Category: Alberta

Safeway stands in solidarity to celebrate International Women’s Day!

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

Safeway stores across Alberta showed their pride and power last week as they united to celebrate International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day (March 8) is a time for us to acknowledge the powerful achievements of women, and spark meaningful conversations on the work still to be done. This year’s International Women’s Day theme was Balance for Better, emphasizing the importance of gender balance in the workplace.

We’re so proud to recognize the outstanding efforts of our Alberta Safeway employees as they joined forced to celebrate International Women’s Day. Stores personalized their celebrations and drove awareness in communities across the province. From bakery, to balloons, to flowers, our store teams went above and beyond to drive meaningful engagement with local customers.

We know that teamwork and shared responsibility drive a diverse and inclusive work culture, and are both proud and grateful for all of our Safeway employees who have joined us in our commitment to gender balance.

Take a look at the photos below to see how just some our stores celebrated. To see more, visit our Facebook group, “Safeway Team: Connecting Our Stores, Our People, Our Communities.”

8874 – Safeway Wye Road – Sherwood Park, AB
8842 – Safeway Glenmore Landing – Calgary, AB
8912 – Safeway Garrison Woods – Calgary, AB
8803 – Safeway Northgate Calgary – Calgary, AB
8903 – Safeway Aspen – Calgary, AB

Safeway is committed to creating an environment where our employees feel included, respected and valued for their unique perspectives. We know that diversity drives innovation and we recognize the power of a balanced team. With the support of our store network, we are dedicated to increasing the representation of women at Safeway as we strive to reflect our customers and our communities.

Stay up-to-date at SafewayTalks.ca.

Bargaining kicks-off with UFCW 401

Posted on by Sudhanshu Rewari

This week, we sat down with UFCW 401 to begin bargaining.

We are committed to being open with our employees  throughout bargaining and want to share an update on what has happened so far.

At this point, we have exchanged bargaining proposals with UFCW Local 401. We also spent a great deal of time talking about the challenges that we all face given the difficult Alberta economy, extremely competitive grocery industry  and changing customer preferences.

Everyone agreed that we also need to prepare ourselves for the future.

Put simply, we are focused on the future of Safeway as well as meeting customer preferences by  introducing FreshCo to the Alberta market.

Securing a strong future for Safeway includes making sure our collective agreements allow us to compete effectively in the market and operate stores that delight our customers. We’ve made some progress in our Safeway stores in Alberta but there is more work we need to do to attract customers to shop in our stores. We know that if we stay focused as a team we can get there. In bargaining, we are committed to creating conditions that will provide stable jobs and allow our Safeway stores to succeed.

We know Albertans are looking for discount shopping options and because we don’t have a discount format in Alberta, we know they are forced to shop with the competition. By opening discount stores in Alberta we will become more competitive overall.

A competitive Safeway collective agreement and the right foundation for the introduction of a discount format are our two key objectives that go hand-in-hand to secure a strong future for our company.

We wanted to share this with you because our goals are not a secret. We have no hidden agenda. We are simply doing what we need to do to make sure all of us – our employees, our stores and our company – are successful.

Please reach out to your Store Manager along the way if you have any questions. If they don’t have a direct answer for you, we will work hard to get your questions answered.

We’ll keep you updated here on SafewayTalks.ca

Working hard to compete in today’s grocery landscape

Posted on by Varinder Singh

It’s no secret that how people shop is changing. And so are customer expectations.

Today’s shoppers demand different levels of service, more convenience and more value. That’s why we are working to tap into new opportunities that will keep customers in our stores.

Changing customer trends have led many Alberta retail businesses to rethink their structures, their practices and their offerings to keep people coming back.

Especially as the economy slowed over the past few years, the companies that are successful are those who have changed what they did and how they did it — tightening their belts and adjusting their operations to react faster to industry changes and customer needs.

These changes gave our competitors a leg up in the new economy, and we have to make sure we can position ourselves in a way that allows us to better compete. We need increased operational flexibility and reduced labour costs so we can continue to provide good, stable jobs for our teams across Alberta.

We’ve undergone a lot of change to keep our business healthy. We’ve restructured offices across Canada, improved our Retail Service Centre network and expanded our store offerings, specifically in the area of health and wellness. We’ve also been able to successfully negotiate new collective agreements in other markets that will help us to become competitive in those areas.

There are a lot of options out there to meet customers’ grocery shopping needs. Huge stores like Walmart and Costco have entered our communities and are growing fast, as are discounters like No Frills. In this highly competitive environment, we have to provide the experience shoppers are looking for — so they don’t find it somewhere else.

Now, our evolving store network strategy includes offering our customers more options to address their shopping needs. Many of our customers now have the option to shop at our discount banner FreshCo, as well as our full service banners Safeway, Sobeys and IGA.

We must listen to the needs of our customers to strengthen our growing business and make sure we are able to compete in this new landscape.

Our goal is to build a stable future for our Company — positioning us not only to survive, but to thrive in Alberta. That way we can give our customers what they want and provide thousands of good jobs in communities across the province.

It’s more important than ever to evolve and meet our customers’ changing needs so that we can return to our place as one of Alberta’s leading grocery stores.

Stay up-to-date with us at www.safewaytalks.ca.

More time to take part in the Alberta Summer Kickoff!

Posted on by Varinder Singh

We have extended the deadline for the Safeway Talks Alberta Summer Kickoff contest to July 31.

Safeway Talks is the best way to hear first-hand about all things Safeway and we want to make sure all of our Alberta staff have the chance to get involved in the contest.

It’s important to us that we can share news on company updates and exciting initiatives with everyone who works in our stores.

If you haven’t already, visit www.safewaytalks.ca/contest today to enter for your chance to win one of three great prizes:

  • A Big Green Egg barbecue
  • A $750 Safeway gift card
  • A $500 Safeway gift card

If you’re already signed-up, great! Tell your friends and make sure they don’t miss out on the fun. The draw will now take place on August 1.

Thank you for being a valued part of Safeway’s success. Together, we can keep building stronger stores and great teams across Alberta.

Keep checking in with us at SafewayTalks.ca.

Glenmore Landing Expanded Kosher Selection

Posted on by Varinder Singh

We’re proud of our Glenmore Landing store here in Calgary, where an expanded kosher food selection is receiving great feedback from our customers.

“We’ve added nearly 800 new kosher items, sourced from across Canada at the request of our customers. We want to be the place our customers want to shop. To do that, we needed to respond to their needs,” said Safeway Glenmore Landing Store Manager Doug Felker.

Our Safeway stores provide a wide range of options for different consumer needs. Our expanded kosher selection at Glenmore Landing is just one way we are responding to the needs of our customers.

“Carrying kosher meat and products is something we haven’t done in the past. We listened to our customers and they’re thrilled. I’m hearing every day, whether it’s on our social media or in store, our customers are very happy with what we’ve done,” said Felker.

“We created a forum for customers to share their requests for kosher products. We can’t guarantee that we can get everything, but we’ve done our best to get all the products we could get our hands on. They’ll ask me in store, and I said if there is something you don’t see in store, let me know and we can do our best to get it in.”

One of the most exciting parts of the new products at Glenmore Landing is the response Felker has seen and heard from customers in his store.

“We’ve reset our store to profile these products. Customers are congregating around this section and chatting with friends. It’s great to see and great to have our customers back in our store.”

We look forward to continuing to serve our customers in Calgary and across Western Canada with great service and selection in our Safeway stores.

Customer Leafletting by the union will only hurt all of us!

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Yesterday, UFCW 401 was on site at some Safeway locations in Alberta handing out misleading, incorrect and distracting information to our valued customers. UFCW 401 asked customers to tell employees they “stand with them in their efforts to save Safeway”.

Safeway would like to tell employees and store managers that we stand with you to win our customers back. We’re investing in marketing, community development and merchandising efforts to help improve our stores and our brand. We’re committed to improving our business so we can all have a stronger tomorrow. And most importantly, we’re proud of our store employees who work so hard to serve our customers in our stores each day.

We are sorry that our employees and customers had to deal with this distraction from UFCW 401 at our stores. Our grocery stores are integral to the communities they serve. It’s unfortunate that this activity by UFCW 401 is distracting us from our goal.

Customer distractions like this will only turn our customers away at a time when our store teams are working so hard to win back our customers. We have been transparent with UFCW 401 about the challenges we’ve been facing as a company. It’s no secret that our Safeway stores have been struggling. We know that employees are working hard to turn things around and we truly appreciate everyone’s hard work and effort.

An important message for Safeway employees

Posted on by Varinder Singh

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.

Alberta Court bans loyalty rewards on prescription purchases

Posted on by Varinder Singh

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 Varinder Singh

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

Financial Update for Employees

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Safeway employees,

Earlier this week our CEO Michael Medline announced quarterly results for Empire Company, the company that owns Sobeys and Safeway.

These results are important not only to our shareholders, but also to you, our employees. Ultimately you, are a big part of tackling our challenges and securing our future. These results are a measure of how we are all doing. The numbers Michael announced this week told us we are on the right track. But they also confirmed there is much more to be done.

As Michael said, “we are not where we want to be and we are most certainly not out of the woods yet. Although we are doing a better job of managing our day-to-day business, we remain in the nascent stages of delivering significant cost savings while addressing a number of brand and customer offering opportunities that will provide a compelling reason for consumers to shop us more.”

What does this mean for Safeway? It means we are at the very early stages of getting back to being the place where customers want to shop. That is how we will build a strong and growing company, with stable jobs for our people. To be able to do that, we have to do many things at Safeway — including getting a handle on costs which, right now, are among the highest in this crowded and brutally competitive industry. We have to address this issue since doing nothing won’t make our challenge go away. Addressing it gives us a path forward.

For more information on the results, you can find the full comments here.

You can also read some of the coverage here.

We’re in this together.

Jason Potter