Category: Provinces

Safeway Talks Summer Contest wraps up with six winners

Posted on by Varinder Singh

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 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

Update on B.C. Quarterly Review Process

Posted on by Varinder Singh

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 Varinder Singh

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.

FAQ Update: B.C. Quarterly Review Process

Posted on by Varinder Singh

Which stores were placed under Quarterly Review?

UFCW Locals 1518 and 247 were notified on June 12, 2017, that we are triggering the Quarterly Review process for the following 20 stores:

  • #121 Lougheed Mall Burnaby
  • #92 Strawberry Hills Surrey
  • #1 Surrey Central
  • #184 Newton Town Centre Surrey
  • #62 Fleetwood Surrey
  • #161 Broadmoor Richmond
  • #20 Sunwood Square Coquitlam
  • #70 Trail
  • #84 Collingwood Vancouver
  • #90 English Bay Vancouver
  • #33 City Square Vancouver
  • #138 Blundell Richmond
  • #89 Sahali Kamloops
  • #14 Sunshine Hills Delta
  • #7 Dilworth Kelowna
  • #75 100 Mile House
  • #2 West Broadway Vancouver
  • #36 Robson Vancouver
  • #179 Trenant Park Ladner
  • #182 Powell River

We’ve since announced that we will be closing #90 English Bay in Vancouver to make way for the redevelopment of the property. We do not own this property, and due to the landlord’s revised redevelopment timelines, we’ve removed this store from the Quarterly Review Process as it will be closing on August 31, 2017.

How many of the 19 stores do you already have in mind to close?

Our goal is to have stores where people want to shop. That is how we’ll renew Safeway. It is the only road to stable jobs for thousands of people.

To get there – as Safeway people know well – we need to make these stores viable. That’s what this process aims to do. These stores can’t keep operating at a loss.

We do not want to have to close stores. But to keep them open, we need to lower our costs and increase our sales in our non-profitable stores.

Will any stores under Quarterly Review be re-bannered?

The Safeway banner has a long history in western Canada. Our ultimate goal is to transform our business, better serve our customers, engage our employees and move from defence to offence in the market.

We do not currently have any specific plans to alter or change this banner in any stores under Quarterly Review.

When does this process start? When does the 180-day countdown begin?

The 180-day timeline runs from the beginning of the Quarterly Review process until the presentation to the arbitrator.  Safeway triggered the Quarterly Review process on June 12, 2017.  No meeting dates have been set.

How come some of our competitors (e.g. Ferrero Foods in Rossland, BC) are selling our Compliments items for less than we are? Why are we supplying them our product line?

The grocery business is competitive, and the economic pressures in the west have added even more pressure to our business. This means to stay viable as a company, we need to grow revenues.

Wholesaling allows us to sell our products, including our private label brands, from our warehouses to smaller independent grocers like Ferrero Foods, and generate revenues from outside of our own stores.

Our wholesale business has been a significant part of our company for decades, and will continue to be an important way for us to offset operating costs at our warehouses, grow our brand, our business and our customer base and keep people employed with strong, stable jobs.

If there are no concessions made, and the store under review closes, will employees be given the opportunity to transfer?

Safeway will respect the rules set out in our collective agreements.

Our employees are the backbone of our business, without you we couldn’t keep the customers coming back. No matter the outcome of the Quarterly Review process in each store, we will honour the obligations in respect to transfers set out in our Collective Agreements.

My store was already under Quarterly Review. Why is it part of this process again?

We are still not achieving the results we want at some stores that had been previously been under Quarterly Review so we’ve decided to have another look at those stores. The original Quarterly Review decisions remain in place, but we are seeking further adjustments to improve the viability of those stores through this process.

If someone is on disability and a store closes, what will happen to them?

We want to be clear, we do not want to close stores. But even with the actions the Company is taking through Project Sunrise to cut costs and simplify the way we do business, we still face the highest costs in the industry.

However, if a store closes, we would work to address the situation of employees who are impacted by the closure. This will include those on disability and their specific circumstances. In all such situations, our intent will be to always do what is required in accordance with our legal obligations and our collective agreements.

B.C. Wildfires: How We’re Helping

Posted on by Varinder Singh

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

Update for Employees Affected by B.C. Wildfires

Posted on by Varinder Singh

We’re thankful all employees from our 100 Mile House store and their families were evacuated safely and we are aware the Williams Lake employees are currently on standby for possible evacuation. We recognize this is an extremely difficult and challenging time filled with uncertainty. We are here to help support you.

Time lines for residents and businesses to return to their communities are still being determined. It remains unclear when our store will reopen and our employees will be able to return to work.

We continue to closely monitor the situation and are working with the BC government to ensure we have the latest information.

We’re committed to keeping impacted employees up-to-date as the situation unfolds as it relates to return to work timelines, employee support and relief efforts. Employees can:

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

Safeway Responds to UFCW Local 247

Posted on by Varinder Singh

BC Unions, UFCW Local 247 and UFCW Local 1518 have written to us with their questions and concerns on this process. We posted our replies to the Unions up on our website because we want to ensure our employees understand the Company’s position on this process and what we are doing to improve the business to make Safeway a better place to work and shop. The Quarterly Review Process is a just one part of what we are doing throughout the Company to make sure we can remain competitive in this rapidly changing grocery industry.

Please see our response to UFCW Local 247 below:

Download the PDF file .

UFCW Local 247’s Letter:

Download the PDF file .