Category: Feature

B.C. Store Closures, Potential FreshCo openings

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Today, Sobeys Inc. announced the permanent closure of 10 underperforming Safeway stores in British Columbia. In addition to these closures, we also announced five stores that will be closing, but may reopen as FreshCo locations depending on the outcome of labour negotiations with the relevant B.C. labour unions.

The decision to close stores is never easy. The changes we are experiencing in the marketplace are a direct result of changing customer preferences. The reality is some of our locations continue to lose money despite the best efforts of both the hardworking teams in our stores and in the Company.

It’s no secret that many of our stores in British Columbia have struggled in recent years. It’s important that we take the right steps forward to ensure a strong future for Safeway. We must return our stores to profitable growth and have the flexibility to react quickly to market demands.

As always, we will work with impacted employees to provide support as they transition to work in other stores or onto new career opportunities. We will also be working closely with their respective unions to ensure the terms of their collective agreements are met.

Our operating costs are some of the highest in the industry, and we have to get our labour costs in line to remain competitive. If we don’t reduce our operating costs, more stores will need to be closed.

These tough decisions will help us move to a more secure position to grow our business and provide good, stable jobs for British Columbians and the more than 125,000 Canadians we employ across the country.

The stores that are closing are:

  • # 4944 Safeway Lougheed Mall, Burnaby
  • # 4907 Safeway City Square, Vancouver
  • # 4904 Safeway Sunwood Square, Coquitlam
  • # 4945 Safeway Point Grey, Vancouver
  • # 4954 Safeway Royal Oak, Burnaby

Store that are closing but may reopen as FreshCo locations are:

  • # 4949 Safeway Blundell, Richmond
  • # 4957 Safeway Broadmoor, Richmond
  • # 4964 Safeway Newton Town Centre, Surrey
  • # 4935 Safeway Strawberry Hills, Surrey
  • # 4951 Safeway Mission

The pharmacies in these locations will remain open through the negotiations and potential renovations. The intention is to have the pharmacies in the new FreshCo locations.

We believe we can return Safeway to its place at the centre of Western Canadian communities with strong and successful stores. But we must work together to move forward.

We’ll continue to keep you informed in your stores and on SafewayTalks.ca

An update on UFCW 832 negotiations

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

An update on UFCW 832 negotiations

This week, we sat down to begin negotiations with UFCW 832 in Manitoba.

Sobeys is at the table to get an agreement, and we will stay there and work hard to get one.

We want to be clear and transparent with you – we did not walk away from the table.

After the union set out their proposal, it was clear that there were significant differences in our positions. We said we had to carefully review the proposal and make some decisions on the path forward. Together, Sobeys and UFCW 832 decided to adjourn for the week. We’ve agreed to meet again on January 29 for negotiations and want you to know that we’re committed to continue working on and reaching an agreement.

We’re focused on negotiating an agreement that helps preserve the future of our stores in Manitoba and as many jobs as possible.

The grocery industry is competitive and it’s only getting tougher. Many of our Safeway stores continue to lose money and are not sustainable. Our operating costs are still some of the highest in the industry. It’s vital that we get our labour costs in line so we can continue to be competitively priced in the market while providing  good, stable jobs and secure a strong future for Safeway.

Keeping you informed is important to us and we’ll continue to share updates in your stores and on SafewayTalks.ca

An important message for Safeway employees

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

There has been a lot of news to digest in recent weeks. We want to ensure you have the most up-to-date information as we all work together to strengthen our Safeway stores and reconnect with our customers.

We’d like to address three important areas to help provide clarity around this news and other important issues to date:

  • Project Sunrise
  • Our continued commitment to full-service format stores
  • The strong case for expanding our Discount format in Western Canada

Project Sunrise

As you know, the grocery industry is extremely competitive and these effects are being felt across all banners, at all levels of the Company.

To address these challenges we launched Project Sunrise, a major transformation initiative to win back our customers and strengthen our stores. The first phase of Project Sunrise is now complete. Through this process we have created a simpler office structure to operate more efficiently and better serve our stores and customers.

The second phase of Project Sunrise, to unlock our scale, is well underway. As part of this phase, we announced our significant plan to expand our Discount banner, FreshCo, into Western Canada.

Our continued commitment to full-service format stores

We have no intention to remove our full-service format. We remain committed to our full-service stores — they are the backbone of our business. In fact, even with our expansion of Discount in the West, the vast majority of our stores in Western Canada will continue to operate as full-service format stores.

Unfortunately, many of our full-service stores are not competitive at this time. We need to implement changes in our full-service offering to be in a better position to serve our customers’ changing needs. We need to get our costs down and increase our flexibility to compete.

Our customers’ tastes are changing and we need to change with them to remain competitive. Customers are telling us that they want more options to do their shopping.  They continue to demand our conventional full-service stores but they are also asking for a more price-competitive Discount format. Giving our customers what they want is the best way to win them back and grow our overall business.

Through the first phase of Project Sunrise, we have structured our office teams to ensure that support for full-service retail operations is strong and not distracted by our Discount roll-out in Western Canada. A dedicated team will be responsible for managing the Discount roll-out.

The strong case for expanding our Discount format in Western Canada

The expansion of FreshCo in Western Canada comes as a direct result of customer demand. We’ve conducted detailed customer and market studies and found that there is strong opportunity for Discount in Western Canada.

Today, Discount grocery is the fastest growing brick and mortar segment of the grocery market.

Eighty-seven per cent of Sobeys Inc. stores across the country operate in a conventional grocery format, whereas Discount stores, like FreshCo, now make up nearly 44 per cent of the Canadian food retail market.

In short, customers are shifting heavily to Discount grocery shopping. In order to keep our stores open and provide good, stable jobs for our employees, we must be in a position to meet this clear customer demand.

Our goal is to build more stable stores, stores that create good jobs and opportunities for our people.

Working together for a successful future

We all share a vested interest in growing our business together. We need to work together to build a stronger Safeway.

Over the past year, the Company has made tough decisions and changes to focus on winning back our customers and strengthening our stores. We need to move quickly to respond to customer demands in order to be successful.

Safeway Talks Summer Contest wraps up with six winners

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

With the Safeway Talks Summer Contest finished, we’ve got great news for six lucky Safeway employees who entered to win by signing up for regular updates from Safeway Talks.

The winners are:

Grand prize ($1,500 gift card):
Janna Zielinski, Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

Runners-up ($1,000 gift card):
Dixie Hallatt, Leduc, Alberta
Kaylee McLeod, West Vancouver, B.C.

Third place ($500 gift card):
Graham Clifton, Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Gail Lalonde, Abbotsford, B.C.
Helga Jensen, Camrose, Alberta

Please join us in congratulating our winners!

Keep checking in with us at Safeway Talks for news and updates, and stay tuned for future contests.

We’d like to thank everyone for joining the conversation and taking part in the contest. We encourage you to continue sharing Safeway Talks with your coworkers and keep communicating with us on Safeway Talks.

Your input is important to us, and we want to hear from you as we work together to build a stronger future for Safeway.

Alberta Court bans loyalty rewards on prescription purchases

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

On September 22, Alberta’s Court of Appeal released its decision on pharmacies’ ability to issue loyalty rewards to customers purchasing their prescriptions, banning all pharmacies throughout the province from offering a rewards programs, overturning the previous ruling by the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. Sobeys Inc. initially applied for judicial review of the proposed incentive ban by the Alberta College of Pharmacist in 2014, and the matter has been before the courts.

This is a ruling that affects all banners across Alberta, and, as it’s our goal to provide the best value and experience for our shoppers, we are obviously disappointed with the outcome.

“In addition to the professional services and trusted advice provided by Safeway, Sobeys and IGA pharmacists, we believe that we contribute to better patient care by offering rewards that help increase loyalty, adherence and ultimately improved health outcomes. While this ruling has now taken away loyalty rewards from all Albertans, our pharmacists will continue to offer trusted professional advice and the best possible care to our patients,” said Jedd Wood, Vice President and General Manager of Sobeys National Pharmacy Group.

We encourage all our Safeway employees to continue their work in building stronger connections with customers and providing great service in store. As this decision comes into effect immediately, please inform customers with questions that:

  • The ruling is province-wide, affecting all pharmacies
  • AIR MILES can still be earned on groceries, health and beauty products and all non-prescription medications
  • We still have a team of world-class pharmacists providing the same great level of service, advice and care as they always have

Our goal continues to be regaining our place as one of Western Canada’s leading grocery stores — a place that can provide good, stable jobs for thousands. And we’ll do this by ensuring our stores are simply best place for our customers to shop.

Financial Update For Employees

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Safeway employees,

Last week, our CEO Michael Medline announced this year’s first quarter financial results for Empire Company Limited, the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway.

While the results are positive, there is much more work that we need to do. The grocery industry is tough, competition is growing and we aren’t even close to where we need to be in the Safeway brand if we are to be successful.

On the business side, we’re focused on Project Sunrise. This is about cutting costs and realigning our business so we can put ourselves in a leadership position once again. To put it simply, this is about making sure our back-stage structures and staff are better organized and equipped to support our stores, making it simpler for us to do business and easier for you to do your jobs. We still have a long way to go and we know change isn’t easy, but we will see it through.

For Safeway, this means we must continue to tackle our challenges. Even with the changes we’re making through Project Sunrise, we still face some of the highest costs in the industry. This must change!

We want Safeway to regain its place as one of the top grocery stores in Western Canada. We want customers to think of Safeway first when they choose where to shop. In order to do this, we must get our costs under control.

Project Sunrise is one piece of this puzzle, as we continue working at store level to improve our bottom line, all with the goal of building a successful Safeway with good stable jobs for the future.

Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Only by working together can we make Safeway a leader again.

 

Jason Potter

Executive Vice President, Operations

Update on B.C. Quarterly Review Process

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Safeway’s on your side

As the backbone of our operations in British Columbia we wanted to update you on the status of our quarterly review process.

We believe the UFCW locals have a right to their views. But here is how we see it, as people dedicated to the future of this company.

To ensure a strong, viable company that can continue to provide thousands of stable jobs, we need to be competitive. That means we need to be the place our customers want to shop at, at a level of cost that allows us to operate.

And that’s why we’re looking at all our costs, at every level and in every detail of the company.

Wisely, our collective agreement provides for exactly this kind of review, when it is needed to keep this company operating. Delay will just make change more difficult and costly for everyone. We must tackle our challenges and we must do it now.

Here is what is happening:

Safeway is a proud Western Canadian brand, and we are proud of our employees

  • Sobeys has operated for more than 110 years in the grocery business with many of our stores in western Canada including British Columbia
  • We are in our stores every day, we know our markets and our customers and we continue to listen, learn and act

Yes, we have made some mistakes but we are taking action, including:

  • Investments in lower prices to better compete;
  • Work to update our product offerings to better reflect customer needs;
  • Updates to our Planograms and have better communication about stock to stores;
  • Continue to invest in remodels and renovations to attract more customers

Our operating and specifically our labour costs are a serious issue, and they’re putting stores at risk.

  • Safeway is not immune to the economic realities we are all facing in the West
  • We are facing tough competition especially from discounters and big-box stores that are driven by price and low costs
  • We are taking actions to lower costs across our operations, including reducing our back office costs by over $500 million, but we must tackle our labour costs in our stores and we must do it now

We have to act quickly and work together to build a strong Safeway if we are to continue to provide good, sustainable jobs in the future.

  • We all want to return Safeway to its place as one of the best grocery stores in Western Canada and we are all working hard to make this happen
  • We ask you to urge the union to work with us to tackle these challenges
  • Only by working together can we build a strong future for everyone who works here

SPEAK UP. MAKE SAFEWAY STRONG AND STABLE

Lawson Heights is moving on to bigger, better location

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

We are excited to announce we are relocating Safeway’s Lawson Heights location in Saskatoon to a newly-renovated space on the opposite end of the mall, in what was formerly a Target location. The official opening is expected to take place in early 2018.

We are working to determine staffing requirements for the new store. This includes relocating employees from the current location, which will continue serving the area’s shoppers until the move takes place.

This is one more step in our commitment to re-invest in our Safeway community, building and strengthening our business in an ultra-competitive market. We know our staff are working hard to provide the best service to our shoppers and we will continue these investments in our store network, offering a high-value shopping experience with a focus on quality products at affordable prices.

The updated, full-service Safeway store will be larger than the current Lawson Heights location, offering a better assortment of products and greater variety for our Saskatoon customers.

We still face extremely tough and growing competition from our competitors. If we want to return to our role as Western Canada’s leading grocery store — providing thousands of good, stable jobs — we must get our costs back into line. Considering the success we’ve seen with our franchised stores in Moose Jaw and Prince Albert, we plan to franchise this location when we have better insight on the sales in this new store. We believe that building a mix of both corporately owned and franchised stores is critical to the overall success of our business.

We will share more details on timing as they become available, and we are happy to answer any questions our employees may have. Lawson Heights staff can direct their questions to their Store Manager Jim Buzzard, Director of Operations Todd Leibel, or Human Resources Manager Cheryl Tomlinson.

This relocation is an exciting move for us, and one that will help us face and overcome our challenges as we move forward building a better Safeway future, together.

CFL, Blue Bombers and Safeway/Sobeys Reach out to Karen Kuldys

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

You might have heard about last week’s CFL close call where Karen Kuldys almost won the Safeway/Sobeys $1,000,000 Touchdown to Win contest. Twitter lit up with #whataboutkaren tweets, and we’re happy to share the following on how we came together with our partners in the CFL in support of Karen.

 

Friday, July 14, 2017 — WINNIPEG – Canadian Football League Commissioner Randy Ambrosie spoke with Winnipeg Blue Bomber fan and Safeway and Sobeys’ Touchdown To Win contestant Karen Kuldys today and invited her and her family to attend this year’s 105th Grey Cup presented by Shaw in Ottawa as VIP guests of the League.

“We’re all fans and whatever team you root for, we would all love to see a CFL fan win a million dollars. So we all feel for Karen and what she must have gone through last night, and what she must still be feeling today. I was in Winnipeg for the game and I spoke with her today. On behalf of the CFL, I invited her and her family to come to Grey Cup this year as our guests,” said Randy Ambrosie, the CFL’s Commissioner. “I know Karen’s a Blue Bomber fan and her son plays football, so we spoke with Wade Miller, the President and CEO of the Bombers, this morning. He immediately pledged to provide Karen with Bombers season’s tickets for the rest of this season and next season as well. We all know these things can’t compare to a million dollars but we wanted to do something to let her and her family know that we all wished she could have won last night.”

He added: “It was a very tough call made by our official last night, one that could have gone either way. There are tough calls made all the time in our game because these are world class athletes, moving at tremendous speeds, and we ask our officials to make difficult judgement calls in the blink of an eye, and we have to respect their decisions.”

Safeway and Sobeys’ Touchdown to Win Contest, which awards a Visions $25,000 home theatre package to a contest entrant if one kickoff is returned for touchdown, and a million dollars if a second kickoff is returned for a touchdown in the same game, is part of the grocery chains’ partnership with TSN, which along with RDS is the exclusive broadcaster of the CFL. Today, Sobeys announced that, in addition to the home theatre package, it will provide Karen with free groceries for one year at any Safeway or Sobeys.

“We were thrilled that Karen won a $25,000 home theatre package after one kickoff was returned for a touchdown,” said Lyne Castonguay, Executive Vice President, Sobeys Inc. “And while we can’t reverse a referee’s on-field call, we are delighted to be able to offer Karen a year’s worth of free groceries in addition to the great football offers made by the CFL and the Blue Bombers.”

B.C. Wildfires: How We’re Helping

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Since the fires began to escalate on July 6, we’ve been working closely with our community partners, the Canadian Red Cross, and local emergency response teams to provide emergency supplies to those affected.

On July 11, we launched an in-store campaign in the province of BC, where customers can make a donation towards the Red Cross at their local Safeway or Thrifty Foods store. One hundred per cent of donations will support relief efforts.

Sobeys Inc. will match customer donations made in-store throughout BC up to a maximum of $25,000. In addition, Sobeys has provided more than $7,000 in provisions to date such as food, meals and water.

Thank you to our incredible employees and generous customers.  Together we can help provide further support to our neighbours impacted by the approximately 250 fires raging in BC.

If you would like to make a donation and you are outside BC please visit the Red Cross website at www.redcross.ca