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As you may be aware, we’ve experienced some challenges in the British Columbia market and a number of our stores have been losing money for some time.
The challenges facing all grocery retailers today are unprecedented. We face extremely tough and growing competition each day and these competitors continue to challenge us on price and on costs.
If we want Safeway to regain our place as one of Western Canada’s leading grocery stores – a place that provides good, stable jobs for thousands of people – then our stores simply have to be the best places for our customers to shop.
To address some of these challenges, we have made some significant investments, including new commercial programs, a more competitive offering and enhanced marketing and pricing support. However, while we are committed to this marketplace, we’ve reached the point where we’re unable to be profitable based on our current costs.
As you may be aware, we have an opportunity to address our unprofitable stores through the Joint Union Management Quarterly Review Letters of Understanding in our Collective Agreements with the UFCW Locals 1518 and 247 in B.C. These Letters of Understanding allow us to request a review of the performance of stores that are experiencing financial difficulties or whose continued viability is questionable.
The Quarterly Review process is an opportunity for the Company and the unions to examine and negotiate measures within the Collective Agreement that could be taken to help make these stores profitable once again.
Following a careful review of all Safeway stores in British Columbia, we have selected 20 stores to be placed under Quarterly Review. This does not mean that these are the only stores that are not profitable. In fact, most of the Safeway stores in B.C. are currently operating “in the red.” However, in an effort to minimize the amount of disruption throughout our operations, we have selected our most challenging stores in B.C. to be placed on Quarterly Review.
We have formally advised the UFCW Locals 1518 and 247 that we will be triggering the Quarterly Review process for the following stores:
We are looking for solutions that will help return our stores to a profitable financial situation. The Company has and will continue to look for every opportunity to reduce our losses and we are looking forward to working with the unions to find an appropriate solution to this problem.
We realize that this is a difficult and likely an unpopular step to take, however, it is necessary. Recognizing that our employees are the backbone of our business, our goal is to find fair solutions for both the Company and the employees – solutions that ensure the long-term viability for Safeway. We hope to work with the unions to make changes so we can avoid possible store closures and continue to provide good jobs for our people.
As we continue to move forward with this process, you can sign up to receive updates from SafewayTalks. We want this to be a conversation and you can be assured that we are listening. Please visit the Q&A page and send us your questions. We are doing our best to answer everyone’s questions, and we look forward to having you join the conversation. We want to keep the lines of communication open and be available to address questions, concerns and suggestions.
Your Store Manager and HR Manager are here if you have any questions, and we will continue to use SafewayTalks to share information. We hope you will sign up to receive updates and join the conversation.
