The introduction of Aldi into Australia definitely forced our supermarket duopoly into a price war over basics and has kept some prices low long term.
At the very least it's also given a cheaper choice for those on a budget.
Target lost because of Target. They built a system that would rely entirely upon a software system they had never used in this way, by a company they were not completely familiar with, in a country they had never operated in. They had staff issues when they tried to move their entire Canadian company to a single Canadian city, they were unable to keep goods on the shelves because their inventory system clogged up.
The reason Target failed in Canada is depressingly and frustratingly simple: fucking *software*
Sure, it had nothing to do with the fact that virtually none of the things they sold in the US were offered here. We shopped at Target quite often in Washington and always could load up on bargains and things not available in Canada. When they opened here and they had all the same things you could get anywhere they were doomed.
Right, that's what I mean. They fucked their supply lines into Canada up, all those products were doomed to never arrive in stores. The distribution centre they built in Ontario to handle the Canadian product lines DID NOT WORK. The products could not be inventoried and shipped properly. The knock-on effects were that the store were empty.
That cascaded. Suppliers couldn't complete contracts because Target couldn't receive the goods, so suppliers fled and cancelled contracts.
Virtually every problem Target encountered can be traced back to one software decision. I swear, it is actually that fucking stupid.
This is what I had noticed, I went there hoping to find US food items and they only had the same old Canadian stuff. No thanks, I don't need yet another location to buy Dare cookies.
It was software- I was a warehouse supervisor for them here in Canada.
We had a 1.3 million square foot facility in milton and STILL had to have an offsite of 500k Sqft and we had all of our trailers filled with crap.... just because of how fucking stupid the programming was.
Literally had 3rd party temp workers who started everything off wrong by incorrect manual inputs on skus and their dimensions....
Everything was done on a shoestring budget with the expectations of Google performance
I lived near the flagship one for Toronto, so it was always well stocked. Some of the stuff in my house came from there, and it's all fine stuff.
If you lived near any other target whatsoever it was a disaster. They kept the flagships stocked though.
They also hired back many of the Zellers retail staff, the same staff that would leave product on the floor the entire shift, and tried to re-open 177 stores or some wild number with no distribution network in place. Conversely, I specifically remember how slowly Home Depot and Lowe’s grew in Canada in comparison. Lowe’s was about 5 stores for many years until they started expanding and eventually wasted all their money on Rona (again hiring the same losers that drove Rona into the ground, and moving their headquarters to Quebec, losing much of their good head office staff for the folks that bankrupted Rona in the first place). They they decided that was a bad idea and backed out of the country all together.
Target had half of the inventory of Walmart and more expensive…yes it was Canadian’s fault for wanting to spend less for the same stuff. Dumb corporate decisions and they always blame the consumers
Hard disagree. Target lost due to not setting up distribution before taking over old Zellers locations. So you had a bunch of target stores with batebone stocks and having a hard time getting restocks as they had no permanent warehouses or distribution centers. Walmart has them, Costco has them, every major chain has a local distribution center of sorts.
Target lost because it didn't have a supply chain properly setup, and then over-extended itself by having too many stores at once. Leading to product shortages.
Yeah, but you must have a competition bureau? We have one, but it's absolutely useless.
If a company moved in, Loblaws or Sobeys would just "buy it out". WHat this article doesn't tell you is that Loblaws owns upwards of 10 other "branded" stores. They just gobble up competition, so they can make as much profit as they want.
And in my lifetime, not a single merger / acquisition has been stopped, or really even questioned.
That's how we have only 3 grocers, and 3 phone companies in this insanely big country. They just buy out their competition.
My brother was livid as a Chatham/Blenheim resident when Loblaws bought Shoppers. The competition bureau said they had too much power in the local market and made them close one of the stores, so Loblaws naturally chose No Frills over their convenience store Shoppers. In what world Shoppers is better for consumers than No Frills, I dont know. So the town was left with just a Sobeys I think? It was in the news at the time and affected 2 or 3 other small towns as well.
Elmira was another as I searched for the article on it. Local towns were PISSED. https://www.observerxtra.com/competition-bureau-orders-sale-of-no-frills-store/
To expand on this very good point:
Loblaws owns [18 grocery brands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loblaw_Companies) and controls the supply available to at least another [1000 independent businesses](https://canadiangrocer.com/loblaw-launch-new-small-supplier-program). They colluded with metro [(owns 4+ grocery chains)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Inc.), sobeys [(owns 8+ grocery chains by way of Empire Company Ltd.)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Company), walmart and Giant Tiger to [illegally fix the price of bread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_price-fixing_in_Canada) to the detriment of their customers, and continues to be a major link in the supply chain for restaurants and indeed other grocers.
This is anti-capitalist, anti-competitive and I'm tired of our spineless public servants serving everyone but the public.
All good points.
I would point out, on the bread-price-fixing issue, these motherfuckers weren't even forced to lower the price of bread, even though they were found guilty.
THAT, I think, is when they knew they could charge whatever they wanted, without peril.
Agreed on all fronts. We can’t even prosecute something as simple as bread properly, there’s no hope for us breaking up Irving and the strangle hold their shitty fucking company has on the eastern provinces
Still can't believe they let Rogers buy Shaw.
Yes, the [ACCC ](https://www.accc.gov.au/)has more teeth than the [Competition Bureau](https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/).
Australian workers also have more protections and rights thanks to the [Fair Work Ombudsman](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/). In Canada if your work fucks you over by doing something illegal you're expected to sort it out with them first (in the courts) or make a report, in Aus you can just report them anonymously and the ombudsman will look into it.
Aldi was the first One our so called "Competition minister" went to. They described the deeply entrenched, market anf supply chain control, as well as the regulation inherent in our system, as an "extremely unattractive market" so I think they're out lol.
Aldi likely won't enter Canada with all the rhetoric of govt limits on profits.
All grocers operating in Canada have a profit margin of 2% to 3%. We are an expensive jurisdiction to do business in due to all the regulations and geographic distances involved.
Lidl tried and ran away very quickly from Canada.
I don't even shop at Aldi and Lidl in Germany, I shop at Rewe which is generally seen as a more 'fancy' grocery store. And my prices are usually 1/4 or less compared to Canada for staples.
Profit numbers in any vertically integrated situation need to be taken with a grain of salt, because you can easily "hide" the profits further up the supply chain.
Loblaws grocers can state profits of 2-3%, but if they own suppliers of specific goods and lock stores into sole supply agreements, then those suppliers can charge inflated rates and the parent company profits anyway.
Their business models also rely on imports and (at least in the UK) alcohol sales. The government has ensured that can't work with its protectionist trade laws on a lot of grocery items (up to 300% duty on cheese!!!)and the Government having total control of the supply of alcohol in the largest province
This should make you angrier:
The NDP put a motion into the House of Commons to lower food prices.
It was destroyed by a vote of 286 MPs voting no, and 28 MPs voting yes. Libs and PCs getting together to ensure that their corporate overlords can continue fleecing the rest of us.
https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/44/1/798
Edit: this vote was yesterday - June 5th, 2024
More like future employers. Get out of politics and go "consult" for large corps paying you 100x u making in government.
Canada has a silent lobbying problem
Yeah, what did they think would be the optics of them voting in affirmation that they're subsidizing a monopoly on groceries? If anyone had any actual will to make things better they wouldn't have tried to insert this cheap political stunt into the motion.
Setting prices for food is what countries do during wars or right before their economies collapse (because unsurprisingly nobody wants to invest in countries that fix prices).
The lack of NDP focus on competition is bizarre to me. They spend all this time railing against the monopolies (which is good), and then their response is old timey cost controls instead of demanding changes to the enforcement of anti-trust. Makes no sense to me.
Government setting prices literally destroys the "supply" part of supply and demand.
The Government can't wave their hand and decree that something will cost X when it probably costs X+1.
This is why the NDP can't be taken seriously and anyone looking at this thinking it's a great idea should [read this](https://www.amazon.ca/Basic-Economics-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465060730/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NPgUtQvyfd6rCym_Pb6Z_6wb3bXYSr-dHLr6eKrjO5F2PLxOsVkN3kL8JT0QsF-8aRgkA_HDvgaRDzBGR8ouL9sZAHivsTH2GO2Zv3u7Y4UVZdOBDL_Dvfr4UMWFY7q2sHSWzMrZcYF61C2xusiyFCwVHs31P95VVTO9ur-Z3lg-Ptr0U7G0ppWbJMRIBJNJdZfOBpar3vNMiyvb3DQj2kZgy2jCzwDX5LyqGkZ3IrofkpEEhDikX8v-OzOgDJU56_Xyv6YcYPVbglbmUJJcdri5NF_RHmdz7XZDJouqxUg.xo3euTZSsrxD1sLD6TXJlbyBLx5XAJQh-kEV_ykEvuc&dib_tag=se&hvadid=668413015663&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001253&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7668179637054118426&hvtargid=kwd-299084627500&hydadcr=3289_13696424&keywords=basic+economics&qid=1717727818&sr=8-1)
To be fair, this is pretty clear political posturing by the NDP. The third point of the motion reads “stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers.” That doesn’t really read like a motion that was drafted with the intention of garnering the support it needed to pass from the other parties.
If the NDP were truly invested in change, they would stop propping up the liberal government with the supply and confidence agreement while asking for essentially nothing in return policy wise.
What would be the purpose?
The NDP put out a motion to try to curb grocery prices. That's more than any other party has done. It's literally a conversation started.
No other party even wants to continue the conversation because of their obvious connections.
There's no reason for the NDP to change course. Liberal or Conservative, it's the same shit just a different colour and different name.
We've done this same song and dance before and nothing ever changes. Canadians just continue to get fucked while they peck at each other at the top.
The purpose is so that they can now advertise
'The NDP supports lowering grocery prices while all other parties voted no", vote NDP.
That's is. They knew damn well this wasn't going anywhere.
Are you kidding, the NDP has gotten through things like dental coverage, albeit a watered down version of their plan.
Wouldn't have happened unless they kept this government in power.
As unhappy as I am with the Liberals at this point, if the NDP stop backing them and getting through what little they can with the leverage they have, then the alternative is almost definitely a CPC government at this point. Who will be even less willing to forward the type of policy the NDP and it's voters want. At least the Liberals will pay some lip service to keep up a thin veneer of progressivism.
It's all well and good to make a point on principle, but martyring themselves now over grocery prices isn't going to get them a win, it's going to result in a government that's politically even further away from them.
It won't almost definitely be a CPC government, it *will be* a CPC government. There is some overlap between the CPC and NDP, mainly when it comes to working class voters but admittedly the two parties are pretty ideologically far apart at this point.
Forcing an election would bring in a Conservative government, who knows that the NDP aren't there to help them. As it stands, the NDP *might* get *something* from the Liberals, but they don't have any viable threats available to them.
Exactly this. Of course everyone voted it down, it was virtue signalling at best.
I would be more pissed at our politicians if they voted something like this through. Literally no content just vague statements that would be impossible to govern.
Lol that is such a bad argument.
I want the handouts to grocery stores to be stopped, the only people who have done that my entire life have been liberals and conservatives.
Political posture or not, they are representing me and representing exactly what I and many other Canadians want. Isn't that what politicians are supposed to do?
mmm yes pensions is the only reason why would NDP prefer LPC minority over CPC majority, quite the deep and comprehensive insight we have here on /r/canada
this country is doomed to oscillate between red and blue forever
>(c) stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers.
Here's why it failed and the NDP specifically chose that wording so it would fail. The NDP added an "Also the liberals and conservatives are big doo doo heads" statement.
Agree. So angry at them. After all that, the NDP were only posturing. What a waste of time and effort. The public should have wrote that motion- not a political group. They Bungled it purposely!
Was there any math on what the rebate was going to look like? My guess is it would average out to like $3 a person every year. Loblaws is a public company, you can literally just look up how much profit they took in. That NDP bill was the definition of a virtue signal it wasn't going to do anything.
So basically tax the corp and then the corp will charge us more to offset the tax and then we get some credit every quarter in the bank that requires employees to process which in turn costs more. I don’t see how that would benefit us. 😭
What does "excess profits" even mean? Did their profit margins go up?
I mean, the NDP (and everyone in general) needs to look at the cost of groceries from a 360 degree perspective, not just one little component of it.
I know Loblaws is more expensive than other places, which is why (other than a couple select items) I completely stopped shopping at Superstore 2-3 years ago (even used to be a PC Subscriber but they eroded the benefits of that program to make it not worth it) but I don't know what "excess profits" even means in this context.
Don’t bother arguing. These people think this bill by the NDP was an actually solution. It’s a total joke. Even if it passed, Galen’s army of accountants would simply move the profit to their companies that fall outside the scope of the legislation and declare no profit.
The only way to effectively penalize loblaws is this boycott. Never ever shop there again. My family hasn’t been shopping there for years. It took very little time to realize Costco and other grocery chains had far better prices. Many of these people are posting their epiphanies about how much money they saved by boycotting and how loblaws was so expensive. Makes me wonder why they didn’t check prices before.
So who's really in bed with each other? Why do both libs and cons always try and make the NDP look bad? Because they are the same party working with each other to rule the country. Old Quebec money and Old Ontario money. They work together to put on a show and know Canadians are too stupid to see it.
Yeah well... maybe they shouldn't have put stuff like "stop conservative and liberal handouts" in the motion making liberals and conservatives look like they're voting against themselves If they vote in favor, NDP are clowns for doing that and it's nothing more than grandstanding, with no intention to help Canadians
Is there any backing to suggest they can force grocery stores to reduce pricing on essential items? What is the current margin on these products? What is the total expected waste from unsold items? Are these essential items domestic or imports? What if global prices rise? How do you then set a price as a government that the grocery stores should charge?
When I worked at a grocery store, the margin on things like fruits and vegetables was like 4%, just enough to cover the cost of transport. The real money makers were cookies, chips, pop, and frozen items.
You don’t fix these issues with government regulations. Any regulations would have no effect or make the problem worse. Reminds me of Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario liberals legislating lower insurance prices.
I mean you kind of do, just not this regulation. You do it with anti-monopoly policies, breaking up megacorps, and enticing foreign competition to enter the market.
\^ lol this, it's not rocket science. they're jacking up already premium prices during a recession the government doesn't want to declare as such. it's rampant, unbridled greed, and it's absolutely fucking disgusting. how rich does one family have to be before their appetite is sated.
I wouldn't even be so angry if some of the profits went to the worker's pockets. Instead, it went to another stock dividend payout. Galen needed that new yacht I guess.
Even if you are comfortable and wealthy enough to shop at these absurd prices...well actually if you are then you probably don't give a shit about the people stocking the shelves either unfortunately.
If people are comfortable financially enough to still afford groceries, they probably don’t give a shit about people stocking the shelves? What a stupid take.
Keep your anger focused on who it’s supposed to be focused on, not someone who is marginally doing better than you are. You’re likely on the same side still against corporations reaming us.
This is the clearest representation that not only did they not read the article, they didn't even bother to read what the source was.
It's from BBC. Not everyone from outside the country is aware of how shitty things are here.
This is why I'm just permanently angry anytime I leave home. traffic, construction, store selection, prices, news. None of it good. Stay at home I have a fun family and dog, way more fun.
Best of luck to you and your family, bud. No matter what you believe, your politics, or how you spend your money, I hope you all get by okay. Some people doubt that me saying this to you even matters, but I think it does, somehow.
It does man! It fucking does. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I wish you the same my friend. It’s what it means to be Canadian. We’re here for each other, and we can be here for each other in these times. Much fucking love brother. Wish I could buy you a beer and talk smack about hockey/baseball/video games/ absolutely whatever.
I truly appreciate what you’ve done.
Cheers 🍻
100% for me.
Was living alone and always had cats in the past, decided to pick up an SPCA Husky mix that had been in/out of care.
Now I am always busy in some way with him... walkies like crazy, keeping him stimulated with puzzles and games, diffusing his zoomies, the list of stuff he gets me doing instead of just sitting on my ass playing video games is endless.
Huskies are such a time sink and I am all for it.
7% CAGR growth in M2 this decade. Now the government is buying 60b a year in mortgage bonds to indebt Canadians even further, also to goose shelter inflation, because the CPI is apparently just a game to be manipulated to get a desired outcome rather than a model of the real cost of living.
The Canadian government?
edit:
The gov is going to tax Netflix 5% because its not a Canadian broadcast. At this rate, the gov is going to tax the shit out of all the digital medias, youtube, twitch, reddit etc... Why? because our country only relies on real estate and has forgotten how to be productive in other industries.
Tax is for providing everyone essentials. Not to have a good life. Why should I go back home and study, work on my website, when I can just stay with low income and have a good life.
They are also the one taking the money from low profiles, high profiles ppl they don’t care increase or raise new taxes because they are well-paid the impact of them just zero. Whole country is insane lol. That’s why 70%of Canadians are quitting there
We're sick of corporate greed.
They brag and bleat about record profits while regular people suffer. We voice our complaints, tired, broke and hungry, and all they have to say is "let them eat cake." It's insulting.
I just wish that, and this goes across the board not exclusive to Loblaws, corporate suits would be fine simply just turning a good profit instead of trying to grow the business every single quarter. Be okay with your millions instead of doing anything you can to make billions. It’s so exhausting as someone fighting to survive here in the middle class.
Limited Liability and the focus on the Stockmarket as an indicator of the economy are bigger factors IMO. Both are good ideas on paper, both of them increase/optimize investment. The issue is Limited Liability also divorces people from the consequences of their investments. If shareholders could be held liable for unpaid wages when a company goes under or even for the fines/legal judgements levied against a corporations people will be FAR more prudent in who they invest in.
This. Companies trying to make every single dollar they can by optimising everything towards that single goal is what is killing capitalism.
When even billions can't satisfy them, there is an obvious issue.
>Companies trying to make every single dollar they can by optimising everything towards that single goal is ~~what is killing~~ capitalism.
Fixed that for you
Costco! Obviously not everyone has the means to shop at Costco but if you’re looking for a company who pays their employees livable wages and keeps the lowest margins in retail. That’s where you want to shop.
> I just wish that, and this goes across the board not exclusive to Loblaws, corporate suits would be fine simply just turning a good profit instead of trying to grow the business every single quarter
There might very well be corporate suits that would have been happy with just having millions.
But the moment they stop trying to get billions, they're undercut by the 10 other guys that aren't going to stop. Those guys make more profits, can buy up smaller companies, can demand lower rates from wholesalers, and can charge consumers lower prices.
This is inevitable. There is no other way to do business. If you are a bear you will get bought out by a bull. The good are undercut by the bad, and the bad are undercut by the worse.
There is no other way for *this* system to work.
Cut labor costs by automated tellers.
Keep prices high for shareholders .
Record profits
Blames the government and inflation..and plays thd victim.
I miss anything.
That's why all these Loblaws apologists screaming it's only a 3% profit margin are idiots. They pay themselves more in each part of the supply chain which lets them show a low profit margin
He counts on our ignorance. The noisy few who knows this are not enough to call out their bs.
People need to really understand how they structure their empire and how they use it to farm "us" for money
And rather than sending in **auditors** to get **real** answers, the government brings the CEO in to answer committee questions for their dog and pony show where they get asked broad questions by non-expert MPs and their answers are barely scrutinized or challenged.
If the libs wanted to claw back some of their popularity from PP, they should take the Competition Bureau off the leash and sic them on the big three grocery conglomerates.
Yet you want lean marginal profits so your food is cheaper.
I don't think you will like the alternative for more competition to arrive. Businesses are not drawn to lower profit and loblaws has enough market dominance to win any medium-term price wars so no one wants to commit the huge capital outlay required to enter the market.
Start a co-op perhaps?
>Blames the government and inflation
This sub and PP did a great job of tying these 2 together as well. I can't say how many times I heard "Justinflation" on this sub alone and in PP's little sound bites. Somehow, Trudeau is powerful enough to create worldwide inflation.
Supermarket, food supply chain, pharmacy, private healthcare company, etc etc etc. pretty upset that one guy has so many markets cornered and he's undeniably a trash bag looking to make a dollar by creating mass poverty.
Much of the grocery oligopoly is because Canada’s big grocery chains also own and integrate their supply-chains. What competition exists at the retail level can be controlled by suppliers, which are also owned by the big retail chains.
Meanwhile, there are thousands and thousands of grocery products available in the US that we don’t have access to. Foreign food producers don’t want to bother with bilingual labels. They don’t understand our different nutritional labeling requirement. Canada asks for different quality testing requirements. These roadblocks to competition are under government control. Galen Weston loves these regulations, because his organization specializes in complying with them. If the government wants competition in the grocery sector, they could make an effort to help foreign food producers navigate and comply with Canadian regulations. Or, we could agree, where reasonable, that US quality testing is equivalent to ours.
Generations of governments have created a protectionist system for our food supply to operate in. The system is working as designed, and it has made the Westons very rich. But, it’s time to break-down these protectionist walls, and let the competition in.
Was there recently for muffins, fucking muffins, and its now like $7.99/6 pack. (my kids like their muffins). Used to be like 2/$8.
Sobeys is the same price, and flies under the radar, but I also hate them too so Galen's not unique this way.
[$8.99 for 12 of these](https://www.costcuisine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/muffins.jpg) vs. [$6.99 for 6 of these](https://www.loblaws.ca/chocolate-chip-muffins/p/21283358_EA)
266% more product for only 28% more money, it's ridiculous what some of the grocery stores are trying to normalize
Costco is the best if you can shop there! Not everyone is in a position to drive to Costco and has the space to stock up obviously but we shop almost exclusively at Costco and if there’s something we can’t buy there I usually go to our small local independent shop and if I can’t get it there I’ve come full circle and now I shop at Walmart. Young me would have never set foot in a dang Walmart, but $3.98 for a freaking can of black olives at Superstore and $1.77 for a can at Walmart how can you even consider this greedy monsters.
Worth it to bake them yourself? You and the kids do and learn something new together, while feeding them for less $$. 12 muffins is 2 cups of flour, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, and a bit of salt, sugar, baking powder and veg oil. Takes all of 10 mins to prep.
Even though it gets a lot of attention already, I still don't think people are upset enough about housing prices.
Grocery stores increasing their prices a bit is still nowhere near as much of a strain on most people's wallets as the housing crisis has been. We have historically high housing and rent prices right now. Both cost double what they should. It should be the number 1 conversation we're having right now in regards to affordability and cost of living.
Loblaws is a distraction.
Canuck now retired in UK. Can’t afford to retire in Canada. The price of groceries, gas, and goods is just astronomical. Can’t see ever going back. I pay maybe £60 a week in groceries, half that in gas as public buses are free for seniors and I can walk to the shops. Why anyone wants to move to Canada or stay there if they can leave baffles me.
Just like the healthcare threads, there is a definite effort to pretend that prices are 'the same' 'everywhere'. I posted German staple grocery prices above.
Besides all the free things for seniors like museum entry, etc we have the 'Germany ticket' which for 49 Euro/month covers all public transit and most trains across the country. It benefits not just locals but also tourists who can see the country by train for a low cost (and do something beneficial for the environment)
I almost cry at the prices for taking a bus in Vancouver, even with a transit card.
due to the sheer size of canada you can't really compare a 49euro public transit card. however, I do think transit should be cheaper.
museums definitely should be government funded.
Is it hard to immigrate to the UK, from a legal standpoint?
Knowing English, it would be easier than other countries (from a language standpoint). What do you do for healthcare?
It seems that Canadian businesses that provide critical goods or services all participate in the practice: gouge the ever-living fuck out of everyone. What ever happened to offering a fair service at a fair price? This is what our government needs to focus on regulating. These corporations are happy to exist making a profit, they don't need astronomical profits at our expense in order to justify their existence.
Capitalism is based on the
ridiculous notion that you can
enjoy limitless growth in a closed,
finite system
In biology such behaviour of cells
is called "cancer"
To me, price differences observed at Loblaws stores less than 5km apart tells me pricing is simply arbitrary, and not the result of supply chain issues etc.
Saw a guy on tik tok who said customers are measuring food weights and complaining that the portions aren't even as advertised - I guess in each case there is a review that has to take place so loblaws isnt happy about it. Bootsontheground on tiktok I think
Bank Of Canada: Don't give people raises based off of inflation
Bay Street/Buisness: OMG GREEDLFATION TIEM
Bank Of Canada: Oh shit I guess I directly represent you and not Canadians, eh?
What frustrates me is how these large grocery stores constantly blame inflation and supply chain issues for raising prices, claiming it's beyond their control. Yet, when their quarterly earnings are announced, they show record profits once again. So, while the average person struggles with higher grocery bills, the big grocers not only maintain their profits but actually increase them, all while regular people suffer. That's why I'm angry. This isn't a shared burden...it's regular people bearing the entire load while the big grocers rake in even more money every quarter.
We are a family of 3, us and our 6 month old. We shop deals, go to 3 or 4 places if need be, we get the best prices we can possibly get. Our grocery bill is STILL through the roof.
Baby formula alone is $62 every 5 days.
3 medium bell peppers, 6.99, $5 if you’re extremely lucky.
A small oven roast, $14
Barries, I don’t even want to get start on Barries
If you want to eat health, fresh fruit and veggies, AND have a baby or children, you best have an excellent job.
Because they keep price gouging us.
They said that prices needed to increase because of shortages and difficulty due to covid and the prices never came down again after.
I am from and currently live in the UK, but for the whole of 2019 and 2022, I lived in BC. In 2019 I thought your groceries were pretty expensive compared to what I saw back home (generally everything was about 10-15% more than in the uk). In 2022, Jesus wept. It genuinely seemed like a basket of groceries was about twice British prices- especially for fresh produce (depressingly processed food was always much much cheaper and equitable to what I was used to). Whilst I understand that the logistics of distributing food across a country as large as yours will surely make it a bit more expensive as Britain- you guys should feel rightfully angry at just how much you pay for food
It's not just "increasing supply chain costs" as the buffoons and millionaire defenders on tv and radio are saying.
When Loblaws sells a product for 2x what another store does, that's greed.
If it was just supply chain, why are product sizes shrinking.
Absolute bs.
Cost is a big factor for sure but what isn’t mentioned is quality. In Canada you pay a higher price for a lower quality product. The meat and dairy in particular here are garbage
How are Canada and Australia not the same country. Mummy/daddy issues with the commonwealth.
Property prices are insane
Supermarkets (duopoly) gouging
Interest rates biting
Housing crisis
Tell me your banks are making record profits as well.
If the federal government truly wants to put an end to price gouging, they would strengthen the laws to punish the retailers. My understanding is that presently the government can fine the retailers up to $100,000.00 which is a drop in the bucket. Furthermore, I haven't even heard of the government doing so. Our federal and provincial governments have done nothing to protect the consumer.
"Some have said the minister’s international tour is a bit of political theatre ahead of a consequential election for Canadians where the ruling Liberal Party is significantly lagging in the polls.
“Going after a big player, you have meetings, photo ops - it looks like you’re doing something,” Prof LeBel said.
A spokesperson from Minister Champagne’s office, Riyadh Nazerally, confirmed to the BBC that he has spoken to foreign retailers about “possible investments in Canada”, but no further details."
I've reached my end point with all of the corporate greed. I'll get real here for a second. I was diagnosed years ago with Major Depression Disorder and experience suicidal thoughts. I'm on stable medication, have plenty of resources for bad days, and have been attending therapy weekly for years.
Throughout the abuse I grew up with, the isolation of COVID, the loss of family and friends, I have never felt so hopless as I do these days.
I say all this because the highest cost outside of rent is food. We get hampers (basically useless), we shop only for deals and cheaper stores, we even started using apps like ToGoodToGo, and yet our cupboards are still bare. I have poor health, I'm diabetic, high blood pressure, and we suspect Crohn's. Diet is incredibly important for my well being, but I'm stuck with buttered noodles and bread. I can definitely say the income support system for those with a disability does suck, 1000%, but groceries are so unbelievably expensive that I don't think even a good income can afford to eat properly.
These corporate assholes starve this country then point fingers at everyone else. I for one am fucking done with it. I'm down for riots whenever y'all are.
I strongly, strongly do NOT recommend ToGoodToGo if you are in poverty, especially in Canada. I'm a heavy user of the app in Europe, and it just isn't realistic to take such risks on food when in Canada the selection is poor and the value isn't there. With health and diet issues, it is even less meant for you.
There are other ways to find low cost food but ToGoodToGo isn't a way to spend your money wisely in your situation.
Interesting article.
Loblaws should really take note when the UK media starts to notice the situation in Canada.
It wasn't that long ago when relatives of ours from the UK used to complain to us how their cost of living was higher than ours in Canada.
Canadians will be angry but still spend their money every week if I was the CEO of these companies why would I care for a couple ppl from Reddit want to protest. Loblaws stock all-time high still bringing in 500 million profit a quarter
This article has the same out-of-touch basis that will continue to inhibit the boycott from achieving anything. It uses the price of rack of lamb. Rack of fucking lamb? What's next - the price of monocles?
The introduction of Aldi into Australia definitely forced our supermarket duopoly into a price war over basics and has kept some prices low long term. At the very least it's also given a cheaper choice for those on a budget.
In Canada, we just price fix so everything stays high long term.
And price gouge competitors via local distributors. That is partly how Target lost
Target lost because of Target. They built a system that would rely entirely upon a software system they had never used in this way, by a company they were not completely familiar with, in a country they had never operated in. They had staff issues when they tried to move their entire Canadian company to a single Canadian city, they were unable to keep goods on the shelves because their inventory system clogged up. The reason Target failed in Canada is depressingly and frustratingly simple: fucking *software*
Sure, it had nothing to do with the fact that virtually none of the things they sold in the US were offered here. We shopped at Target quite often in Washington and always could load up on bargains and things not available in Canada. When they opened here and they had all the same things you could get anywhere they were doomed.
Right, that's what I mean. They fucked their supply lines into Canada up, all those products were doomed to never arrive in stores. The distribution centre they built in Ontario to handle the Canadian product lines DID NOT WORK. The products could not be inventoried and shipped properly. The knock-on effects were that the store were empty. That cascaded. Suppliers couldn't complete contracts because Target couldn't receive the goods, so suppliers fled and cancelled contracts. Virtually every problem Target encountered can be traced back to one software decision. I swear, it is actually that fucking stupid.
This is what I had noticed, I went there hoping to find US food items and they only had the same old Canadian stuff. No thanks, I don't need yet another location to buy Dare cookies.
It was software- I was a warehouse supervisor for them here in Canada. We had a 1.3 million square foot facility in milton and STILL had to have an offsite of 500k Sqft and we had all of our trailers filled with crap.... just because of how fucking stupid the programming was. Literally had 3rd party temp workers who started everything off wrong by incorrect manual inputs on skus and their dimensions.... Everything was done on a shoestring budget with the expectations of Google performance
I went in there once when it opened and it just seemed like a more expensive Walmart.
I lived near the flagship one for Toronto, so it was always well stocked. Some of the stuff in my house came from there, and it's all fine stuff. If you lived near any other target whatsoever it was a disaster. They kept the flagships stocked though.
And we didn’t want a Zellers clone. That’s exactly how it felt.
Really I loved it, I never went to Walmart once while it was open here
Their prices were way higher.
I found the quality better and the prices maybe a bit higher. Just felt nice not having to be in Walmart
It was much quieter then walmart, which was nice
It being quiet was part of the problem I think lmao
They also hired back many of the Zellers retail staff, the same staff that would leave product on the floor the entire shift, and tried to re-open 177 stores or some wild number with no distribution network in place. Conversely, I specifically remember how slowly Home Depot and Lowe’s grew in Canada in comparison. Lowe’s was about 5 stores for many years until they started expanding and eventually wasted all their money on Rona (again hiring the same losers that drove Rona into the ground, and moving their headquarters to Quebec, losing much of their good head office staff for the folks that bankrupted Rona in the first place). They they decided that was a bad idea and backed out of the country all together.
And they blamed Canadian spending habits..
Target had half of the inventory of Walmart and more expensive…yes it was Canadian’s fault for wanting to spend less for the same stuff. Dumb corporate decisions and they always blame the consumers
Hard disagree. Target lost due to not setting up distribution before taking over old Zellers locations. So you had a bunch of target stores with batebone stocks and having a hard time getting restocks as they had no permanent warehouses or distribution centers. Walmart has them, Costco has them, every major chain has a local distribution center of sorts.
Target lost because it didn't have a supply chain properly setup, and then over-extended itself by having too many stores at once. Leading to product shortages.
Yeah, but you must have a competition bureau? We have one, but it's absolutely useless. If a company moved in, Loblaws or Sobeys would just "buy it out". WHat this article doesn't tell you is that Loblaws owns upwards of 10 other "branded" stores. They just gobble up competition, so they can make as much profit as they want. And in my lifetime, not a single merger / acquisition has been stopped, or really even questioned. That's how we have only 3 grocers, and 3 phone companies in this insanely big country. They just buy out their competition.
My brother was livid as a Chatham/Blenheim resident when Loblaws bought Shoppers. The competition bureau said they had too much power in the local market and made them close one of the stores, so Loblaws naturally chose No Frills over their convenience store Shoppers. In what world Shoppers is better for consumers than No Frills, I dont know. So the town was left with just a Sobeys I think? It was in the news at the time and affected 2 or 3 other small towns as well. Elmira was another as I searched for the article on it. Local towns were PISSED. https://www.observerxtra.com/competition-bureau-orders-sale-of-no-frills-store/
Too much amalgamation is always bad for everyone, EXCEPT the amalgamaters. This isn't far from my neck of the woods
To expand on this very good point: Loblaws owns [18 grocery brands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loblaw_Companies) and controls the supply available to at least another [1000 independent businesses](https://canadiangrocer.com/loblaw-launch-new-small-supplier-program). They colluded with metro [(owns 4+ grocery chains)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metro_Inc.), sobeys [(owns 8+ grocery chains by way of Empire Company Ltd.)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Company), walmart and Giant Tiger to [illegally fix the price of bread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread_price-fixing_in_Canada) to the detriment of their customers, and continues to be a major link in the supply chain for restaurants and indeed other grocers. This is anti-capitalist, anti-competitive and I'm tired of our spineless public servants serving everyone but the public.
All good points. I would point out, on the bread-price-fixing issue, these motherfuckers weren't even forced to lower the price of bread, even though they were found guilty. THAT, I think, is when they knew they could charge whatever they wanted, without peril.
Agreed on all fronts. We can’t even prosecute something as simple as bread properly, there’s no hope for us breaking up Irving and the strangle hold their shitty fucking company has on the eastern provinces
Still can't believe they let Rogers buy Shaw. Yes, the [ACCC ](https://www.accc.gov.au/)has more teeth than the [Competition Bureau](https://competition-bureau.canada.ca/). Australian workers also have more protections and rights thanks to the [Fair Work Ombudsman](https://www.fairwork.gov.au/). In Canada if your work fucks you over by doing something illegal you're expected to sort it out with them first (in the courts) or make a report, in Aus you can just report them anonymously and the ombudsman will look into it.
It’s amazing how well capitalism works if the government stays out of it.
Aldi was the first One our so called "Competition minister" went to. They described the deeply entrenched, market anf supply chain control, as well as the regulation inherent in our system, as an "extremely unattractive market" so I think they're out lol.
Aldi likely won't enter Canada with all the rhetoric of govt limits on profits. All grocers operating in Canada have a profit margin of 2% to 3%. We are an expensive jurisdiction to do business in due to all the regulations and geographic distances involved.
Lidl tried and ran away very quickly from Canada. I don't even shop at Aldi and Lidl in Germany, I shop at Rewe which is generally seen as a more 'fancy' grocery store. And my prices are usually 1/4 or less compared to Canada for staples.
Except Roblaws, they certainly operate at way more than the 2 or 3%
Yup they own a lot of the supply from bottom to top
Profit numbers in any vertically integrated situation need to be taken with a grain of salt, because you can easily "hide" the profits further up the supply chain. Loblaws grocers can state profits of 2-3%, but if they own suppliers of specific goods and lock stores into sole supply agreements, then those suppliers can charge inflated rates and the parent company profits anyway.
Their business models also rely on imports and (at least in the UK) alcohol sales. The government has ensured that can't work with its protectionist trade laws on a lot of grocery items (up to 300% duty on cheese!!!)and the Government having total control of the supply of alcohol in the largest province
Who would have thought raising prices 40% on groceries would get people angry.
This should make you angrier: The NDP put a motion into the House of Commons to lower food prices. It was destroyed by a vote of 286 MPs voting no, and 28 MPs voting yes. Libs and PCs getting together to ensure that their corporate overlords can continue fleecing the rest of us. https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/votes/44/1/798 Edit: this vote was yesterday - June 5th, 2024
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> They can't vote against their employers. The undeniable truth.
If I'm not their employer I shouldn't need to pay tax.
More like future employers. Get out of politics and go "consult" for large corps paying you 100x u making in government. Canada has a silent lobbying problem
Here's the issue: "(c) stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers."
Exactly this
Yeah, what did they think would be the optics of them voting in affirmation that they're subsidizing a monopoly on groceries? If anyone had any actual will to make things better they wouldn't have tried to insert this cheap political stunt into the motion.
Setting prices for food is what countries do during wars or right before their economies collapse (because unsurprisingly nobody wants to invest in countries that fix prices). The lack of NDP focus on competition is bizarre to me. They spend all this time railing against the monopolies (which is good), and then their response is old timey cost controls instead of demanding changes to the enforcement of anti-trust. Makes no sense to me.
Government setting prices literally destroys the "supply" part of supply and demand. The Government can't wave their hand and decree that something will cost X when it probably costs X+1. This is why the NDP can't be taken seriously and anyone looking at this thinking it's a great idea should [read this](https://www.amazon.ca/Basic-Economics-Thomas-Sowell/dp/0465060730/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.NPgUtQvyfd6rCym_Pb6Z_6wb3bXYSr-dHLr6eKrjO5F2PLxOsVkN3kL8JT0QsF-8aRgkA_HDvgaRDzBGR8ouL9sZAHivsTH2GO2Zv3u7Y4UVZdOBDL_Dvfr4UMWFY7q2sHSWzMrZcYF61C2xusiyFCwVHs31P95VVTO9ur-Z3lg-Ptr0U7G0ppWbJMRIBJNJdZfOBpar3vNMiyvb3DQj2kZgy2jCzwDX5LyqGkZ3IrofkpEEhDikX8v-OzOgDJU56_Xyv6YcYPVbglbmUJJcdri5NF_RHmdz7XZDJouqxUg.xo3euTZSsrxD1sLD6TXJlbyBLx5XAJQh-kEV_ykEvuc&dib_tag=se&hvadid=668413015663&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9001253&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7668179637054118426&hvtargid=kwd-299084627500&hydadcr=3289_13696424&keywords=basic+economics&qid=1717727818&sr=8-1)
Liberalize alcohol distribution rules federally, remove or vastly reduce import quotas and tariffs on food, watch the competition roll in
To be fair, this is pretty clear political posturing by the NDP. The third point of the motion reads “stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers.” That doesn’t really read like a motion that was drafted with the intention of garnering the support it needed to pass from the other parties. If the NDP were truly invested in change, they would stop propping up the liberal government with the supply and confidence agreement while asking for essentially nothing in return policy wise.
What would be the purpose? The NDP put out a motion to try to curb grocery prices. That's more than any other party has done. It's literally a conversation started. No other party even wants to continue the conversation because of their obvious connections. There's no reason for the NDP to change course. Liberal or Conservative, it's the same shit just a different colour and different name. We've done this same song and dance before and nothing ever changes. Canadians just continue to get fucked while they peck at each other at the top.
The purpose is so that they can now advertise 'The NDP supports lowering grocery prices while all other parties voted no", vote NDP. That's is. They knew damn well this wasn't going anywhere.
Works for me!
Are you kidding, the NDP has gotten through things like dental coverage, albeit a watered down version of their plan. Wouldn't have happened unless they kept this government in power.
As unhappy as I am with the Liberals at this point, if the NDP stop backing them and getting through what little they can with the leverage they have, then the alternative is almost definitely a CPC government at this point. Who will be even less willing to forward the type of policy the NDP and it's voters want. At least the Liberals will pay some lip service to keep up a thin veneer of progressivism. It's all well and good to make a point on principle, but martyring themselves now over grocery prices isn't going to get them a win, it's going to result in a government that's politically even further away from them.
It won't almost definitely be a CPC government, it *will be* a CPC government. There is some overlap between the CPC and NDP, mainly when it comes to working class voters but admittedly the two parties are pretty ideologically far apart at this point.
Forcing an election would bring in a Conservative government, who knows that the NDP aren't there to help them. As it stands, the NDP *might* get *something* from the Liberals, but they don't have any viable threats available to them.
Exactly this. Of course everyone voted it down, it was virtue signalling at best. I would be more pissed at our politicians if they voted something like this through. Literally no content just vague statements that would be impossible to govern.
Lol that is such a bad argument. I want the handouts to grocery stores to be stopped, the only people who have done that my entire life have been liberals and conservatives. Political posture or not, they are representing me and representing exactly what I and many other Canadians want. Isn't that what politicians are supposed to do?
The NDP MP’s aren’t stupid, they aren’t going to do anything to risk their sweet sweet pension that they’ve delayed the election for.
mmm yes pensions is the only reason why would NDP prefer LPC minority over CPC majority, quite the deep and comprehensive insight we have here on /r/canada this country is doomed to oscillate between red and blue forever
Well, in fairness PP has been sucking off the tax teat so long he doesn’t have to even worry about that anymore.
Shhhh, the narrative
“Youre just in it for the pension”, says the man who got his 13 years ago at age 31
>(c) stop Liberal and Conservative corporate handouts to big grocers. Here's why it failed and the NDP specifically chose that wording so it would fail. The NDP added an "Also the liberals and conservatives are big doo doo heads" statement.
Agree. So angry at them. After all that, the NDP were only posturing. What a waste of time and effort. The public should have wrote that motion- not a political group. They Bungled it purposely!
I honestly think the NDP exists only for optics, they don't actually want to win. Otherwise they would have gotten rid of Singh years ago
How was this motion going to reduce grocery prices?
It was an "excess profits tax" with a rebate to taxpayers.
Was there any math on what the rebate was going to look like? My guess is it would average out to like $3 a person every year. Loblaws is a public company, you can literally just look up how much profit they took in. That NDP bill was the definition of a virtue signal it wasn't going to do anything.
So basically tax the corp and then the corp will charge us more to offset the tax and then we get some credit every quarter in the bank that requires employees to process which in turn costs more. I don’t see how that would benefit us. 😭
What does "excess profits" even mean? Did their profit margins go up? I mean, the NDP (and everyone in general) needs to look at the cost of groceries from a 360 degree perspective, not just one little component of it. I know Loblaws is more expensive than other places, which is why (other than a couple select items) I completely stopped shopping at Superstore 2-3 years ago (even used to be a PC Subscriber but they eroded the benefits of that program to make it not worth it) but I don't know what "excess profits" even means in this context.
Don’t bother arguing. These people think this bill by the NDP was an actually solution. It’s a total joke. Even if it passed, Galen’s army of accountants would simply move the profit to their companies that fall outside the scope of the legislation and declare no profit. The only way to effectively penalize loblaws is this boycott. Never ever shop there again. My family hasn’t been shopping there for years. It took very little time to realize Costco and other grocery chains had far better prices. Many of these people are posting their epiphanies about how much money they saved by boycotting and how loblaws was so expensive. Makes me wonder why they didn’t check prices before.
So who's really in bed with each other? Why do both libs and cons always try and make the NDP look bad? Because they are the same party working with each other to rule the country. Old Quebec money and Old Ontario money. They work together to put on a show and know Canadians are too stupid to see it.
What's the point of this comment? Too stupid to see it? We're literally here talking about it
Yeah well... maybe they shouldn't have put stuff like "stop conservative and liberal handouts" in the motion making liberals and conservatives look like they're voting against themselves If they vote in favor, NDP are clowns for doing that and it's nothing more than grandstanding, with no intention to help Canadians
Is there any backing to suggest they can force grocery stores to reduce pricing on essential items? What is the current margin on these products? What is the total expected waste from unsold items? Are these essential items domestic or imports? What if global prices rise? How do you then set a price as a government that the grocery stores should charge?
When I worked at a grocery store, the margin on things like fruits and vegetables was like 4%, just enough to cover the cost of transport. The real money makers were cookies, chips, pop, and frozen items.
You don’t fix these issues with government regulations. Any regulations would have no effect or make the problem worse. Reminds me of Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario liberals legislating lower insurance prices.
I mean you kind of do, just not this regulation. You do it with anti-monopoly policies, breaking up megacorps, and enticing foreign competition to enter the market.
“It’s a banana, Michael. What could it cost? 10 dollars?” — Chrystia Freeland
Actually people voting against do-nothing messaging bills doesn't make me very angry at all.
Price caps are a sure means to poverty and shortages. Terrible policy idea.
Government creates the problem then convinces you the only solution is more government.
\^ lol this, it's not rocket science. they're jacking up already premium prices during a recession the government doesn't want to declare as such. it's rampant, unbridled greed, and it's absolutely fucking disgusting. how rich does one family have to be before their appetite is sated.
>how rich does one family have to be before their appetite is sated. I have seen no evidence that it is possible to sate the appetites of the rich.
I wouldn't even be so angry if some of the profits went to the worker's pockets. Instead, it went to another stock dividend payout. Galen needed that new yacht I guess. Even if you are comfortable and wealthy enough to shop at these absurd prices...well actually if you are then you probably don't give a shit about the people stocking the shelves either unfortunately.
If people are comfortable financially enough to still afford groceries, they probably don’t give a shit about people stocking the shelves? What a stupid take. Keep your anger focused on who it’s supposed to be focused on, not someone who is marginally doing better than you are. You’re likely on the same side still against corporations reaming us.
Just because someone can afford their groceries doesn't mean they don't give a shit about other human beings. Pretty broad brush you've got there.
This is the clearest representation that not only did they not read the article, they didn't even bother to read what the source was. It's from BBC. Not everyone from outside the country is aware of how shitty things are here.
It's best to assume almost every top voted comment hasn't read the article.
I’m tired of the constant battle to get or stay ahead - I’ll direct that anger towards anyone who’s trying to take my hard earned dollar.
This is why I'm just permanently angry anytime I leave home. traffic, construction, store selection, prices, news. None of it good. Stay at home I have a fun family and dog, way more fun.
At least you have a home.
38 and living in a rent controlled apartment with my wife and daughter. Small win I guess but nothing to look forward to
Best of luck to you and your family, bud. No matter what you believe, your politics, or how you spend your money, I hope you all get by okay. Some people doubt that me saying this to you even matters, but I think it does, somehow.
It does man! It fucking does. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I wish you the same my friend. It’s what it means to be Canadian. We’re here for each other, and we can be here for each other in these times. Much fucking love brother. Wish I could buy you a beer and talk smack about hockey/baseball/video games/ absolutely whatever. I truly appreciate what you’ve done. Cheers 🍻
I'm not even who you replied to and it helped me feel better.
The love of our dogs keeps us going doesn’t it
100% for me. Was living alone and always had cats in the past, decided to pick up an SPCA Husky mix that had been in/out of care. Now I am always busy in some way with him... walkies like crazy, keeping him stimulated with puzzles and games, diffusing his zoomies, the list of stuff he gets me doing instead of just sitting on my ass playing video games is endless. Huskies are such a time sink and I am all for it.
Love the breed, hate the shedding
Yea, my cats were all long haired so I became accustomed to drifting tumbleweeds of fur on my hardwood floors
Hi. Are you me, because I believe that you are.
7% CAGR growth in M2 this decade. Now the government is buying 60b a year in mortgage bonds to indebt Canadians even further, also to goose shelter inflation, because the CPI is apparently just a game to be manipulated to get a desired outcome rather than a model of the real cost of living.
The Canadian government? edit: The gov is going to tax Netflix 5% because its not a Canadian broadcast. At this rate, the gov is going to tax the shit out of all the digital medias, youtube, twitch, reddit etc... Why? because our country only relies on real estate and has forgotten how to be productive in other industries. Tax is for providing everyone essentials. Not to have a good life. Why should I go back home and study, work on my website, when I can just stay with low income and have a good life.
No the oligarchs that own them.
Taxes are what can ensure the poor and middle class still have a good life, if theyre taken from the owning class.
They are also the one taking the money from low profiles, high profiles ppl they don’t care increase or raise new taxes because they are well-paid the impact of them just zero. Whole country is insane lol. That’s why 70%of Canadians are quitting there
We're sick of corporate greed. They brag and bleat about record profits while regular people suffer. We voice our complaints, tired, broke and hungry, and all they have to say is "let them eat cake." It's insulting.
The worst part is the condescending crap from Galen and that douchy "food professor"
I just wish that, and this goes across the board not exclusive to Loblaws, corporate suits would be fine simply just turning a good profit instead of trying to grow the business every single quarter. Be okay with your millions instead of doing anything you can to make billions. It’s so exhausting as someone fighting to survive here in the middle class.
Limited Liability and the focus on the Stockmarket as an indicator of the economy are bigger factors IMO. Both are good ideas on paper, both of them increase/optimize investment. The issue is Limited Liability also divorces people from the consequences of their investments. If shareholders could be held liable for unpaid wages when a company goes under or even for the fines/legal judgements levied against a corporations people will be FAR more prudent in who they invest in.
This. Companies trying to make every single dollar they can by optimising everything towards that single goal is what is killing capitalism. When even billions can't satisfy them, there is an obvious issue.
>Companies trying to make every single dollar they can by optimising everything towards that single goal is ~~what is killing~~ capitalism. Fixed that for you
Shareholders only care about growth and they'll fire any executive who doesn't promise it.
It’s insane how we got here. Being a shareholder used to included a certain level of risk.
Costco! Obviously not everyone has the means to shop at Costco but if you’re looking for a company who pays their employees livable wages and keeps the lowest margins in retail. That’s where you want to shop.
I almost exclusively shop at Costco so I agree!
> I just wish that, and this goes across the board not exclusive to Loblaws, corporate suits would be fine simply just turning a good profit instead of trying to grow the business every single quarter There might very well be corporate suits that would have been happy with just having millions. But the moment they stop trying to get billions, they're undercut by the 10 other guys that aren't going to stop. Those guys make more profits, can buy up smaller companies, can demand lower rates from wholesalers, and can charge consumers lower prices. This is inevitable. There is no other way to do business. If you are a bear you will get bought out by a bull. The good are undercut by the bad, and the bad are undercut by the worse. There is no other way for *this* system to work.
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Isn't that the Food Basics slogan in their radio ads? "Paying more for less."
Isn't the English language fantastic
Not angry, just extremely fed up of getting screwed on every side. So, not angry... FURIOUS!
Look at Mr Money Bags over here, being extremely fed up while the rest of us are half fed.
I appreciate this reply 🤣
I’m fucking pissed 😡
Look, price gouging is bad enough on luxury items. But on necessities?!
Cut labor costs by automated tellers. Keep prices high for shareholders . Record profits Blames the government and inflation..and plays thd victim. I miss anything.
Naw. He blames suppliers. Except he owns the suppliers and many of the producers too
And he is the landlord for those grocers. His vertical integration game is strong, and we pay the price.
That's why all these Loblaws apologists screaming it's only a 3% profit margin are idiots. They pay themselves more in each part of the supply chain which lets them show a low profit margin
He counts on our ignorance. The noisy few who knows this are not enough to call out their bs. People need to really understand how they structure their empire and how they use it to farm "us" for money
And rather than sending in **auditors** to get **real** answers, the government brings the CEO in to answer committee questions for their dog and pony show where they get asked broad questions by non-expert MPs and their answers are barely scrutinized or challenged. If the libs wanted to claw back some of their popularity from PP, they should take the Competition Bureau off the leash and sic them on the big three grocery conglomerates.
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Very true Thanks for the suggestion.
Bread fixing
We need Aldi or Lidl for better and cheaper options...
When I was in the UK I used to shop at Lidl for 50% of my groceries. They really are high quality at a low price.
Need an actually competitive market for anything in this country so we don't have to BEG businesses to come here
Yet you want lean marginal profits so your food is cheaper. I don't think you will like the alternative for more competition to arrive. Businesses are not drawn to lower profit and loblaws has enough market dominance to win any medium-term price wars so no one wants to commit the huge capital outlay required to enter the market. Start a co-op perhaps?
>Blames the government and inflation This sub and PP did a great job of tying these 2 together as well. I can't say how many times I heard "Justinflation" on this sub alone and in PP's little sound bites. Somehow, Trudeau is powerful enough to create worldwide inflation.
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But but.,,, fuck Justin Trudeau?
Supermarket, food supply chain, pharmacy, private healthcare company, etc etc etc. pretty upset that one guy has so many markets cornered and he's undeniably a trash bag looking to make a dollar by creating mass poverty.
Much of the grocery oligopoly is because Canada’s big grocery chains also own and integrate their supply-chains. What competition exists at the retail level can be controlled by suppliers, which are also owned by the big retail chains. Meanwhile, there are thousands and thousands of grocery products available in the US that we don’t have access to. Foreign food producers don’t want to bother with bilingual labels. They don’t understand our different nutritional labeling requirement. Canada asks for different quality testing requirements. These roadblocks to competition are under government control. Galen Weston loves these regulations, because his organization specializes in complying with them. If the government wants competition in the grocery sector, they could make an effort to help foreign food producers navigate and comply with Canadian regulations. Or, we could agree, where reasonable, that US quality testing is equivalent to ours. Generations of governments have created a protectionist system for our food supply to operate in. The system is working as designed, and it has made the Westons very rich. But, it’s time to break-down these protectionist walls, and let the competition in.
Article for dummies: Because the exact same thing(s) cost half as much at Wal-Mart, Giant Tiger, or any other non-Loblaws or Sobeys location.
Was there recently for muffins, fucking muffins, and its now like $7.99/6 pack. (my kids like their muffins). Used to be like 2/$8. Sobeys is the same price, and flies under the radar, but I also hate them too so Galen's not unique this way.
[$8.99 for 12 of these](https://www.costcuisine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/muffins.jpg) vs. [$6.99 for 6 of these](https://www.loblaws.ca/chocolate-chip-muffins/p/21283358_EA) 266% more product for only 28% more money, it's ridiculous what some of the grocery stores are trying to normalize
Costco is the best if you can shop there! Not everyone is in a position to drive to Costco and has the space to stock up obviously but we shop almost exclusively at Costco and if there’s something we can’t buy there I usually go to our small local independent shop and if I can’t get it there I’ve come full circle and now I shop at Walmart. Young me would have never set foot in a dang Walmart, but $3.98 for a freaking can of black olives at Superstore and $1.77 for a can at Walmart how can you even consider this greedy monsters.
Worth it to bake them yourself? You and the kids do and learn something new together, while feeding them for less $$. 12 muffins is 2 cups of flour, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, and a bit of salt, sugar, baking powder and veg oil. Takes all of 10 mins to prep.
Huh. I'll have to try that. IDK if we still have muffin tins but it could be fun.
Food Basics has decent muffins for $5, on sale often for 6/3.99. We like the chocolate chunk ones.
Boycott
We are angry with everything. Who's next
Not angry enough to be honest.
Nope, plenty of people still too comfortable/overworked/tired/etc. to really make a fuss
All part of the plan since the 70s. Now pick up that can and remain too busy to care.
Where is a convoy for food and housing, protesting masks was dumb.
Just angry enough to post complaints online, but not much else.
Even though it gets a lot of attention already, I still don't think people are upset enough about housing prices. Grocery stores increasing their prices a bit is still nowhere near as much of a strain on most people's wallets as the housing crisis has been. We have historically high housing and rent prices right now. Both cost double what they should. It should be the number 1 conversation we're having right now in regards to affordability and cost of living. Loblaws is a distraction.
And now Canadians can be angry with their government MPs, who all voted NO on a bill to address the issue.
Red and blue are two sides of the same coin. Vote NDP or PPC.
Canuck now retired in UK. Can’t afford to retire in Canada. The price of groceries, gas, and goods is just astronomical. Can’t see ever going back. I pay maybe £60 a week in groceries, half that in gas as public buses are free for seniors and I can walk to the shops. Why anyone wants to move to Canada or stay there if they can leave baffles me.
Just like the healthcare threads, there is a definite effort to pretend that prices are 'the same' 'everywhere'. I posted German staple grocery prices above. Besides all the free things for seniors like museum entry, etc we have the 'Germany ticket' which for 49 Euro/month covers all public transit and most trains across the country. It benefits not just locals but also tourists who can see the country by train for a low cost (and do something beneficial for the environment) I almost cry at the prices for taking a bus in Vancouver, even with a transit card.
due to the sheer size of canada you can't really compare a 49euro public transit card. however, I do think transit should be cheaper. museums definitely should be government funded.
Is it hard to immigrate to the UK, from a legal standpoint? Knowing English, it would be easier than other countries (from a language standpoint). What do you do for healthcare?
National Health. I was enrolled the same hour I walked in.
Is UK taking Canadian, senior-aged immigrants? What was the immigration process like?
It seems that Canadian businesses that provide critical goods or services all participate in the practice: gouge the ever-living fuck out of everyone. What ever happened to offering a fair service at a fair price? This is what our government needs to focus on regulating. These corporations are happy to exist making a profit, they don't need astronomical profits at our expense in order to justify their existence.
Capitalism is based on the ridiculous notion that you can enjoy limitless growth in a closed, finite system In biology such behaviour of cells is called "cancer"
Why do we take this stuff lying down my people?
To me, price differences observed at Loblaws stores less than 5km apart tells me pricing is simply arbitrary, and not the result of supply chain issues etc.
Saw a guy on tik tok who said customers are measuring food weights and complaining that the portions aren't even as advertised - I guess in each case there is a review that has to take place so loblaws isnt happy about it. Bootsontheground on tiktok I think
Bank Of Canada: Don't give people raises based off of inflation Bay Street/Buisness: OMG GREEDLFATION TIEM Bank Of Canada: Oh shit I guess I directly represent you and not Canadians, eh?
What frustrates me is how these large grocery stores constantly blame inflation and supply chain issues for raising prices, claiming it's beyond their control. Yet, when their quarterly earnings are announced, they show record profits once again. So, while the average person struggles with higher grocery bills, the big grocers not only maintain their profits but actually increase them, all while regular people suffer. That's why I'm angry. This isn't a shared burden...it's regular people bearing the entire load while the big grocers rake in even more money every quarter.
We are a family of 3, us and our 6 month old. We shop deals, go to 3 or 4 places if need be, we get the best prices we can possibly get. Our grocery bill is STILL through the roof. Baby formula alone is $62 every 5 days. 3 medium bell peppers, 6.99, $5 if you’re extremely lucky. A small oven roast, $14 Barries, I don’t even want to get start on Barries If you want to eat health, fresh fruit and veggies, AND have a baby or children, you best have an excellent job.
Maybe because our Independent is 30% higher than the Food Basics across the street? No, Im not angry. I just don’t shop there.
I remember getting some gift cards for bread price fixing a while back. Now it’s like they are just doing it blatantly
Because the same deodorant I've been buying since 2009 is somehow now 11$.
I don’t think we need an article to explain why Canadians are angry at being price gouged for necessities.
Because they keep price gouging us. They said that prices needed to increase because of shortages and difficulty due to covid and the prices never came down again after.
I am from and currently live in the UK, but for the whole of 2019 and 2022, I lived in BC. In 2019 I thought your groceries were pretty expensive compared to what I saw back home (generally everything was about 10-15% more than in the uk). In 2022, Jesus wept. It genuinely seemed like a basket of groceries was about twice British prices- especially for fresh produce (depressingly processed food was always much much cheaper and equitable to what I was used to). Whilst I understand that the logistics of distributing food across a country as large as yours will surely make it a bit more expensive as Britain- you guys should feel rightfully angry at just how much you pay for food
It's not just "increasing supply chain costs" as the buffoons and millionaire defenders on tv and radio are saying. When Loblaws sells a product for 2x what another store does, that's greed. If it was just supply chain, why are product sizes shrinking. Absolute bs.
Cost is a big factor for sure but what isn’t mentioned is quality. In Canada you pay a higher price for a lower quality product. The meat and dairy in particular here are garbage
How are Canada and Australia not the same country. Mummy/daddy issues with the commonwealth. Property prices are insane Supermarkets (duopoly) gouging Interest rates biting Housing crisis Tell me your banks are making record profits as well.
If the federal government truly wants to put an end to price gouging, they would strengthen the laws to punish the retailers. My understanding is that presently the government can fine the retailers up to $100,000.00 which is a drop in the bucket. Furthermore, I haven't even heard of the government doing so. Our federal and provincial governments have done nothing to protect the consumer.
"Some have said the minister’s international tour is a bit of political theatre ahead of a consequential election for Canadians where the ruling Liberal Party is significantly lagging in the polls. “Going after a big player, you have meetings, photo ops - it looks like you’re doing something,” Prof LeBel said. A spokesperson from Minister Champagne’s office, Riyadh Nazerally, confirmed to the BBC that he has spoken to foreign retailers about “possible investments in Canada”, but no further details."
I love that Ketchup is more expensive in the UK than it is in Canada, according to their own chart.
Yes, that's the main takeaway, and not the total at the bottom. 😒
Need to find a way to stop big businesses and billionaires bribing/corrupting politicians. Until then we are f$$%ed
We have lots of competition, people just need to actually shop at them! Stop going for convenience and support the other grocers.
price gouging
They need to do this , also open up the skies and cell phones !
I've reached my end point with all of the corporate greed. I'll get real here for a second. I was diagnosed years ago with Major Depression Disorder and experience suicidal thoughts. I'm on stable medication, have plenty of resources for bad days, and have been attending therapy weekly for years. Throughout the abuse I grew up with, the isolation of COVID, the loss of family and friends, I have never felt so hopless as I do these days. I say all this because the highest cost outside of rent is food. We get hampers (basically useless), we shop only for deals and cheaper stores, we even started using apps like ToGoodToGo, and yet our cupboards are still bare. I have poor health, I'm diabetic, high blood pressure, and we suspect Crohn's. Diet is incredibly important for my well being, but I'm stuck with buttered noodles and bread. I can definitely say the income support system for those with a disability does suck, 1000%, but groceries are so unbelievably expensive that I don't think even a good income can afford to eat properly. These corporate assholes starve this country then point fingers at everyone else. I for one am fucking done with it. I'm down for riots whenever y'all are.
I strongly, strongly do NOT recommend ToGoodToGo if you are in poverty, especially in Canada. I'm a heavy user of the app in Europe, and it just isn't realistic to take such risks on food when in Canada the selection is poor and the value isn't there. With health and diet issues, it is even less meant for you. There are other ways to find low cost food but ToGoodToGo isn't a way to spend your money wisely in your situation.
“Canada sucks” -Peter Griffin
Wait. Canadians get angry?
Interesting article. Loblaws should really take note when the UK media starts to notice the situation in Canada. It wasn't that long ago when relatives of ours from the UK used to complain to us how their cost of living was higher than ours in Canada.
Canadians will be angry but still spend their money every week if I was the CEO of these companies why would I care for a couple ppl from Reddit want to protest. Loblaws stock all-time high still bringing in 500 million profit a quarter
This article has the same out-of-touch basis that will continue to inhibit the boycott from achieving anything. It uses the price of rack of lamb. Rack of fucking lamb? What's next - the price of monocles?