With food prices the way they are these days, if you see a mistake, don’t hesitate to alert a clerk or manager If you’re not checking your grocery receipts for errors before leaving the store, chances are you’re overpaying for some of your groceries, especially for discounted items. In the U.S., some states have tried…
Grocers need to be more accountable to themselves and the public A grocer code of conduct is coming to Canada. The United Kingdom and Australia, where grocer oligopolies exist, have a similar code already. This is great news for consumers; in fact, it should be considered a minor miracle. It all started in 2020 when…
“Chickengate” exposes the crisis of confidence grocers face today It all started with one reporter taking a simple, trivial picture of an overpriced pack of five boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The cost was $26.87 a kilo, a world-class sticker shocker, at least double what one would expect to pay for chicken breasts. Within hours, the…
Most thefts are by people driven by desperation, negligence, or a mixture of both Grocery theft has always been a major problem, but with food inflation as it is, shopkeepers now fear the wrongdoers more than before. In December, some Ontarians visited stores in Trois-Rivières, Que. to steal $4,000 worth of meat. In Sherbrooke, Que.…
Something grocers often fail to exhibit With a new year starting, we hear announcements about bonuses in food retailing. Metro recently announced that it offered five top senior executives $3.7 million in bonuses. This represents a four per cent increase in bonus payouts over the previous year, while Metro sales grew 3.3 per cent over…
Let's hope 2023 brings us some relief on the food front As a follow-up to a very busy 2021, the year 2022 was truly filled with many food-related stories. Food was top of mind for many for the entire year. Reflecting on the last 12 months is always interesting, come December. As we do every…
If you plan to host a dinner with a turkey, it’s better to buy it now Avian flu certainly deserves more media attention. The avian flu currently impacting our poultry sector has become a real problem. Unlike previous strains, the current bird flu has spread across Canada, raising fears that it could become endemic in…
The anger directed toward grocers is real By Sylvain Charlebois and Samantha Taylor As food prices rise, many are quick to blame grocers for profiteering and taking advantage of consumers. The notion of “greedflation” has emerged as one of the most talked about issues in the last month. Food inflation in Canada is at a…
Consumers in many cities now have only one grocer
Canada’s Competition Bureau has decided to investigate the Canadian food industry, specifically our grocery sector. Better late than never, I suppose. For years, many called for such an investigation while recognizing that the Bureau has little authority or power over anything. Even its new director admitted to the problem of powerlessness. For instance, the Bureau…
Metro's reaction to Loblaw freezing food prices is raising the spectre of more industry-wide collusion
The food inflation rate in Canada has exceeded our country’s general inflation rate for 10 straight months now. The food inflation rate in September was 10.3 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent Consumer Price Index released this week. Since Canadian grocers are again facing a barrage of criticism from concerned Canadians, some have…