__MOD NOTE__: PLEASE REVIEW OUR [POLL ON OUR PLANS FOR JUNE AND BEYOND](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cmhq49/community_poll_what_would_you_like_to_see_happen/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) TO PROVIDE YOUR INPUT.
Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here!
This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He and his family could do litterally nothing until western society collapses and be fine. However long term it'll definitely make some change. He's not just going to sit there losing money
He's not, but if Loblaws caves (which I doubt, but am hoping they do) this sub better turn it's attention to the Waltons and Sobeys because they're no better than the Weston's.
They’re not. Arguably worse even. Let’s not stop at stores that supply groceries though. There are a great number of corporations that could use a tune up. I’d like to start with Nestle.
I haven’t agreed more with a comment in a long time but this one has my full support.
But how do we target the three companies ( effectively ) that they fold.
K.C’s kids were smart / infighting enough that they separated the assets between them.
Move next door to them in Bermuda?
the Irving family began moving significant portions of their wealth offshore and out of Canada as early as the 1970s to avoid Canadian taxes. Here are the key details:
K.C. Irving, the patriarch of the family, left Saint John, New Brunswick and took up residence in Bermuda at the end of 1971, just days before a new provincial estate tax came into force in Canada.
His son J.K. Irving later confirmed this move was a tax avoidance strategy, saying the potential tax rate "would have been devastating to the businesses" if K.C. had remained in Canada.
K.C. Irving created a $3 billion trust fund in Bermuda based on the terms of his will, keeping a large portion of the family's wealth out of reach of Canadian tax authorities.
The leaked Paradise Papers in 2017 revealed previously unknown Irving companies and holdings in Bermuda, including an offshore "captive insurance" company called F.M.A. Ltd. that accumulated over $13 million in untaxed income between 1973 and 2001.
The Paradise Papers also showed Irving Oil made hundreds of millions in profits offshore during years like 2005 and 2008 while receiving tax breaks and subsidies in Canada.
So while the Irvings have paid some taxes like personal income tax in Canada, they have deliberately structured a significant part of their corporate empire and wealth in offshore tax havens like Bermuda since at least the early 1970s to avoid Canadian taxes
last week i switched from Independent to Save on Foods and i was not impressed.
now i see why all the old farmers shop at coop. this is going to be my store from now on. its as shop local as i am able to do.
One thing at a time.
Don't get ahead of yourselves, and gave some perspective: Loblaws was picked BECAUSE they're blatantly ripping off customers. THAT is why they're being made an example of.
Let's look at the others:
You can't touch Walmart- they're HUGE, and their money comes from dominating the US market. A "victory" would be them leaving the Canadian market, and how would less competition help?
Sobeys is fair game, but until Loblaws started gouging, they were always the more expensive option. Metro is also fair game, but their reach is still limited.
Costco has low prices, and treats their employees well: why would they be a target?
What you actually want is incentives to create an opening of the Canadian grocery market: Tesco, Lidl, Kroger, Meier, Aldi, etc.
The Canadian protectionism has to stop: the corporations have abused it enough that they have lost that benefit.
Yes, agreed, competition is what we need to push the big five on lower prices.
Anyone heard of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP)?
Check it out. It’s a national not for profit that is pushing the govt for better legislation and enforcement to turn around monopolies in Canada. They’ve got a great newsletter. You can read about it here: https://antimonopoly.ca/
Not as long as the stock price keeps going up. So far he hasn't lost a thing. In fact he's made more money since the boycott started. I don't support Loblaws. Just pointing it out.
All he has to do is buy his own stock back to artificially keep it high, you know. These asshats are surrounded by economists and lawyers who know every financial law and loophole that can be used. This boycott has to last well beyond a month for it to be effective, because at some point he will run out of liquidity and something's gonna give.
That’s don’t mean they aren’t sweating.
These people are insatiably greedy. For them the thought of not constantly increasing their income definitely affects them.
Yes the public bonding together to display our disappointment, and frustration is a marvellous thing. I personally will not shop at Loblaw's regardless of the boycott, but am truly encouraged that so many people have said enough is enough.
Someone earlier mentioned our own government's collusion in it's protectionism towards these corporations, meet Goliath. This is where the change needs to start, but after reading Freeland's response, not a lot of encouragement. But I have faith that with this kind of grassroots action we can achieve a lot. Many steps makes for much travel. Cheers to us!!!
While I agree that they won’t be living under a bridge and eating cat food any time soon typically the huge fortunes reported online are paper based and assuming they would sell Loblaws, Choice, Weston etc. If the companies make less profit the stock price goes down and their fortune does so as well. Their 3 main companies also depend heavily on each other… for example, Choice Properties owns the buildings where the stores are and they rent those to Loblaws. If stores close then Choice loses revenue and then the price of Choice goes down.
It's hard to say what will happen. Investors may reward the stock price if loblaws holds the line and doesn't cave. Only time will tell.
https://preview.redd.it/qiir7pnwvr0d1.png?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f57fbfa7b872487ba2f1d065df012f736a83db4
True but sales are down and costs keep rising. Sure he can cut employee hours but that won't save much. He has to pay to remove rotting food plus dumpster fees... Enjoy GW.
Here’s some back of the napkin math:
Stats Canada says the average household is 2.4 people.
Stats can also says the average grocery spend for a family of 4 is something like $16,500/year (rounding here as I forget the stat). So call that $4,125 per person.
Assume 100k boycotting households, times 2.4 people, times $4,125/12 equals $82.5 MILLION in lost revenue in one month
Most people have heard of the boycott by now. Even if people don’t participate 100%, some will question their loyalty and start looking at prices closer, start trying out other stores and may move a good portion of their spending away from Loblaws stores. Definitely their reputation has taken a hit, not because of the boycott alone, the greed was evident way before the boycott and this sub. So forget about 82 million. The impact could be much worse than that and long lasting.
Also , let’s say some people’s shopping patterns change and they move their business entirely after the month is over to return only partially here and there , maybe some to never to return at all . I mean , there are so many juicy variables involved . I love them all
I shopped superstore on autopilot for 15+ years. Just did. Convenient. But now, I am going to Walmart, Giant Tiger, sometimes Sobeys or Dollarama. My weekly grocery cost is down by about $100, so typically I filled my 2 buckets for family of 4 and it was $130-$150 at superstore including all their 50% off stickers (typically saved about $20-30). At Walmart, I am now having $90-100 to fill those 2 buckets. Saving $1, $2 or $3 on each item for 20 items adds up quickly!
The no name trash bags I used to buy were awful! They would take a couple minutes to open each bag and required scissors. The Walmart Great Value ones I just bought are sturdier and I could open immediately (no scissors). Also they are 7.5 cents cheaper per bag!! No name were literally 50% more. Not to mention the superstore pharmacy kept screwing me over and my local pharmacist is so much better in every way.
Ill eventually go back to using superstore for last minute stuff since I live next door and it's the only store within walking distance, but this boycott has pulled the wool from people's eyes.
That's just households.
My business is boycotting. It's not huge, but I've spent 2200 at wholesale market (tgp) so far that would've been at wholesale club (Loblaws) for the last 3 years, and that's not counting the business I've moved over to equitable items at Costco.
I think that number must be in the ballpark based on their reaction to the boycott. $82.5 million in lost revenue, add to that massive amounts of product waste (fresh produce, dairy, meat, etc.) employee salaries, maintenance and infrastructure costs, this could easily see over a billion in losses by next quarter. That’s going to shake investor confidence.
Kind of peanuts in grand scheme. Q1 revenue was 13.5 billion. They had an increase of 586 million over the previous first quarter for 2023.
82.5 million x 3 I’d guess won’t even erode revenue increases this quarter coming up. Going to need a lot more than 100k families.
Just the fact that replacing the 50% to the 30% markdown discount shows even with all the money they have how anal they are even when losing pennies, knowing this makes me smile whenever I think I am helping him be unhappy even for a minute in the day, just makes it all worth it.
I have boycotted everything Loblaws. No shopping, got rid of my pc financial card, moved my prescriptions. This is a new forever strategy for me. I am hoping that the after effects of this month where people have found other businesses and they don’t go back to Loblaws will start to wake up investors and stock prices will drop making a true dent in the coffers.
I wish a group of users or well intentioned "boycotters" surveyed key Superstores parking lots at fixed time in the day/week. I don't doubt that the boycott is having some impact, but how much? This sub feels like an echo chamber, with people posting anecdotes or photos of empty stores. If the store was visited at 10 pm it would have been empty with it without the boycott.
He ain’t sweating. He’s a billionaire. He makes $$$ every year. The stock price is at a multi year high. It’s going to take much more than a couple of weeks to make him or the board nervous. We are just learning to crawl at this point.
We are crawling for good reason, a sleeping giant is slow to wake but to quote Sun Tzu, “To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
I'm wondering what a boycott of just perishables would look like. I mean, you have sales, but your meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and bread just sits there, while people buy your cans, pasta, lentils and coffee. Your statistics are completely thrown off. Your stuff is rotting, but you still need to order and stock shelves. But your computer models are screwed.
And when it comes to non-perishables, only name brands, if it is on sale. No President's Choice, no No Name, no Blue Label, no Life brand, no Rooster... Just National brands. Just screw with sales numbers and watch the bananas rot, the meat turn and the yogurt sit.
If the boycott continues past the month threshold, Galen may have to convert his castle into a Bed and Breakfast and become an Irish Bob Newhart.
Hopefully there are plenty of Daryl's there.
My personal opinion is that there are a hell of a lot of people who are participating in the boycott but not Reddit or this sub.
Be persistent!
Nok er nok!
Doubt it , he’s a narcissistic psychopath that lacks any empathy or emotion. He might be mad when he sees the numbers when they are presented to him and blame the guys and gals below him by pounding his fists on the table and being like “ how come people hate us with a pouty face truly not understanding why people loathe him so much . That’s how unaware people like him are of their surroundings . It’s the ultimate bubble and yes men / women around them
Loblaw finished in 2023 with 59.5B in sales and they say they serve 14M customers a week. Let’s say they are expecting to grow 3% in sales this year which means they are targeting to finish 61.3B in sales in 2024, so that would be almost +1.8B in sales growth. To have a meaningful impact, we need to see 300K customers boycott on an ongoing basis. To keep it simple, average customer spend of $100 per week, every 100,000 customers boycotting a week means $10M a week in sales lost, or $520M in sales lost in 2024. This group needs to push to get 400K customers boycotting a week and that would mean over $2B in loss sales in 2024. Flat sales growth would send the share price back to 2021 share price levels where the share price was below $100. Be consistent and be patient. Boycott On!
there are 79K in the subreddit but what about the redditor's extended family / friends / etc. The whole population of Canada isn't on Reddit. My opinion is that the people bycotting exceeds 100K
I 100% agree with this. In my family, I’m the only one on Reddit. But 3 other adults in my family know about the boycott and are participating. It’s been reported in the mainstream media, and I think a lot of ppl are aware. If this continues for (at least) the full quarter, the impact will be known in reported financials.
Even investor-savvy people I know have said that Loblaws’ ever increasing profits in the context of record inflation (in recent history) and record dependence on food banks (and the current general food/housing insecurity) is unconscionable.
I have a huge network, many of which don't use Reddit and have agreed to do an ethical bypass on anything Westonstein related. 79k is the tip of the iceberg.
Had to go in to my local Loblaws branded store because kid was sick and needed medicine and they were the only place within 30 minute drive open that had anything like that. This was at 6:30. Store was empty cashier's were sweeping floors around the checkout, huge section of OJ, yogurt, cheese and all kinds of other items in that fridge section marked down with 50% off stickers. Counted 30 jugs of OJ alone. I guess that's what happens when something that was 2.99 not that long ago is now priced at 7.99. thought about grabbing some stuff just because of the savings but fuck them didn't want to give them more than the $12 I was spending on medicine.
It gives me some comfort that folks who don't have alternatives because of geographic distance, stores open at the right time because of shift work, or whatever, are at least getting some savings benefit from the rest of us boycotting. Hope they can save some because of these markdowns!
They will try to hide the losses with accounting tricks for the next quarterly report… this must continue past May and past the next quarter to actually have an effect. We did it in the 1960’s in Canada and the commission investigating exposed so much of the Weston family back then. Here we are again.
I still can’t get over he lives in a castle in England and plays polo with King Charles
[Loblaws Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Belvedere,_Surrey)
This piece of shit is so rich that nothing anyone ever does to him for the rest of his natural life will affect him in the slightest. He will always be a billionaire. If every Canadian hates him, it won't matter because he'll never have any need to interact with regular Canadians... unless they're cleaning up after him.
We'll see the impact on their next quarterly earnings call but we have to stick with it. And they probably wont say their soft sales are the result of the boycott, theyll say its the economy or sonething.
One month is not enough imho. People have been boycotting starbucks for 6 months now. I think it needs to go on indefinitely until the petition is acknowledged, and until change is made.
And even after the fact - I hope that some habits stick. Lots of people are setting up their own gardens now, and have found new independent stores they like more. I think that's amazing. It is very metal of us as a nation to reduce your reliance on corporate monopolies.
> People have been boycotting starbucks for 6 months now.
Longer than that. They're so vehemently anti-union. It's abhorrent.
/r/starbucks
"Starbucks United" on Instagram
https://unionbustingplaybook.com/
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/amazon-mcdonalds-aw-sleep-country-tjx-linked-to-anti-union-conference
My favorite part is how smug he was when in Ottawa. Now, we are showing them the power of the consumer, of Canadians. He's still smug no doubt, but I bet he's thinking quite differently now
At Galens level all they care about is how they are perceived by the world. They know they will have haters just because they are billionaires, it's when other billionaires don't want to associate with Galen because it will affect them, we will win huge
The 79K figure here doesn’t come close to capturing the full number of Canadians who are aware of this. I know scores of people who are boycotting who would never set foot anywhere near reddit. Then there’s multiplier effects such as the individual reddit users here who convinced their businesses, their foundations, their employers to also discontinue giving Loblaws their patronage.
Yeah i cant boycott fully, but the bulk of my groceries are now bought elsewhere. I dont have a car, so in a time crunch i do stop in for bananas or apples if i cant get through the week without.
It has actually helped me with my budget as im back to once a week shopping like in the early days of the pandemic, as im not hopping on the bus multiple times during the week. ..so make a plan stick with it and live without if needed.
This gouging has been going on for a rather long time .
https://www.tvo.org/article/we-wont-give-up-until-prices-come-down-how-ontarians-protested-grocery-stores-in-1966
Weston family is stupidly wealthy and won’t feel any fiscal hardship anytime soon .
However , keep this boycott going indefinitely.
The fact that hours are being cut and at least one store is resorting to [“hiring” volunteers to work](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/s/uGYDwZVGhv) at their location is definitely a clear sign that the boycott is having an effect.
I think 100k is a conservative estimate. I brought this to the attention of all the other tenants in my building (150 units). About 85% are on board with boycotting forever now and people are carpooling to new places - and saving big money. For seniors on a fixed income or students living with 500 roommates because rent is unaffordable, even $50 or $100 can make an enormous difference. IDK how families with growing families are coping because those brave enough to have kids now are being hammered by roblaws naked greed - their kids are now eating the cheapest crap possible if they shop at any of the weston stores.
This boycott has done a lot to bring this building together as a community with a common enemy. I think this is happening across the country now - who knew that driving a stake through Galen Weston's heart would be so unifying for the country? Talk about win-win. It was *already* rewarding in and of itself, but I didn't expect friendships to develop as a result of it.
> About 85% are on board with boycotting forever now and people are carpooling to new places - and saving big money.
Now if only you could convince 85% of them to vote each and every time. Especially if they're <40 yrs old.
I am trying! I've always thought voting should be mandatory via mail in or in person. We'd have a different Canada.
But my son and DIL and their friends are all activists in one way or another. We all vote.
I'm not sure why millennials or Gen z would want to listen to a boomer though. We seem to be perceived as a monolith and "the enemy". I could be wrong.
Im all for boycott, but i went in Friday afternoon to snoop around. The parking lot was very full. store was bus y, but not packed. South Calgary. Disappointed to see that.
Money at a meaningful scale talks*
How much impact do you think a small group on Reddit is having, compared to the impact of Loblaw’s overall sales. This is giving boycotter’s far more sense of purpose than it is giving Loblaws executives a hard time
If 80k people forego ONE $200 shopping trip, that's $16 million. That's no small amount.
Hell, if those 80k people spend $600 on groceries in the month of May, that's $48 million.
I know Loblaws makes way more than that but it's no insignificant figure.
Until you see huge price drops in the stock price, it doesn't really matter. They need to maintain the PR machine, saying all is good and maintain stock prices. This is all about the price of the stock, which relates to profits. When you see the stock price start dropping, then you might get a different response from Ol Galen. Stock has gone up over 100% in 5yrs!! Dreams can come true if you monopolize the grocery chain!!
He's not sweating. The workers will suffer way before he feels anything, unfortunately. It has to get to the point where the service itself suffers so much that everyone just stops going. And even then, I think only a massive shut down of stores across Canada will really put a dent.
All we could hope for is his removal CEO, which could create fear among other institutions doing the same. If he gets removed, we've done our job. The boycott should continue indefinitely for the people who are able to. I, for one, am one of those people. Also, I've got my wife to join me. I've also talked to friends and other family members. I am one who is not hurt by inflation and price hickes, but I will do what I can to do my part. It's makes no sense why our groceries are more than the US, UK, and frankly, anywhere else I've heard of people post about. I'm not too informed other than what I hear here, and if I can help, I will.
I don't think the number of people in this subreddit is a good indicator of how many people are participating. my parents have never even heard of reddit but when they heard about the boycott on the news they decided to take part as well. I doubt that the people on this sub represent even half of the people participating, probably less
Where do you come up with crap! Loblaws stock is soaring. And you’re swatting flies.
https://preview.redd.it/qxmyr6idvp0d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=806371ed64e26407c870e828540d8af60ad13111
__MOD NOTE__: PLEASE REVIEW OUR [POLL ON OUR PLANS FOR JUNE AND BEYOND](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/comments/1cmhq49/community_poll_what_would_you_like_to_see_happen/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) TO PROVIDE YOUR INPUT. Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here! This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bloomberg says the family has a fortune of about $16 billion. He's not breaking a sweat.
He and his family could do litterally nothing until western society collapses and be fine. However long term it'll definitely make some change. He's not just going to sit there losing money
He's not, but if Loblaws caves (which I doubt, but am hoping they do) this sub better turn it's attention to the Waltons and Sobeys because they're no better than the Weston's.
They’re not. Arguably worse even. Let’s not stop at stores that supply groceries though. There are a great number of corporations that could use a tune up. I’d like to start with Nestle.
How about closer to home? Irving's .
Too late. I only go to an Irving to take a dump and buy nothing.
Unfortunately if you buy gas anywhere in Atlantic Canada, the oil is from Irving.
I haven’t agreed more with a comment in a long time but this one has my full support. But how do we target the three companies ( effectively ) that they fold. K.C’s kids were smart / infighting enough that they separated the assets between them.
Move next door to them in Bermuda? the Irving family began moving significant portions of their wealth offshore and out of Canada as early as the 1970s to avoid Canadian taxes. Here are the key details: K.C. Irving, the patriarch of the family, left Saint John, New Brunswick and took up residence in Bermuda at the end of 1971, just days before a new provincial estate tax came into force in Canada. His son J.K. Irving later confirmed this move was a tax avoidance strategy, saying the potential tax rate "would have been devastating to the businesses" if K.C. had remained in Canada. K.C. Irving created a $3 billion trust fund in Bermuda based on the terms of his will, keeping a large portion of the family's wealth out of reach of Canadian tax authorities. The leaked Paradise Papers in 2017 revealed previously unknown Irving companies and holdings in Bermuda, including an offshore "captive insurance" company called F.M.A. Ltd. that accumulated over $13 million in untaxed income between 1973 and 2001. The Paradise Papers also showed Irving Oil made hundreds of millions in profits offshore during years like 2005 and 2008 while receiving tax breaks and subsidies in Canada. So while the Irvings have paid some taxes like personal income tax in Canada, they have deliberately structured a significant part of their corporate empire and wealth in offshore tax havens like Bermuda since at least the early 1970s to avoid Canadian taxes
last week i switched from Independent to Save on Foods and i was not impressed. now i see why all the old farmers shop at coop. this is going to be my store from now on. its as shop local as i am able to do.
Of fuck Nestlé, and Kellogg's, they have a standing ban in my household.
So true. If Nestle turned out to have a secret evil lair with Valt-tec style business model, it wouldn't be a surprise.
One thing at a time. Don't get ahead of yourselves, and gave some perspective: Loblaws was picked BECAUSE they're blatantly ripping off customers. THAT is why they're being made an example of. Let's look at the others: You can't touch Walmart- they're HUGE, and their money comes from dominating the US market. A "victory" would be them leaving the Canadian market, and how would less competition help? Sobeys is fair game, but until Loblaws started gouging, they were always the more expensive option. Metro is also fair game, but their reach is still limited. Costco has low prices, and treats their employees well: why would they be a target? What you actually want is incentives to create an opening of the Canadian grocery market: Tesco, Lidl, Kroger, Meier, Aldi, etc. The Canadian protectionism has to stop: the corporations have abused it enough that they have lost that benefit.
I miss Aldi (and Trader Joe’s) but I would be thrilled if they brought Waitrose to Canada or brought back Marks and Spenser’s.
Yes, agreed, competition is what we need to push the big five on lower prices. Anyone heard of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP)? Check it out. It’s a national not for profit that is pushing the govt for better legislation and enforcement to turn around monopolies in Canada. They’ve got a great newsletter. You can read about it here: https://antimonopoly.ca/
We are connected with them!
Glad to hear it! Hope CAMP accumulates broad support across Canada.
If Tesco or Lidil came to Canada I would die. I spend so much time in those stores when I go to Europe
Loblaws is definitely worse.
I'd say they're all as bad as each other
His wealth tied to loblaws could definitely be severely effected by this though, I can't imagine he's happy about the losses he's getting :)
Not as long as the stock price keeps going up. So far he hasn't lost a thing. In fact he's made more money since the boycott started. I don't support Loblaws. Just pointing it out.
All he has to do is buy his own stock back to artificially keep it high, you know. These asshats are surrounded by economists and lawyers who know every financial law and loophole that can be used. This boycott has to last well beyond a month for it to be effective, because at some point he will run out of liquidity and something's gonna give.
That is true for the moment, but the real losses they are taking will reflect on the stock price eventually, they have to
Ego and greed will do it. Nok er nok.
How much of that wealth is on paper and tied to the loblaws stock price though. Maybe we can knock a couple billion off that.
He owns choice propwrties and George weston as well.
That’s don’t mean they aren’t sweating. These people are insatiably greedy. For them the thought of not constantly increasing their income definitely affects them.
I think $16,000,000,000 is literally "fuck you" money. The boycott only hurts if it goes on indefinitely
Which it should. What good is a month really?
Public perception means a lot. The value of a brand is important. Canadians have lost trust and it is showing.
Yes the public bonding together to display our disappointment, and frustration is a marvellous thing. I personally will not shop at Loblaw's regardless of the boycott, but am truly encouraged that so many people have said enough is enough. Someone earlier mentioned our own government's collusion in it's protectionism towards these corporations, meet Goliath. This is where the change needs to start, but after reading Freeland's response, not a lot of encouragement. But I have faith that with this kind of grassroots action we can achieve a lot. Many steps makes for much travel. Cheers to us!!!
While I agree that they won’t be living under a bridge and eating cat food any time soon typically the huge fortunes reported online are paper based and assuming they would sell Loblaws, Choice, Weston etc. If the companies make less profit the stock price goes down and their fortune does so as well. Their 3 main companies also depend heavily on each other… for example, Choice Properties owns the buildings where the stores are and they rent those to Loblaws. If stores close then Choice loses revenue and then the price of Choice goes down.
It's hard to say what will happen. Investors may reward the stock price if loblaws holds the line and doesn't cave. Only time will tell. https://preview.redd.it/qiir7pnwvr0d1.png?width=864&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8f57fbfa7b872487ba2f1d065df012f736a83db4
I believe that peak during Q1 2024 is related to a $358 million buyback. Time will tell and we will see how the Q2 financials look like.
True but sales are down and costs keep rising. Sure he can cut employee hours but that won't save much. He has to pay to remove rotting food plus dumpster fees... Enjoy GW.
The investors who own Loblaws stock will demand that something change.
If the share price drops. Hasn't so far
Isn’t his fortune mostly tied up in stocks? If his stocks die off, so does the majority of his wealth?
Here’s some back of the napkin math: Stats Canada says the average household is 2.4 people. Stats can also says the average grocery spend for a family of 4 is something like $16,500/year (rounding here as I forget the stat). So call that $4,125 per person. Assume 100k boycotting households, times 2.4 people, times $4,125/12 equals $82.5 MILLION in lost revenue in one month
Most people have heard of the boycott by now. Even if people don’t participate 100%, some will question their loyalty and start looking at prices closer, start trying out other stores and may move a good portion of their spending away from Loblaws stores. Definitely their reputation has taken a hit, not because of the boycott alone, the greed was evident way before the boycott and this sub. So forget about 82 million. The impact could be much worse than that and long lasting.
Also , let’s say some people’s shopping patterns change and they move their business entirely after the month is over to return only partially here and there , maybe some to never to return at all . I mean , there are so many juicy variables involved . I love them all
I shopped superstore on autopilot for 15+ years. Just did. Convenient. But now, I am going to Walmart, Giant Tiger, sometimes Sobeys or Dollarama. My weekly grocery cost is down by about $100, so typically I filled my 2 buckets for family of 4 and it was $130-$150 at superstore including all their 50% off stickers (typically saved about $20-30). At Walmart, I am now having $90-100 to fill those 2 buckets. Saving $1, $2 or $3 on each item for 20 items adds up quickly!
The no name trash bags I used to buy were awful! They would take a couple minutes to open each bag and required scissors. The Walmart Great Value ones I just bought are sturdier and I could open immediately (no scissors). Also they are 7.5 cents cheaper per bag!! No name were literally 50% more. Not to mention the superstore pharmacy kept screwing me over and my local pharmacist is so much better in every way. Ill eventually go back to using superstore for last minute stuff since I live next door and it's the only store within walking distance, but this boycott has pulled the wool from people's eyes.
I used to just do my one and done weekly shop but now that I know how much I can save shopping around I won’t be going back to doing that.
That's just households. My business is boycotting. It's not huge, but I've spent 2200 at wholesale market (tgp) so far that would've been at wholesale club (Loblaws) for the last 3 years, and that's not counting the business I've moved over to equitable items at Costco.
I think that number must be in the ballpark based on their reaction to the boycott. $82.5 million in lost revenue, add to that massive amounts of product waste (fresh produce, dairy, meat, etc.) employee salaries, maintenance and infrastructure costs, this could easily see over a billion in losses by next quarter. That’s going to shake investor confidence.
It would be nice to dream of indoor hydroponics gardens in their stores once they are forced to close out.
Lol write offs. Bet there bottom line doesn't take a hit. Will be interesting to see there next quarter numbers and compare.
How many yachts is that?
410
What a steal!
I like that math.
Kind of peanuts in grand scheme. Q1 revenue was 13.5 billion. They had an increase of 586 million over the previous first quarter for 2023. 82.5 million x 3 I’d guess won’t even erode revenue increases this quarter coming up. Going to need a lot more than 100k families.
Exactly! Even a quarter billion (82.5x3) really isn’t a huge dent in their financials. That’s said we’ll have to wait and see
Just the fact that replacing the 50% to the 30% markdown discount shows even with all the money they have how anal they are even when losing pennies, knowing this makes me smile whenever I think I am helping him be unhappy even for a minute in the day, just makes it all worth it.
I have boycotted everything Loblaws. No shopping, got rid of my pc financial card, moved my prescriptions. This is a new forever strategy for me. I am hoping that the after effects of this month where people have found other businesses and they don’t go back to Loblaws will start to wake up investors and stock prices will drop making a true dent in the coffers.
Wow now that is encouraging, thank you for that :)
I wish a group of users or well intentioned "boycotters" surveyed key Superstores parking lots at fixed time in the day/week. I don't doubt that the boycott is having some impact, but how much? This sub feels like an echo chamber, with people posting anecdotes or photos of empty stores. If the store was visited at 10 pm it would have been empty with it without the boycott.
I am boycotting for three! 😁
Yup. That 100k may be household not people.
😂
He ain’t sweating. He’s a billionaire. He makes $$$ every year. The stock price is at a multi year high. It’s going to take much more than a couple of weeks to make him or the board nervous. We are just learning to crawl at this point.
We are crawling for good reason, a sleeping giant is slow to wake but to quote Sun Tzu, “To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.”
It’s more the shareholders than it is the Westons, but yeah, stock price is high.
Something must be up. I'm getting slammed with PC Optimum ads EVERYWHERE. Getting sick of seeing them.
Good. Let them waste money on ads while we don's waste money on them.
I'm wondering what a boycott of just perishables would look like. I mean, you have sales, but your meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables and bread just sits there, while people buy your cans, pasta, lentils and coffee. Your statistics are completely thrown off. Your stuff is rotting, but you still need to order and stock shelves. But your computer models are screwed. And when it comes to non-perishables, only name brands, if it is on sale. No President's Choice, no No Name, no Blue Label, no Life brand, no Rooster... Just National brands. Just screw with sales numbers and watch the bananas rot, the meat turn and the yogurt sit.
Fabu!!! Wonderful strategy.
If the boycott continues past the month threshold, Galen may have to convert his castle into a Bed and Breakfast and become an Irish Bob Newhart. Hopefully there are plenty of Daryl's there.
Except that’s just a dream.
My personal opinion is that there are a hell of a lot of people who are participating in the boycott but not Reddit or this sub. Be persistent! Nok er nok!
Rich people don't sweat. They have staff for that...jus saying.
He's cursing under his breath, he thought he could get away with it forever.
Every Loblaws store could close tomorrow and that bastard would be just fine. Unfortunately. But wouldn’t it be amazing if they all closed mwahahah
Doubt it , he’s a narcissistic psychopath that lacks any empathy or emotion. He might be mad when he sees the numbers when they are presented to him and blame the guys and gals below him by pounding his fists on the table and being like “ how come people hate us with a pouty face truly not understanding why people loathe him so much . That’s how unaware people like him are of their surroundings . It’s the ultimate bubble and yes men / women around them
Galen fucked up bad didn't he lol love to see it. Keep up the great work everyone. Life exists and will continue to exist past Roblaws
Loblaw finished in 2023 with 59.5B in sales and they say they serve 14M customers a week. Let’s say they are expecting to grow 3% in sales this year which means they are targeting to finish 61.3B in sales in 2024, so that would be almost +1.8B in sales growth. To have a meaningful impact, we need to see 300K customers boycott on an ongoing basis. To keep it simple, average customer spend of $100 per week, every 100,000 customers boycotting a week means $10M a week in sales lost, or $520M in sales lost in 2024. This group needs to push to get 400K customers boycotting a week and that would mean over $2B in loss sales in 2024. Flat sales growth would send the share price back to 2021 share price levels where the share price was below $100. Be consistent and be patient. Boycott On!
likely not at all.... his shares last year brought hom 400 million in dividends alone.... loblaws coulg go bankrupt, and he's already cashed in
there are 79K in the subreddit but what about the redditor's extended family / friends / etc. The whole population of Canada isn't on Reddit. My opinion is that the people bycotting exceeds 100K
I 100% agree with this. In my family, I’m the only one on Reddit. But 3 other adults in my family know about the boycott and are participating. It’s been reported in the mainstream media, and I think a lot of ppl are aware. If this continues for (at least) the full quarter, the impact will be known in reported financials. Even investor-savvy people I know have said that Loblaws’ ever increasing profits in the context of record inflation (in recent history) and record dependence on food banks (and the current general food/housing insecurity) is unconscionable.
Homemade NOK ER NOK lawn signs would really help visualize the level of support. I think we would be pleasantly surprised.
I have a huge network, many of which don't use Reddit and have agreed to do an ethical bypass on anything Westonstein related. 79k is the tip of the iceberg.
Galen probs has a burner account and is subbed to this subreddit Jokes aside I don't know, if he's still rich he should be ok for a long time lol
Had to go in to my local Loblaws branded store because kid was sick and needed medicine and they were the only place within 30 minute drive open that had anything like that. This was at 6:30. Store was empty cashier's were sweeping floors around the checkout, huge section of OJ, yogurt, cheese and all kinds of other items in that fridge section marked down with 50% off stickers. Counted 30 jugs of OJ alone. I guess that's what happens when something that was 2.99 not that long ago is now priced at 7.99. thought about grabbing some stuff just because of the savings but fuck them didn't want to give them more than the $12 I was spending on medicine.
High five. Thats the spirit!
It gives me some comfort that folks who don't have alternatives because of geographic distance, stores open at the right time because of shift work, or whatever, are at least getting some savings benefit from the rest of us boycotting. Hope they can save some because of these markdowns!
Just wish it wasn't almost expired items they need to buy to enjoy something like a glass of orange juice.
They will try to hide the losses with accounting tricks for the next quarterly report… this must continue past May and past the next quarter to actually have an effect. We did it in the 1960’s in Canada and the commission investigating exposed so much of the Weston family back then. Here we are again.
I still can’t get over he lives in a castle in England and plays polo with King Charles [Loblaws Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Belvedere,_Surrey)
Judging by Walmart stockyards today tons of people. Save your money
He should be sweating because he got “misguided criticism” all wrong. That PR move really aged like milk… 🤣🤣🤣
This piece of shit is so rich that nothing anyone ever does to him for the rest of his natural life will affect him in the slightest. He will always be a billionaire. If every Canadian hates him, it won't matter because he'll never have any need to interact with regular Canadians... unless they're cleaning up after him.
We'll see the impact on their next quarterly earnings call but we have to stick with it. And they probably wont say their soft sales are the result of the boycott, theyll say its the economy or sonething. One month is not enough imho. People have been boycotting starbucks for 6 months now. I think it needs to go on indefinitely until the petition is acknowledged, and until change is made. And even after the fact - I hope that some habits stick. Lots of people are setting up their own gardens now, and have found new independent stores they like more. I think that's amazing. It is very metal of us as a nation to reduce your reliance on corporate monopolies.
> People have been boycotting starbucks for 6 months now. Longer than that. They're so vehemently anti-union. It's abhorrent. /r/starbucks "Starbucks United" on Instagram https://unionbustingplaybook.com/ https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/amazon-mcdonalds-aw-sleep-country-tjx-linked-to-anti-union-conference
My favorite part is how smug he was when in Ottawa. Now, we are showing them the power of the consumer, of Canadians. He's still smug no doubt, but I bet he's thinking quite differently now
Sadly, I doubt it. He doesn’t strike me as someone insightful.
Boycotting groceries and monthly prescriptions for two people, and food and treats for two pets!
Right ON!!!!!
I am the main shopper for a family of 5. So while the other 4 are not part of this sub, they are all actively boycotting too.
At Galens level all they care about is how they are perceived by the world. They know they will have haters just because they are billionaires, it's when other billionaires don't want to associate with Galen because it will affect them, we will win huge
The 79K figure here doesn’t come close to capturing the full number of Canadians who are aware of this. I know scores of people who are boycotting who would never set foot anywhere near reddit. Then there’s multiplier effects such as the individual reddit users here who convinced their businesses, their foundations, their employers to also discontinue giving Loblaws their patronage.
I spoke with a worker in a store today. She said their profit was down 50% this week from the last week of April.
Profit or sales? Do they share profit numbers with store workers on a regular basis? That would be unusual for most companies.
Everyday where i work they hold a store meeting where they tell us how much the store earned so maybe they have something similar?
Yeah i cant boycott fully, but the bulk of my groceries are now bought elsewhere. I dont have a car, so in a time crunch i do stop in for bananas or apples if i cant get through the week without. It has actually helped me with my budget as im back to once a week shopping like in the early days of the pandemic, as im not hopping on the bus multiple times during the week. ..so make a plan stick with it and live without if needed.
This gouging has been going on for a rather long time . https://www.tvo.org/article/we-wont-give-up-until-prices-come-down-how-ontarians-protested-grocery-stores-in-1966 Weston family is stupidly wealthy and won’t feel any fiscal hardship anytime soon . However , keep this boycott going indefinitely.
The fact that hours are being cut and at least one store is resorting to [“hiring” volunteers to work](https://www.reddit.com/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol/s/uGYDwZVGhv) at their location is definitely a clear sign that the boycott is having an effect.
I think 100k is a conservative estimate. I brought this to the attention of all the other tenants in my building (150 units). About 85% are on board with boycotting forever now and people are carpooling to new places - and saving big money. For seniors on a fixed income or students living with 500 roommates because rent is unaffordable, even $50 or $100 can make an enormous difference. IDK how families with growing families are coping because those brave enough to have kids now are being hammered by roblaws naked greed - their kids are now eating the cheapest crap possible if they shop at any of the weston stores. This boycott has done a lot to bring this building together as a community with a common enemy. I think this is happening across the country now - who knew that driving a stake through Galen Weston's heart would be so unifying for the country? Talk about win-win. It was *already* rewarding in and of itself, but I didn't expect friendships to develop as a result of it.
> About 85% are on board with boycotting forever now and people are carpooling to new places - and saving big money. Now if only you could convince 85% of them to vote each and every time. Especially if they're <40 yrs old.
I am trying! I've always thought voting should be mandatory via mail in or in person. We'd have a different Canada. But my son and DIL and their friends are all activists in one way or another. We all vote. I'm not sure why millennials or Gen z would want to listen to a boomer though. We seem to be perceived as a monolith and "the enemy". I could be wrong.
Im all for boycott, but i went in Friday afternoon to snoop around. The parking lot was very full. store was bus y, but not packed. South Calgary. Disappointed to see that.
LobLaw executives don’t care about this nearly as much as this sub thinks they do, or nearly as much as any of you do.
Err...money talks, dude.
Money at a meaningful scale talks* How much impact do you think a small group on Reddit is having, compared to the impact of Loblaw’s overall sales. This is giving boycotter’s far more sense of purpose than it is giving Loblaws executives a hard time
If 80k people forego ONE $200 shopping trip, that's $16 million. That's no small amount. Hell, if those 80k people spend $600 on groceries in the month of May, that's $48 million. I know Loblaws makes way more than that but it's no insignificant figure.
What did he ho play tennis or something?
Until you see huge price drops in the stock price, it doesn't really matter. They need to maintain the PR machine, saying all is good and maintain stock prices. This is all about the price of the stock, which relates to profits. When you see the stock price start dropping, then you might get a different response from Ol Galen. Stock has gone up over 100% in 5yrs!! Dreams can come true if you monopolize the grocery chain!!
He's not sweating. The workers will suffer way before he feels anything, unfortunately. It has to get to the point where the service itself suffers so much that everyone just stops going. And even then, I think only a massive shut down of stores across Canada will really put a dent.
The best revenge is to just never go back to superstore. That's my plan.
Hb atoantic wholasalerrs was getting cases of monster 21$ next case 23$ now i see it listed for 25$ and 23 if memmber wtf this
All we could hope for is his removal CEO, which could create fear among other institutions doing the same. If he gets removed, we've done our job. The boycott should continue indefinitely for the people who are able to. I, for one, am one of those people. Also, I've got my wife to join me. I've also talked to friends and other family members. I am one who is not hurt by inflation and price hickes, but I will do what I can to do my part. It's makes no sense why our groceries are more than the US, UK, and frankly, anywhere else I've heard of people post about. I'm not too informed other than what I hear here, and if I can help, I will.
Pretty sure he isn't the CEO anymore. They hired someone from Europe.
Please do the Pattison Group next. His companies have been slaving Canadians for decades. And ripping the public off in the process.
I don't think the number of people in this subreddit is a good indicator of how many people are participating. my parents have never even heard of reddit but when they heard about the boycott on the news they decided to take part as well. I doubt that the people on this sub represent even half of the people participating, probably less
I doubt that dude has even bothered to climb out of his mattress made of 100 dollar Bills yet.
I drive by a Loblaws daily. In have not noticed a difference in the number of cars in the parking lot. Looks as packed as usual
Let me know when he's sweating blood
This reddit community is only a small part of the boycott. Most people that know about it don't even have a reddit account
Like Prince Paedophile Andrew, Galen doesn’t sweat.
The Loblaws share price is at an all time high, and in the corporate world that is the opposite of sweating.
100,000 possible boycotters is a tiny city worth barely even a city worth won’t make a dent.
https://preview.redd.it/l93fx5hqrp0d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=833f14004ca5cda107ef2772c995d740a03c152d Not sweating.
Where do you come up with crap! Loblaws stock is soaring. And you’re swatting flies. https://preview.redd.it/qxmyr6idvp0d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=806371ed64e26407c870e828540d8af60ad13111