Loblaw Companies Ltd. announced Thursday its plans to pilot a new concept, value-based no name store in three Ontario markets.
It said the no name store will help customers save up to 20 per cent on everyday grocery and household essentials, by lowering operating costs and carrying only a targeted assortment of products.
The no name store is piloting in three markets in Ontario, beginning in September 2024: Windsor, St. Catharines, and Brockville.
“Our goal is simple – providing food and essential household items across a limited range of national brands and no name brand products at our lowest possible price,” said Per Bank, President and CEO, Loblaw. “Since food inflation took off globally, we have been laser-focused on doing what we can to keep prices lower for customers, including opening more discount food locations in more parts of the country. This new test concept allows us to pass on lower prices to our customers – it’s a completely different and simplified shopping experience.”
The company said no name stores are reducing operating costs through a variety of ways, including:
- Shorter operating hours (10am-7pm)
- Smaller assortment means the store is less complicated to run
- Limited marketing and no flyers
- No refrigeration (no dairy or fresh meat products)
- Reused fixtures – shelves, cash lanes – to minimize building costs
- Fewer weekly deliveries, reducing logistic costs
“Our commitment to customers is that products at the no name store will be up to 20% less than the regular retail price on a comparable product at any of the four main discount grocers in that local area. These no name stores will have a limited selection of 1,300 products, but these are many of our top-selling pantry staples and household goods throughout the province, so we know they’re what customers buy most and what will bring them the biggest savings,” said Melanie Singh, President, Loblaw’s Hard Discount Division. “This is a test and learn project, and we’re planning to listen and adjust quickly. The pilot is unchartered territory and while success isn’t guaranteed, our commitment to creating value and meeting customer needs remains unwavering.”
Loblaw said customers can expect a small range of frozen food items, complemented by pantry staples, household necessities, and shelf-stable bakery and produce items including bread, bagels, apples, bananas, peppers, and carrots. This curated line up of products ensures every item on the shelves contributes to the store’s mission of affordability and quality.
“It’s an intriguing strategy for Loblaw. The company is clearly no longer concerned about cannibalizing itself and seems to be targeting the Dollarama and Giant Tiger market in smaller areas. This is an aggressive move forward,” said Sylvain Charlebois, Professor and Senior Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
“I’m not sure it will be successful, but Loblaw is targeting the non-urban market, which has been somewhat underserved compared to major urban centers like Toronto, Montreal, or Vancouver. Only time will tell.”
Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, as well as its largest retailer and private sector employer. With over one billion transactions each year in its network of 2,500 stores and national e-commerce options, Loblaw brings food, pharmacy, beauty, apparel and financial services to customers through many brands: President’s Choice, No Name, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, Real Canadian Superstore, T&T, Joe Fresh, PC Express and PC Financial. The Company’s loyalty program, PC Optimum, has more than 16 million active members.
I think this sound awesome for smaller communities. I hope No Name stores invade “Dollar General” type markets across Canada including Lockport, Manitoba
This basically sounds like what No Frills was originally supposed to be.
But no dairy?! Even my local gas station has milk and butter.
That’s funny but true, fuel and food.
I was a long time loyal Loblaws customer obsessed with maximizing my Optimum points and a big fan of the Presidents Choice products. I started boycotting them about a year before the whole boycott movement started because of the disgusting arrogance and greed of the Weston family mainly starting during Covid and monopolistic behaviors snapping up everything in sight. I go out of my way to make sure I never step foot in a Weston owned business. We need true outside competition in this country and we need politicians with backbones who are not in the pockets of the many cartels in this country to break up all our monopolies!
This proves that No Frills was a scam all along! So a yellow store that only sells the most hideous quality products. Wasn’t this called Extra Foods back in the day?
The idea of a smaller footprint store with a carefully-curated assortment of only top-selling products was the whole idea behind No Frills. I’m not sure Loblaw can “refine” the concept much further without alienating customers. The problem is that the narrower the assortment gets, the less useful the store becomes. Am I really going to shop at a “supermarket” knowing that I can’t buy milk, cheese, margarine and frozen foods there, but have to go elsewhere to do so?
The other issue is that many Canadians are VERY brand-loyal for specific items. Campbell’s tomato soup, Kraft Dinner and Heinz ketchup are all products which are widely viewed as vastly superior to their house brand equivalents. Will Canadians shop at a store that doesn’t even give them the option of “trading up” to a national brand they prefer? (No Frills and FreshCo both carry a wide assortment of national brands in addition to house brands.)
Galen Weston has 40% of the Food Marketshare in this country. I stopped shopping all Weston stores years ago. Will never support this endeavour. Support small business, go straight to the farmer, find your local fruit and veggie shop, your butcher and feel good about building community again.
This feels like a flop in the making, given how Loblaws failed with its similarly low SKUed “Box” test store in Windsor a few years ago, and how attempts by other grocers to create stores like this elsewhere also tanked, such as Tesco’s “Jack’s” chain in the UK.
Pure genius! If your own products, aka No Name, aren’t selling, then jack up prices and when consumers are at the end of their rope, presto, announce a No Name store that sells mainly your own brand as a solution. However, no one wants to have to shop at 2 different stores for their groceries. One store for canned and paper goods and another for meat and dairy. Not going to happen.
I remember when this was called Valdi.
Shopped at this store the first time today. Great variety and prices but was disappointed that Optimum card not accepted.