Buckingham Palace certainly had a rough week in the public eye, but so did Loblaw, once again finding itself at the center of a social media storm due to unflattering digitally altered images. It’s fair to say that Loblaw is currently facing some of the most intense criticism of any grocer in the country, if not in North America. Reporters from around the globe are now turning to Canadian experts to better understand what has been termed the “Loblaw phenomenon.” Despite Galen Weston’s disappearance from the airwaves almost a year ago, in April 2023, animosity toward the company and him remains palpable.
On social media, numerous websites are dedicated to criticizing Canada’s leading grocer, and this criticism has been ongoing for several months, showing no signs of slowing down. Nevertheless, Loblaw’s stock price remains remarkably strong, making it one of the best-performing stocks on Bay Street. At over $150 a share, it is 30% higher than 12 months ago and nearly 130% more than 5 years ago. Loblaw is undeniably a well-managed company, boasting a highly efficient food innovation supercluster called President’s Choice. In addition to its success in the food sector, Loblaw generates revenue from real estate, financial services, and Shoppers Drug Mart, which serves as a key component of its portfolio. Its breadth and diversification are truly impressive. Whether or not Loblaw’s critics like to admit it, the company, which is also the largest private employer in Canada, is thriving financially. However, from a public relations standpoint, the company is struggling.
Over the past three months, both Loblaw and Galen Weston have made several missteps. One notable incident involved Loblaw and Galen Weston apologizing for providing inaccurate information to members of Parliament when Mr. Weston spoke about Australia’s code of conduct. His opposition to the proposed code in Canada led him to mislead parliamentarians about how the code operated in Australia.
Additionally, the company had to backtrack on its decision to end the 50% discount on expiring food, a move that did not sit well with Canadians. CTV News’ Hafsa Arif had to inform the public that the policy was ending across the country and that Loblaw’s discounting policy was to be aligned with the competition. Loblaw reversed its decision a few days after CTV News broke the story.
Loblaw also faced public outcry over its deal with Manulife, which it had to end. This incident once again made the company appear non-transparent, as backroom deals are often perceived as being against the public interest, particularly in sensitive areas such as health care.
Most recently, CBC News’ Sophia Harris reported—not Loblaw itself—that the company was implementing new anti-theft measures that might make shoppers feel guilty. Loblaw came under fire for introducing receipt scanners in four of its southern Ontario stores as a trial initiative. Positioned at the exit of the self-checkout area, shoppers must scan their receipts to unlock the gate and leave the store, with failure to do so triggering an alarm. This measure raises legal rights concerns, as well as fire and public safety issues. The news CBC broke was another public relations disaster for Loblaw.
In response to these incidents, Loblaw has reacted to the news since it never bothered to announce any of the things they were doing. In the case of the latest measure, if shoplifting is indeed an issue, Loblaw should provide quantifiable numbers to the public to demonstrate the extent of losses incurred through shoplifting or organized crime, if applicable. This would allow consumers to better understand the company’s perspective. Instead, Loblaw appears to be a company that is only remotely interested in the well-established but fragile moral contract it has with the public, which is based on trust and compassion.
What is most troubling in recent months is the unsympathetic and corporate feel of the messages conveyed by Loblaw to the public. The approach seems to equate the relationship between shareholders and the public, when it should be fundamentally different. The public deserves a friendlier, more human approach, which other grocers seem to do much better.
In conclusion, if someone dislikes Loblaw for any reason, they can always shop elsewhere. However, in Canada, grocers tend to copy each other, so practices from a dominant player like Loblaw often become the norm. Therefore, complaints against Loblaw are not in vain, as they can have a broader impact on the industry as a whole.
Such nonsense, and fake outcry from the public. So you need to scan a receipt, that takes 5 seconds. Not all that different than Costco going through your receipt when you leave their stores. Costco had been doing that forever, so where is the media attention, and outcry there?
Costco is a membership club, and members agree to exit checks as part of the membership agreement.
Maybe so, but no one is forcing anyone to shop at Loblaws when there are other stores, the fake outcry is just that, especially with more and more stores also installing security barriers and similar to help curtail shoplifting and trying to keep shrink levels low. Case who do you think pays to iffset the shirk?
If they wish to curtail shoplifting, they just need to put back their cashes with staff. They made a profit decison to cut those positions and funnel customers to self check-out and now are surprised that theft has increased…really? I am a customer, not their employee but I have to check-out and bag my groceries and then prove that I paid before a gate lets me out of their store, in addition to paying astounding increases on product. Frankly, I understand the public outcry and as far as I’m concerned, there isn’t enough of it.
Oh the fake outcry, when various recent reports and studies prove that a large portion of the population like the serve checkouts so they can get in and out quickly, without having to wait in a checkout line with half a dozen others people with full carts.
I don’t give 2 cares that I’m scanning and bagging my items, cause most places you bag your items anyways. This way I can get out quicker and on with my day. Cause my time is also worth something.
Do I agree with reducing the staff at the other registers no, and should they have more open as well as the self checkout option? Yes they should. But If you don’t like using them then go wait in the line up with half a dozen customers.
Maybe the public is tired of the lack of transparency and most of all their greed.
Loblaws (or any other company) does not owe its customers a reason or statistics report on theft to implement a receipt scanner. If the company wants to do it they can do it. If people don’t like, they can shop elsewhere.
There is bigger issue with CEO ( and other senior execs) wages and bonuses being out of control expecially compared to hard working employees but it’s not just in the grocery sector. Yes, food prices are increasing and product sizes are decreasing but the media is not helping the situation with only focusing in on Loblaws. This narrative is getting tired.
The media can do better by collecting information on all grocers, and other company’s, their CEO’s and executives, their employee’s wages and their pricing strategies. Targeting one company is simply that, targeting one company.
I used to shop at a local Loblaws-owned store because they were within walking distance from home and open twenty-four hours. Then I moved to Montreal where the legislated opening hours aren’t as convenient and none of the stores are either far away or not in places where I can pop in on my way home, something that baffles me in a city with good public transit.
When most grocers started offering better home delivery options during the pandemic, Loblaws emphasised “click and collect” and expected you to pay a yearly fee for the privilege. This works fine for Amazon – I’m a Prime member and have been ordering from the Seattle-based behemoth since the days when they mostly sold books and you had to order from the U.S. – but Loblaws doesn’t doesn’t have the selection that Amazon does. Shopper’s Drug Mart, where I’ve been shopping my entire adult life, is overpriced. I can now buy the things they offer elsewhere and only go there when I get a craving for Hawkins Cheesies.
Obviously, Loblaw’s target market is the suburban family with an SUV and not us city-dwellers who try to keep our carbon footprint small. Trouble is, those are the very consumers most likely to shop at Costco where the quality is high, the prices are reasonable and you can get things delivered to your door. Costco’s membership fee is worth the price. Loblaw’s isn’t.
I had stopped shopping at Loblaw’s all together. Their beef is terrible and has been for years so we buy all our meat at Metro. During the pandemic I started buying non-fresh grocery items online and having them delivered. I used Metro and Sobey’s Voila without issue. Thought I would try Loblaw’s again for a similar shop to stock up the pantry etc.
Well, I am a senior and live in an apartment building. Based on my previous experiences where the groceries were delivered right to my door, I expected the same when I ordered from Loblaw’s! Nope, a Skip the Dishes driver showed up at the entrance and was not equipped to bring my order upstairs. I had to go down with my bundle buggy and do it my self – WOW, I was not impressed. I wrote them and they apologized with a free delivery voucher for my next order. They are still using Skip the Dishes to deliver but the second order was brought upstairs by the driver.
Voila give seniors a free delivery discount code, they have their own trucks and are well equipped with bins and a dolly to deliver!
Loblaw’s needs to do better!!
Loblaws is the closest supermarket to me. I want to move. The first time I felt a negative feeling towards Loblaws was when they started selling these curious eggs named “Free Run”. Did they coin that term? After that I began to see it everywhere. Despicable. A free-run hen sees no more light of day than a caged one. Sure they have a little more space, so a thousand factory hens in the hen barn can run a whole circle around one another. When did Loblaws start selling unripe food? I can’t find a soft avocado. I can’t find a ready-to-eat honeydew melon. Hard as a rock, for better shipping, longer shelf life. What happens to ripe stuff? I looked forward to fresh corn this summer but there was none. I looked for raisins one day and found none, not even a space to show they were out. They just didn’t exist that day. When did supermarkets decide to tell you what to eat? Food is a human right. How do you fight Loblaws for your rights?