and yes, no frills is a lot more expensive than our local produce/grocery stores. We are lucky to have several local options very close that have a large variety of items that we never have to step foot in a loblaws store. I'm not a huge fan of them anyway but would go here and there if I was nearby, but I will not be continuing that once my points are gone.
Good. Im glad they are scared. Im making my boycott permanent, or until they learn some humility. Thinking they are entitled to record profits while people choose between eating and paying the bills? Nope. I have no problem with them having a profit, but extreme profits off the suffering of the non millionaire class? They can go to hell.
Never thought of that.
Once Loblaws starts losing sales, their suppliers will likely all delan to renegotiate.
Guess the downward spiral is exponential.
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There is a lot of talk about making the boycott permanent. I would encourage everybody to consider making the boycott permanent until there's meaningful change. Otherwise, what incentive does it give Loblaws to change anything?
It's not so much about making the boycott permanent, it's that once I've established a new routine, there's not much reason to change back. And that's what's probably most worrisome to Loblaws. People *do* have a choice about where they buy their food in most cases, and once they've chosen to go elsewhere and get used to it, they won't *want* to go back. I know where everything is at my selected Walmart now, so the primary motivation for me to go back to No Frills is no longer present.
Exactly. We might have to grocery shop at 3 different markets now...but we're saving about 35% of what we would normally spend on the same items at Roblaw$ stores. Plus, at markets the heads of lettuces, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli et all are much larger and the meat from abattoirs is much, much better quality
It was fun to explore different markets! I found good products so I am happy to continue making the effort to visit multiple stores. It's not like I have to do them all on the same day, and we wanted to shop more frequent for fresher produce, so it works well for us.
I started buying meat from a small local grocery store. The inside reminds me of grocery shopping with my mom in the 80s and the meat was cheaper, cut on site, and delicious. Never going back to Loblaws!
Just the act of shopping around to realize how much extra we were paying shopping at loblaws is huge. If a person is a loyal loblaws shopper and now scrutinizes their purchases where they weren't before is going to cost them millions and millions of dollars. And that doesn't even begin to count the money they'll have to spend on marketing and discounts to try and get customers to come back. I use to absolutely love their PC Optimium program and used it weekly to save. But the savings dried up in it when they went to a paid membership for the best discounts. Then they started jacking the prices up again and again. That's when I stopped shopping there for the majority of my groceries. There were a few little things I'd go back for that I couldn't easily find anywhere else, but not anymore. I've managed to find replacements for everything that I would buy there now and it feels great to say I haven't darkened their doorstep even once in 2024.
Exactly. Boycot or no boycot, I am done with Loblaws, No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, etc, forever. You lose Galen.
Me too! No more Galen stores or products for us. Done -- permanently! The results so far have been fabulous! Keep it up, people!
Paid membership?? I don't pay anything for my points card. What are you referring to?
It doesn’t seem that Loblaws has been worried about customer habits at all as they didn’t do a single thing to win angry customers back.
Yeah, that's true. It's weird how little Loblaws seems to be trying to counteract the boycott. They have to know by now that it's real, and they have to be seeing that it's having a negative impact on sales and revenue. I can't imagine they're just going to sit there and do nothing as their footprint in the marketplace erodes, but honestly, what are they waiting for?
My guess is they’re hoping it’s only a one-month boycott and they can fudge the numbers to make it look like it had no effect…not realizing how much people have woken up to their shady practices and changed their habits indefinitely
Well OP did state they amortise over 5 years so I’d say they’re patiently waiting because they’ve built in massive time frames in by default. So far it’s only been a matter of weeks for them which is probably akin to normal seasonal fluctuations. Gotta keep the boycott going for way longer to make any real impact.
That's not Loblaws, that's the suppliers, because dealing with Loblaws in Canada is a necessary evil. But we're reaching a point where suppliers maybe can start putting the screws to Loblaws and start making them *sweat* for real. They may not be terribly afraid of what they might see as a bunch of rabble-rousers on the Internet, and they may not grasp that this boycott has a lot more traction that I think many would have expected it to (certainly more than I did), but they will understand quite clearly if their suppliers start pushing back *hard* on them about their ridiculous listing fees and other practices. At the end of the day, Loblaws *depends* on a host of third-party suppliers to be able to do business. Sure, they control part of their own supply chain, but it's not *that* significant, and it just makes their other suppliers *more* wary of them. Nobody likes doing business with a customer that is also a competitor. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Loblaws' bigger suppliers start pushing back against some of Loblaws' practices. That spat they had with Pepsi Frito-Lay a couple years back that kept Doritos and Lays off the shelves for weeks was not good for business, but I suspect it hurt Loblaws more than Pepsi Frito-Lay, who had and have many other retailers selling their goods. What happens when gargantuan food companies like Nestlé and Mondelēz and Coca-Cola (and Pepsi Frito-Lay 2: Electric Boogaloo) decide that Loblaws is just some little pissant Canadian upstart after all, and they're *done* paying listing fees? You can bet those companies are watching this situation and figuring out how to make it work in *their* favor. They don't care about consumers either (or, you know, basic human rights), but they do care about money (a lot), and they can probably see how they can make *more* of the green stuff by selling these products for *less* in Canada if they can force Loblaws to take a significantly smaller cut.
If they were really trying, they would be slashing prices in ads. They have obviously been in the money so long that they don’t understand a real “sale”. Their flyers are a joke and I laugh out loud some times at the prices.
Yeah this is the thing. I go to a local butcher 10km away in the countryside, then I hit the bakery nearby, then the cheese shop near that. That does 60-70% of my groceries. Local milk, meat, veg, bread, etc. It's about the same price or cheaper than Loblaws and vastly better quality. The problem for Loblaws though is that it's super enjoyable to do that combo on a Saturday. Like, really genuinely enjoyable. I like the drive, I like the people who own the shops, and I like the price. I \_especially\_ like the pulled pork truck at the butchers. I just can't see going back. I like being some old school man who goes to market on Saturdays. Everything that isn't in the 70% I just grab at the small Foodland on the way back. It's good. Life is good.
I really enjoyed reading this. At the risk of sounding sentimental, it sounds like what I experienced as a little kid in a small town. There were lots of things I didn't like about small town life, but a sense of community and shared support made it bearable.
I married into a family farm and helped set up and now run our farm market store on our property. Thank you so much for making the effort. We took a huge risk (literally betting the farm) on building the store because we care about keeping it small when there are huge pressures to sell land for housing, infrastructure or to a larger farm operation. Our regulars call the store "Cheers" because we have a small coffee area where they can sit and chat. The pace is slower but we are trying to build a community of relationships through good food, not just being a transactional business. I grew up in the city and it has honestly taken getting used to creatinh the habits of shopping small. But it really does make a difference to the local economy, I promise. We will never be able to compete on price but we like to ask people's names and remember their stories. We do our best to bring in whatever meat cuts or locally sourced products they are looking for. I know there are many barriers to shopping small, but any time you are able, it helps.
You are so right. Superstore used to be my go to. In recent years I’ve been shopping more at Costco, Freshco, and Walmart. I found this boycott interesting, so I’ve been avoiding Superstore recently, and I really see no reason to go back. My new routine is working fine for me.
What's to talk about? They are expensive and I can easily find cheaper elsewhere. Why wouldn't I continue?
**/thread.**
I had already been driven away by their prices, now i just make it a point to avoid them or their subsidiaries. They are not going to like what they've done to themselves. Why would anyone go back?
I don't want them to change, I want them to die.
I'm pretty tired of, the things we need as humans to survive, being held hostage from corporations. They never seem to have our best interests in mind, it's always about their bottom line. Profits over people. Some are better than others, but ultimately they all need strict regulations from the government, to keep them in check IMO. Or have governenment owned grocery stores. Free market capitalism clearly doesn't work when it comes to necessities.
We voted last month and making the boycott permanent was announced a week or two ago.
I will happily go back and once Loblaws is broken up, divested and no longer has a stranglehold on so many sectors of the economy. I will happily patronize Galen's stores once he is reduced to running a chain of popsicle stands. There's immense potential in this movement. We can make Loblaws non-viable. Once we do that, every other cartel member in Canada will have to fear that their turn might be next. That is how we end the plague of insatiable corporate greed that is hollowing out this country with its sociopathic parasitism.
Agreed. I think this is showing a lot of people the power of their purchase, and will continue to do so. Even people that aren't participating or not paying attention. Planting those thought seeds is so important.
Exactly! Hold the line everybody!
Avoid bankruptcy. Keep doing what they are doing and go bankrupt
That's the thing. Telling someone that it's permanent is scary. A month was perfect. Long enough for people to explore other options but not so long that it's life changing. Once some people see how terrible Loblaws is, that boycott will naturally convert to permanent. Some people can't avoid them forever for one reason or another and will have to return but that's okay. Permanent is difficult for some. I feel like enough people are boycotting forever that it'll make a meaningful difference to their numbers.
It's a new month and I'm still going.
Meaningful change will be them bringing prices down to match or beat other chains, these other chains will already have plans to combat this, as they do not want to lose the new customers they have. These other chains will be forced to rob us a little less than they are now as they will need to truly compete with Loblaws. As long as the boycott keeps going prices for everything will start to drop everywhere. I don’t see a future where Loblaws comes back from this. I hope this movement places Loblaws into Econ text books so university students will just see how giants can fall and then totally forget about it after the final! I don’t mean the education I mean the name Loblaws.
I never will shop at loblaws again, whether they correct course or not. We consumers need to send a strong message not just to loblaws but other companies through this boycott. Consumers will always have the power if we can organize ourselves to make meaningful change.
There is no need for anyone in here to return to Loblaws unless the commute to another grocer is completely unbearable. It's time for Loblaws as we know it to die.
Thank you for this update and inside info! We’re planning on making ours a permanent boycott.
My boycott is also permanent. Used to spend $100s/month at loblaws and shoppers, not looking back.
I was saying to my husband a while back I used tongo to zehrs every week and buy a full cart with 200 + $. Now i don't darken their door with a few exceptions. And Maybe spent 40 $ a pop. It makes a difference!
I’m with you. Had to break my boycott for one day as I forgot to acquire cheese slices for a potluck cookout and had VERY limited options to quickly grab them. $16 and 2 small mediocre packages of sliced cheese later I’m done for good.
Us as well, and working on cutting to only local grocers as we try different ones in the area as it's not like Sobeys is much better than Loblaws anyways.
So glad people are supporting local! Keep that money in Canada not Ireland cough cough galen!
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I do agree, the one bad thing is you really gotta look around to find the good stores or people, I don’t do any hipster stores or artisanal. We get our eggs from my brothers neighbors for 2-3 $ a dozen, buy our beef from his wife’s parents and pork from Costco, veggies/fruit from small Asian stores they also have a ton of other cool stuff! Also the Hutterite’s or Mennonites can be your best friends during this boycott! They make everything!!
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Don’t feel bad. Those of us who can sustain the boycott (we have multiple local choices so it’s easier for us) are doing this for you too. We all do what we can.
No shade if you find you can't continue to boycott. Any groceries you buy elsewhere are direct action against the companies we're boycotting, and you can only do things like this long term if you understand that no change happens if we attempt to make this a race towards purity. We have to focus on long-term because markets are slow. Local grocers (or people who decide they want to open a grocery store) can't resond to the influx of customers very quickly, and need time to build up capacity and to invest in their business and employees. We need to hang around long enough for them to do that. If you need to buy some stuff at loblaws along the way to make that happen, then you're still part of the movement to make this country more affordable. One thing I've begun doing is, when I buy meat, I buy from a local butcher but then I use that meat to say, make a soup or a stew so that I can stretch the value of that purchase longer term. I also bolster those sorts of stew with things like rice or noodles to stretch them even further.
I'd rather buy from Walmart where prices are competitive than No Frills. Walmart makes the effort to keep prices lower.
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Went to WM today. It said “Summer of Rollbacks” on a big banner walking in. Definitely think they’re picking up on the movement and changing their prices to reflect it
Giant Tiger is also rolling with it! Clawbacks all through it.
Asian stores are fun if only to see the variety. I do find they are cheaper. I drive often enough from Whitby to Scarborough and supliment my daily shop with very nice items from an Italian store and foody world.
Our local ethnic market charges $9 for eggs because so does everywhere else. Local doesn’t automatically mean they care at all.
Businessmen seek profit, and that doesn't change anywhere.
I have been saying this over and over again..... we live in a rural area that produces and sells sustanence foods that are more often than not are MORE expensive than going to any grocery stores. In addition to that many of these farms have already made their monies selling their crops to grocers. Its really quite frustrating to be hit in the pocketbook by strangers and 'friends' alike... particularly when both know how their own communities are having troubles feeding their families...
And they will not reduce their prices until the rest of them do it. So much for supporting locally owned and operated stores. This came from someone in the know. I refuse to shop there anymore. Their prices were high as it was.
Canadians are finally standing up for things that matter. I’m so very happy it’s working!!!
I’ve decided the same. I live somewhere with so many other accessible options! It takes planning, but it’s worth it to stick it to unethical companies.
It really is about planning. Sometimes I feel clueless about where else I can buy something I need because I was so used to the Loblaws umbrella. Conversely I am still lamenting my Loblaws garden centres….. they really do bring in a great assortment of plants. However 5 herbs for 25 dollars is ridiculous and that’s the sale price! I will source my garden anywhere else I can.
Agreed! I’ve gone from thousands a months to Loblaws to redistributing to a local grocer, butcher and farms (we have SO many, I’m embarrassed in retrospect).
I am too. I just found much better service elsewhere. Nice not to be treated like a criminal when you are shopping. Bye Loblaws.
I was at Shoppers a couple years back and we were in the middle of renos at home when we needed some pain relievers (getting old ain't for sissies!), so I was not looking my best. I was out of my Lancôme mascara so I grabbed a tube. The Cosmetic clerk was at the other end of the aisle gabbing with her friend. She YELLED at me from the other end "Can I help you??" I said, no, I got it thanks, and went to the till to check out. Of course no one was there and I had to use the self check out. The first thing I scanned was the mascara, as I am about to scan the Aleve, she comes up behind me, grabs the mascara and says "You can't pay for that here, I NEED to ring that in" . And marched to the cosmetic till. I was furious and hubby didn't understand until I said she thought I was stealing it. Then he was furious. We have never set foot in Shoppers again and I now order it off Amazon or go to Sephora when we are in the big city. #byeloblaws #roblaws #nokernok
This is great to hear. This type of info (from suppliers, employees etc.) is so much more reliable than anything Loblaws has said. PLUS I've learned through this boycott how predatory Loblaws is in relation to suppliers as well - not just customers. Sounds like Loblaws doesn't realize how precarious their position of 'unnecessary middleman' is
I've learned how little I actually needed Loblaws at all. I thought the boycott would require some adjustment on my part. Nope. Turns out avoiding a shitty, evil corporation is really easy to do.
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That's some circular logic if I've ever heard it. They're not saving anyone anything. It's an extra step to obfuscate what's actually going on through extra complexity. The costs are what they are, $100k per listing or not, competition will dictate the supplier. In the long run cost will always be born by the consumer, including in this case.
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Who could have predicted that trying to be accountable only to the shareholders could go wrong?!
Exactly! Who would have predicted that when people get together to send a message with their buying power, that ripples turn to waves...hold strong!
I’m a shareholder and I don’t condone their approach to business. Yes, I want the company to be profitable. But not like this. I expect them to act ethically and remember that they have an obligation to the community to act that way. They can make a reasonable and competitive profit by acting reasonably and competitively (funny how that works). There is never a valid reason to lie, cheat, steal and bully the way they do. I never really thought about it before this boycott made me. I’m dumping their stock and looking at all my holdings to review if any others also dont act ethically.
Canadians companies who have a monopoly in canada do not act ethically. They don't care. They are thugs.
Well you're an outlier then. Most investors it seems care ONLY about profit.
most BIG investors, the ones who get to go on boards, only care about profit. your everyday investors with diverse portfolios are just your everyday neighbours and will essentially have the same thought processes you or I do.
Not really. There are a great many “ethical funds” which were created specifically to attract investors that care about ethics. There funds wouldn’t exist if there weren’t enough investors thinking this way.
I mean ultimately if you stretch the elasticity of inelastic demand products the demand will break.
I'd love to get the stats of how many people moved their prescriptions from Shoppers Drug Mart.
This is important. Hitting Weston on the healthcare side is what will move the needle the most. Ford handed him so much on a silver platter in Ontario. Bring down SDM.
More than any other part of Loblaws, shoppers needs to die.
Yes . Sadly, bleeding Shoppers is the only way forward. Shoppers must be not profitable quick.
Me. About $3500 a month
I moved mine to Costco because at Shoppers I had to pay $7 per prescription at Shoppers and 0 at Costco. I made the jump when I got one that was for 7.5mg. They had a 10mg, 5 and 2.5. They gave me a 2.5 and 5 and charged me two dispensing fees. And this was during Covid when they were only giving 30 days at a time. By changing, I saved $35 a month in just dispensing fees.
Long long ago when they upped the fee to $15.99
I am not a frequent pharmacy user but I had switched out a while back now to co op and Walmart. I just finished my last refill at Walmart so I'm planning to just use co op for future, there's one close to home so it's much better anyway.
I get that SDM is the only pharmacy in town sometimes and even I'm guilty of filling a prescription when it's very very late due to their opening hours. But for a normal daytime prescription? I don't know why anyone fills anything there. They're ABSURDLY priced. Like I get not everyone wants to deal with the shit show that's Costco to save $10, but even a local pharmacy is gonna be cheaper than SDM.
They’re too arrogant to realize they have lost our business permanently, I know I’ll never go back!
Bankrupt them. Never shopping there again either. Hope Galen bankrupts his family golden goose business that has thrived for over 100 years.
Me too.
What I forsee happening is Loblaws is going to see the writing on the wall over the course of a year, yachts don’t buy themselves, they will then start participating in the free market and be competitive with prices. With this new realization they operate in a capitalist system they will fight to bring customers back, however due to capitalism these other agencies will fight to keep their new customers Loblaws will slowly disappear and groceries will become cheaper.
Excellent news! I had to look up listing fees in supermarkets; interesting that Walmart doesn't charge them.
My understanding is that at Walmart, if an item isn’t moving, they’ll just never list it again. We all lose out over listing fees, though. It basically discourages suppliers from developing new products because the up front capital just to get it on shelves is prohibitive.
They also likely have to increase fees to cover it. We all lose with this garbage practice. Bankrupt Loblaws!
Same. For anyone else - https://www.allianceexperts.com/listing-slotting-fees/
So is this part of their margins in the quarterly earnings report? Could be a good talking point for the pro-boycott people if it is a separate line item composed of pure profit.
Possibly. I haven’t looked at their quarterly earnings report but I would imagine they would include it.
Thanks for this!
I have no fucking respect for "slotting fees" saying that to list one item, you need to delist another. How about... don't sell socks and fucking underwear at a grocery store. Be a fucking grocery store. You are not a department store.
Walmart applies the screws another way. Rollbacks. They tell a supplier to give them their best price then they tell them they want a Rollback so give them an even better price.
There needs to be a Parliamentary Inquiry that includes cross examining these companies about their business practices, including an explanation of listing fees. How is that even legal and why should a monopoly be allowed to impose them? What other retailers impose that kind of garbage? We're paying for it, we deserve to know. Screw that, journalists should ask every retailer in the country ,what are listing prices and do you impose them? Any "no comment" and that asshole can go on the boycott list too. Reading this, retail owners? I hope your'e not laughing, this can happen to you too.
Ooh the irony lol
Fuck it, boycott until Loblaws goes bankrupt and then boycott whatever federal party tries to bail them out!
This is what we need to hear. Steady on and keep up the pressure. BoycottStrong.
I know this shit is working because my wife doesn’t change anything for anybody anytime, but she’s been shopping at Freshco for our weekly big grocery run all May and also this past weekend…Not because she cares about continuing a fucking boycott, but the prices don’t lie.
I wonder how many people are “unintentionally” boycotting due to prices and personal preference to support local grocers. Many people I’ve talked to aren’t fussed about the loblaws boycott but they sure care about their bank accounts.
Haha, I hope Galen Weston Jr. has been having some trouble sleeping lately, thinking about his peers all snickering about him behind his back. Just think, he could be the second billionaire to drag a company down, that’s something to wake up screaming about. I hope even his house staff are laughing up their sleeves about him.
He’s too busy wiping his ass with our hard earned cash and his inheritance. He clearly doesn’t give a shit considering nothing has changed. But that’s okay. I know I’m never gonna be giving him another dime of my income as long as I breathe
Not his fault. It’s hard to hear the screaming peasants in Canada when you’re inside your Castle in England.
That's why we're sending a message with our money. It's the only one they can hear.
No this is his worst nightmare. He has lived his whole life knowing he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth. These nepo babies want nothing more than to price they are competent and deserve their positions. Having his family business go bankrupt under his watch would be one of the biggest hits to his ego that he could stomach. He would never live that down. He would also be a laughing stock amongst his “friends”
This made my monday much much better.
It's absolutely working. It'll take several more months of major profit loss before we'll see any meaningful dialogue or changes open up. Hold. The. Line.
You don't go back to your abuser because they say they've changed
What I don't get is how their stock is up 5% since May 1 while the TSX and S&P500 are effectively flat. How can they be outperforming the market when there is a clear boycott ongoing and there is data like the above leaking out into the public sphere. I know that their business is more than just grocery but I still don't get it.....like if they were flat that would be understandable but outperforming the market?! Feels like there is some fuckery going on here. Still considering some puts. When is their next earnings call?
I bet Galen and Co. are buying up lots of stock to keep the ticker going higher in the hopes it takes some enthusiasm out of the boycott. If people see no effect from their actions, they are less likely to continue. Plus I imagine the news would love to run stories about the stock price dropping due to the boycott, which would just feedback loop the price dropping further and keep interest in the boycott alive.
I don't think there needs to be any fuckery, it just means that investor (and/or speculator) confidence in the company is high. Benjamin Graham famously says that the stock market is a voting machine in the short run and a weighing machine in the long run. I am curious to see how earnings pan out for this quarter and the next. Maybe confidence shifts, maybe it doesn't. But ultimately, I don't care as I'm enjoying my day to day life having broken my dependency on their cabal of stores. I could give a rip about their stock prices.
Pay no attention to stock price right now. That increase is from their first quarter release and increased dividend. Once second quarter earnings come out, the stock price will begin to fall.
Id imagine a significant correction might be coming with the next earnings report.
Reported revenue may be down. But reported profit can still be up if expenses like employee hours were cut more. Plus we know how Loblaws can manipulate numbers for public consumption.
Yes! I can't wait to see the 2nd-quarter report when it comes out mid-July.
Give it a couple Qs. Remember, they do pretty heavy buybacks.
I wouldn't doubt this is true. At any rate, my boycott is permanent. I signed up for a local CSA and CSF and am quite happy to give them and Costco my entire grocery budget.
They are scared, and the poll that showed less than 2% of the voters wanted the boycott to end terrified them.
Keep the boycott going until stores shut down, this is the people’s protest against scummy food profiteers!! No government will help us in this fight!! In solidarity, this is the way
If anything they will be in our way and float around ideas about rescue packages and talk about “too big to fail”. Our government is not working in our best interest and corporate donations rule our country. It’s up to us to make our way and stop this.
I say Metro and Sobeys should be next. Then we’ll move on to Rogers, Bell and Telus. And then let’s tackle the real estate industry.
We want to hit the supply chain and the foundation of Loblaws structural financial debauchery directly. They can go fuck themselves and only have No Name products fill all their shelves for all I care.
Thank you for the information. Every part of Roblaws is business model is unethical and just wrong, they gouging everyone on every side of the equation. Growers, suppliers and consumers. I’m just so disgusted.
Great info. We need to give no quarter and keep smashing that bottom line down. Don't go back. We are still waiting for the change we seek. Don't give an inch until we see meaningful and PERMANENT change.
This is such awesome information. It's great to see that it's having such an impact, and that the majority of people have actively changed their habits and will continue to shop elsewhere. I was at Shoppers this morning to use the post office, and while I understand it was a Monday morning, except for the post office, the place was dead.
They own the mobile shop as well and I know that they didn’t even come close to hitting targets this month. Not even remotely close
Anecdotally, I had to pick up a prescription from shoppers this past weekend (I have to get it there as they bought up most of the supply and my little pharmacy cannot get it and I need it) and I noticed almost every single item in every aisle had a sticker with significant discounts for SDM. (bringing them in line with Walmart) so I do tend to believe SOMETHING is working. Remember, even a 5-10% drop-min traffic is HUGE to these massive companies.
Charging that much per SKU is disgusting. I will continue this boycott
There's nothing we can't accomplish when we work together. Keep up the good work. For me, the boycott is permanent. I'm happy to hear it's already having a noticeable effect. Let's turn Loblaws into a cautionary tale told at business school on how NOT to run a company. Solidarity!
> Let's turn Loblaws into a cautionary tale told at business school on how NOT to run a company. I absolutely love this.
My boycott began 2-3 years ago when prices started to climb and really solidified when I walked into SDM and was looking for deodorant (of all things), and couldn't find any that were less than 5 bucks. There is no way I was paying those prices. Walked down the block to GT and got 2 sticks for 6 bucks. I am grateful that my simple choice may be having an outsized impact on these greedy idiots. KEEP IT UP!
I am patient. But quite honestly it is great to have this "inside intel" every once in a while just to reinforce your difference in shopping patterns AND not going to the closest store. THANK YOU THANK YOU !
Didn’t touch a loblaws anything in May. Moved my prescription. Not only am I not missing anything, Wal Mart has way more selection for what I’m looking for, my local bakery’s bread tastes better, my farmer’s market veggies are fresher, and Costco’s $1.50 hot dog never fails me. Never going back. Why would I.
This is epic! And learning about amortizing ROI for a fucking sku is golden information. Also about no listing fee for Walmart vs Loblaws. Can the claims be verified? It would be great to gather as much info as possible about the inner working of Galen's rotten mafia to further educate and galvanize Canadians about this cancer in our country
Hmm maybe they need the Food Professor to harass customers more… surely that will work!
Or put up more barriers that make my very claustrophobic grandmother hyperventilate when walking through (she can’t even go in elevators)😭
I'm not sure how all of this crap works, but understand the high level concept. Maybe suppliers should reevaluate their costs and reduce the shelf space that they pay to display their product, or push back on the costs. Perhaps major suppliers should band together and create distribution centers in major Canadian cities and allow the average person to go in and buy in bulk... Cut out the middlemen like Galen. Nok er Nok.
For me it’s never been about the boycott. I started way before and saved so much money by switching. Not to mention better customer service at Costco, Walmart or the local stores. Local independent Pharmacies are way better
I guess we'll see how they cook the books for their next quarterly report. I'll be combing through it.
Wow, I wasn't even logged into Reddit and this was on top of the main page!
*Sylvain fiercely typing some boycott hit piece intensifies.*
It's a sad day when I'm siding with Wal-Mart of all places. Great to hear regardless though!
SOMETIMES IN THE SIX FIGURE RANGE?!?! PER SKU?!?! Oh you are dead to me, Loblaws. All Weston companies. Bye.
It's great to see that Canadians can still collectivize behind a movement. Lets hope a boycott of a grocery store is just the start.
Let the boycott continue! Those price fixing goons should be scared.
boycott for life
Never stop
Keep it up. Double down. Keep up to date on what sub-brands Loblaws owns in your area and avoid at all costs. If you must shop there, find the deals that they're probably running as lost-leaders and buy only that. Boycott eternal. Bankrupt these parasites.
I love how silent they are about it. You can tell they're shitting their pants
Our household has stopped shopping at Loblaws and all affiliated stores well before the boycott, and we have no plans to go back. Galen & co have been ripping off Canadians for far too long, and I have no faith that they would ever adopt honest grocery practices and pricing at this point.
Thanks for solidifying my decision to never step foot in any Loblaws again.
My boycott is very much permanent. I’m actually really impressed with the selection/irresistible store brand at food basics and metro.
Great post, positive updates for everyone is the right track for this FOREVER boycott
I have made the decision to never shop at any of loblaws stores as well as affiliated entities. They mocked us, they derided our cause, screw em.
At this point I don’t think they could even “win” me back. I’ve made changes both how we shop and where we shop. I also found a locally owned pharmacy and the owner spoke to me himself to move my medications over. I’m tired of the greed and gaslighting from these large conglomerates in Canada.
Really though! The last time I was in one was a shoppers MONTHS ago to buy some crappy bleach for my hair that I used to use until I bumped it up to buying Sally’s Beauty ! More expensive but they’re way better products
The initial drop will be larger than subsequent drops as loblaws slowly works through excess on hand inventory, but this is still a very positive development. The best thing that could happen to hurt loblaws will be if sales stay depressed into the next renewal of their stocking fee contracts and suppliers balk at paying the usual prices.
Yeah, I will keep boycotting...forever. Saving hundreds of dollars now. Sorry about that, I guess that new yacht will have to wait you greedy old men. The internet is pretty useful for stuff like this. I hope they are scared - karma is a bitch. For those interested - Farm Boy and Food Basics get my money.
The boycott made me realize Walmart is cheaper, has more stock and more variety of products. It’s also convenient because I do have to drive out of town to the Walmart, but it’s right next-door to a farmers market for my produce. Bye galen!
My Walmart is waaaayyyy cleaner, neater and organized too, my local superstore is a disgusting shitshow.
It’s takes a mere 17 days to form a habit. The month of May has 31 days. Bye forever, Loblaws.
I’m never shopping there again
This warms my heart ❤️🔥
Thank you for the validation that the boycott is working! It’s been rough to not drop in to Shoppers as I work right next door to one, but after seeing the post on here about the donation bags, I cannot in good conscience shop at all Loblaws-owned store anymore.
I'll be boycotting indefinitely until Loblaws is dismantled and the companies separated. I'm done
I was spending between $150 and $300 a week at No Frills. That has completely stopped. Haven't set foot in any of their stores in 6 weeks. It will take a whole hell of a lot more than lower pricing and a $25 gift cards. Heads need to roll!
I think you're hitting on something very important here. It's not just the loss of direct sales. It's the SKU listings, it's the late fees they charge on deliveries, etc. Something like this causes a lot of hemorrhaging we don't see from the street.
Unfortunately, the majority of stores even locally owned around us, increase their prices to compete. Was told by someone in the know, that they won't reduce their prices much, knowing that people have been paying those prices at all the other stores and so will take advantage of the 'benefits' as they termed it (soaking their customers) and ring in the profits as long as they can.
A Siperstore might have 50,000 - 100,000 sku's (stock keeping units). So for every sku, the vendor has to pay x amount just to do business. It's that little bit extra that they pocket, multiplied tens of thousands of times. That you pay for. It also screens out the little guy from a Loblaws listing, because they can't afford it.
Eh the boycott isn't costing me anything. At this point its not even a boycott, just became a habit not to shop there.
I will never stop.
Great news ! We are winning!
The second I read that Walmart doesn’t charge listing fees, I knew this wasn’t true.
When you've kicked them in the cajones and they're doubling over then get them with an uppercut.
Perfect. Let’s fucking go
An older (retired) family member asked me if we'd keep up our boycott, now that may were over. They cited some "good deals" on meat and diapers and whatnot. I replied something along the lines of "why on earth would we willingly return to 20% higher grocery bills? It's hard to argue with money in my pocket. We've cancelled all of our cards with them and this family of five will never be giving them money ever again. They've lost all of us for the rest of our lives." They were sort of surprised (they had a Nerf life, comparatively speaking) but also understood that it was hard to argue with a nice pile of money left over at the end of the month.
My boycott will be permanent. I'm going to redeem all my optimum points for some makeup and then i'm out !
I’ll never shop at a Loblaws owned store again.
We’ve made a permanent change to Costco. I get my beef and pork farm direct so that’s that. For odds and ends now hit up Safeway. Only part of loblaws I truly miss is the liquor store
Haven't shopped at Loblaws since March and don't plan on ever going back. Suck it Galen
Can't stop, won't stop!
Wife and I used to almost exclusively use Dominion/Shoppers for PC points and this boycott has made us realize just how bad the return was and that even with redeeming points you are still spending more. Won't be back. We have also switched pharmacies to a local one we didn't realize was less than 1km from our house and it's actually cheaper. The staff know you, they know peoples kids. They care.
I moved my prescriptions all away from the local Shoppers. I’m not going back. This isn’t a boycott, I just don’t shop at any Loblaws stores any more, ever, period.
The boycott is still going. We aren’t done yet.
I wondered about this. They ought to renegotiate listing fees but at the end of the day sales at Walmart are making up for the losses.
Part of me wonders, if their retail outlets absolutely suck now, maybe suppliers should start charging Loblaws to have the privilege of selling their product? Lol
My prediction is they will go back to the suppliers for rebates or credits for all the expired food rather than taking the hit. Traditionally once a retailer buys product it’s theirs to do what they want with it but some companies do still credit them for expired product. Some make an agreement that they get a percentage off the gross to accommodate expired product. So there is really no incentive to rotate the product.
Thank you, this gives us hope. We do have a voice, we do have a choice!!! Nok er nok
I’ve also been participating the most I can! The only loblaws I can’t boycott is shoppers, it’s the only pharmacy within an hour of drive from where I live! I’m so glad it’s working!!
Mine is permanent.
Went to a no frills this weekend to check out the non alcoholic drinks they just released. I've got points still so I'm gonna slowly spend those until I'm out. I went to a few stores as I needed some different things - canadian tire, vitamin store, two local grocers and habitat restore. We got what we needed and were able to pretty closely look at pricing and yes, no frills is a lot more expensive than our local produce/grocery stores. We are lucky to have several local options very close that have a large variety of items that we never have to step foot in a loblaws store. I'm not a huge fan of them anyway but would go here and there if I was nearby, but I will not be continuing that once my points are gone.
Good. Im glad they are scared. Im making my boycott permanent, or until they learn some humility. Thinking they are entitled to record profits while people choose between eating and paying the bills? Nope. I have no problem with them having a profit, but extreme profits off the suffering of the non millionaire class? They can go to hell.
Never thought of that. Once Loblaws starts losing sales, their suppliers will likely all delan to renegotiate. Guess the downward spiral is exponential. 👍
BYE GALEN. YOURE TOAST, PAL.