Category: Manitoba

Teammates,

I continue to be overwhelmed by the many stories I am hearing about how you are supporting our stores and our customers. Customers are applauding you for the service they are receiving and the morale of our teams. I’m hearing about store associates taking the time to help seniors bring their groceries to their car, even though their stores are packed. I’m hearing about customers praising great store conditions, even considering the line-ups and flurry of activity to meet unprecedented demand.

These last few weeks have been a truly herculean effort. With many Canadians staying home to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, we know their reliance on grocery stores will continue to be strong. In moments of crisis, grocery stores are truly an essential service and we have such an incredibly important role to play within our communities.

You all are the true heroes right now in our stores and distribution centres. You are doing a tremendous job welcoming our customers with warm smiles to keep everyone calm. Our warehouse and distribution teams are tirelessly working around the clock to keep our stores full of the product they need to feed millions of families across Canada. Our back-office teams are completely dedicated to supporting our stores. This is truly an all hands on deck effort.

We are all so immensely proud of what you are accomplishing by serving Canadians during these very uncertain times. Thank you for everything you are doing today and for all of your efforts in the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,

Michael Medline

President & CEO, Empire Company

Teammates,

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, we are seeing unprecedented activity in our stores. Grocery stores are truly an “essential service” and it’s clear that families are preparing to stay safe during times of self quarantine.
We know how busy you are in our stores serving our customers and communities and want to thank you for everything you are doing. We are so proud of our team on the front lines, serving Canadians.

We activated our pandemic preparedness plan several weeks ago and continue to monitor the rapidly evolving situation. We’re following guidance from federal and provincial agencies, and other health organizations.

Your Retail Support Teams will continue to provide you with updates and changes in policy as the situation evolves. We want to stress that we are not treating this as “business as usual”. All of our retail support teams are all hands-on deck, focused on you during this rapidly changing time.

Here are the steps we’re taking to protect our teammates and our customers:

• We’re asking all employees who are sick to stay home. Please always check-in with your manager before returning to work. Your health and safety is our top priority.
• Our HR team is helping employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 or have travelled to a high-risk country with understanding quarantine protocols.
• We’re asking our store teams to continue their strong in-store cleaning protocols to “clean as you go” and ensure high-touch surfaces are cleaned regularly.
• Our Distribution and Replenishment teams are working hard to ensure stores get the product needed to serve customers. We’re working with our Supplier Partners to ensure inventory continues to be available.
• Like many other retailers, we have suspended all in-store sampling and demo programs until further notice.

Let’s all remember the simple things we can do to keep our workplace healthy like regularly washing our hands, and not coming to work if you are sick. We will continue to work with government and the public health authorities to monitor the situation as it evolves and provide you with regular updates.

We are dealing with a truly unique situation in our stores right now. Your patient, welcoming and calm smiles can go a along way for our customers. After hospitals and pharmacies, grocery stores are the most important service in our communities.

You are a part of a team of 123,000 people across the country who are working hard to support Canadians during this COVID-19 pandemic. We’re incredibly lucky to have you on our team. Thank you for everything you are doing now and for all of your efforts in the coming weeks.

We’re proud to be on your team.

Thank you,

Michael Medline – President & CEO, Empire Co.

Pierre St-Laurent – EVP, Full-Service Empire Co. Sobeys Inc.

As we continue building an inclusive environment in our stores, we’re incredibly excited to share that ScripTalk will now be available in Safeway pharmacies across Canada.

“Scrip Talk is a breakthrough in the way we provide care to patients who struggle with low vision or anything that gets in the way of reading their prescription labels. It makes us better prepared to prevent medication errors which are unfortunately more common amongst patients who are visually impaired or have difficulty reading. We have visited numerous optometrists’ offices in and around our Safeway location to let them know we offer this service and the response from them all is overwhelmingly positive. I am looking forward to incorporating ScripTalk into our daily pharmacy practice.” Said Sheneez Virani, Staff Pharmacist, Safeway Pharmacy 8904, 111^th Street & 51^st Avenue, Edmonton AB. 

ScripTalk audible prescription labels enable blind, low vision or print-impaired pharmacy patients to hear important prescription label information free of charge. With ScripTalk, pharmacists code prescription labels with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification technology). Patients can then use a small, hand-held, base prescription reader called the ScripTalk Station Reader, available free of charge, to hear important prescription information and instructions read aloud.  Patients can also access talking prescription labels by using En-Vision America’s mobile app.

“We’re proud to offer ScripTalk at all of our pharmacies across the country. ScripTalk is an easy-to-use yet innovative technology that is breaking barriers for those who are blind, have experienced vision loss, or are otherwise not able to read vital prescription information,” said Jim Johnston, Vice President of Operations In-Store Pharmacy, Sobeys Inc. “With this technology, we’re empowering our patients to independently manage their medications safely at our pharmacies, in their homes, or wherever they may be.”

Speak to your local Safeway Pharmacy team for more information on how ScripTalk is another example of how we differentiate ourselves from all the other choices customers have and can help us better serve our customers every day.

We think life can be pretty delicious. And it all comes down to the right ingredients. The right people, the right food, the right setting, and the right mindset. As part of this, we’re refreshing the Safeway brand strategy with the parts of the brand customers know and love the most, including the tagline: Ingredients for life.

As we continue to bolster our brands and create sharp edges between banners, we are excited to launch a marketing campaign to showcase the new Safeway brand identity. Safeway has been proudly serving Western Canadian families for over 90 years. With a new creative campaign we’ve combined the perfect mix of leveraging strong existing equity, and new elements, to create a distinct refreshed brand that we couldn’t be prouder of.

Safeway: Ingredients for life
Safeway has all the right ingredients to feed family bonds. So, we’re bringing this to life by bringing back a beloved tagline, Ingredients for life.

When we started to explore tagline options for Safeway, we engaged with Western Canada shoppers to get their input. ‘Ingredients for life’ rose to the top of all the options that were tested. This tagline has equity, and there is an opportunity for us to build on the strong foundation since that line was first introduced in 2004. So we are bringing it back with a new purpose – enabling Western Canadian families to bond over amazing food.

We’re also introducing quotes – an element built by taking the iconic Safeway ‘S’ to create quotes and expressions in which Safeway provides the ingredients for life. Throughout our campaign we will be leveraging quotes to express our values, beliefs, and personality to form emotional connections with Western Canadians.

The Safeway brand character is like a proud dad; someone who inspires with enthusiasm, leads with confidence and welcomes with open arms. When we talk to our customers, we want to them to feel like the Safeway brand is a real person who is there to coach and encourage them using simple language and a casual tone of voice. Throughout the creative execution you will see photographs of meaningful moments that are reflective of real life – not overly stylized or staged – with pops of red to clearly tie back to the Safeway brand.

This new creative strategy will be launched with a brand campaign across TV, social, digital, and out of home media.  Our goal is to capture the attention of family-first grocery shoppers by reintroducing ‘Ingredients for life’ and building relevance in Western Canada. Further, we will be demonstrating how we nurture family bonds, while encouraging people to engage with the Safeway brand so that we become their preferred family big shop grocery destination.

The campaign launches later today, February 6, but you can get a sneak peek of our two TV commercials by clicking here. To create local buzz and excitement, we’re also rolling out a new design across our trailer fleet and sending the Mobile Food Experience to family-focused events across Western Canada. Below are a few examples of how this will come to life in market.

What are your ‘Ingredients for life’?
We want all of our employees to be part of the campaign by inviting them to create their very own ‘Ingredients for life’ quote card to share. Visit safewayphotofilter.ca, upload a photo, choose a filter and quote, then share it with your family and friends.

We think life can be pretty delicious. And it all comes down to the right ingredients. The right people, the right food, the right setting, and the right mindset. When they all come together, the best moments with the most important people are served up for you to enjoy.

Team,

As we near the end of 2019, we’d like to take a moment to recognize and celebrate a very special moment in our Company’s history – Safeway’s 90th year in Canada.

In 1929, Safeway was founded with the humble desire to serve the distinct needs of Western Canadians. While there was no doubt that Safeway was capable of amazing things, we’re sure nobody would have imaged that we’d achieve all that we have today.

Since our very first store opened in Manitoba, our retail teams have been the backbone of our business. It’s without a doubt that you are at the very core of what makes Safeway one-of-a-kind. Each and every day, you go above and beyond to serve our customers, create unparalleled shopping experiences and foster a culture of generosity, inclusion and true Safeway pride. We have all visited countless Safeway stores during our time with the Company and your unwavering hard work and commitment never ceases to amaze us. We are still excited every time we step foot in one of our stores.

Together, we’ve achieved remarkable things over the past 90 years and have had a meaningful impact on so many communities across Western Canada. With your support, we’ve donated over $100 million to worthy causes close to home. We’ve provided countless food banks across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario with desperately needed food aid. We’ve helped hundreds Special Olympics athletes from across Western Canada achieve their dreams of competing in the Provincial, National and World Games. We’ve raised and donated millions of dollars through our employee payroll donation program – over $3 million in the last five years alone – which never would have been fathomable without your generosity. You should all be so proud; we are incredibly proud of every one of you.

Our store teams have, and always will be, what make Safeway so great. You are kind. You are generous. You never hesitate to offer a helping hand, whether within your store or within your community. Your pride is unmatched, and you consistently inspire us to see what’s possible when we simply work together.

Here’s to 90 more incredible years at Safeway. We’re grateful to be a part of your team and can’t wait to see what the future holds for us. Please watch this very special video message from our CEO, Michael Medline.

Happy anniversary, Safeway!

Julie Sue Wood, Vice President Operations, SMO

Ralf Mundel, Vice President Operations, British Columbia

Scott Chollak, Vice President Operations, Alberta