Canada grocery market share 2020

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Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

This is from 2020, but I found a pie chart for grocery market share in Canada.
https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade. ... 202020.pdf Scroll to page 7.
Apparently, Walmart is #5 in Canada for grocery market share. I'm not sure if Walmart is struggling in Canada, but they are falling behind the competition. They even have lower share than Costco.
I can see why Walmart would be lagging in Canada, when they have competition that does everything Walmart does, but better (Real Canadian Superstore, owned by Loblaw).
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by storewanderer »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: May 6th, 2022, 5:22 pm This is from 2020, but I found a pie chart for grocery market share in Canada.
https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade. ... 202020.pdf Scroll to page 7.
Apparently, Walmart is #5 in Canada for grocery market share. I'm not sure if Walmart is struggling in Canada, but they are falling behind the competition. They even have lower share than Costco.
I can see why Walmart would be lagging in Canada, when they have competition that does everything Walmart does, but better (Real Canadian Superstore, owned by Loblaw).
I don't think Wal Mart quite has the store penetration these other chains do.

Real Canadian Superstore is pretty weak in fresh departments. There is no service deli and in-store bakery is limited (basically like Wal Mart's bakery program in the US; Wal Mart's bakery program in Canada is actually a little more extensive). Where Real Canadian Superstore hits Wal Mart hardest is on pricing (often lower), and on private label (the PC brand is far superior to any Wal Mart private label), and ease of shopping/store layout (granted Wal Mart has way way more non food than Real Canadian Superstore has).
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: May 6th, 2022, 7:42 pm
retailfanmitchell019 wrote: May 6th, 2022, 5:22 pm This is from 2020, but I found a pie chart for grocery market share in Canada.
https://www.flandersinvestmentandtrade. ... 202020.pdf Scroll to page 7.
Apparently, Walmart is #5 in Canada for grocery market share. I'm not sure if Walmart is struggling in Canada, but they are falling behind the competition. They even have lower share than Costco.
I can see why Walmart would be lagging in Canada, when they have competition that does everything Walmart does, but better (Real Canadian Superstore, owned by Loblaw).
I don't think Wal Mart quite has the store penetration these other chains do.

Real Canadian Superstore is pretty weak in fresh departments. There is no service deli and in-store bakery is limited (basically like Wal Mart's bakery program in the US; Wal Mart's bakery program in Canada is actually a little more extensive). Where Real Canadian Superstore hits Wal Mart hardest is on pricing (often lower), and on private label (the PC brand is far superior to any Wal Mart private label), and ease of shopping/store layout (granted Wal Mart has way way more non food than Real Canadian Superstore has).
I've always been curious about Canadian chains... how would you compare chains to their American equivalents?

To start, I'm guessing No Frills would be analagous to a FoodsCo/Food4Less?
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

bryceleinan wrote: May 10th, 2022, 7:42 pm
I've always been curious about Canadian chains... how would you compare chains to their American equivalents?

To start, I'm guessing No Frills would be analagous to a FoodsCo/Food4Less?
Haven't been to Canada yet, but from what I have seen researching Canadian chains...
Real Canadian Superstore is pretty similar to Fred Meyer, but more bare-bones.
Sobeys is kind of like Albertsons (their stores in Western Canada were previously "IGA Garden Market". Those stores looked similar to a late 90's/early 2000's Albertsons. Their stores in Eastern Canada, where they are based, are more like a Publix).
Thrifty Foods in BC reminds me of Haggen I guess. Similar pricing and interior style.
Safeway Canada has shed its American roots at this point. As they are now owned by Sobeys, they use the Sobeys Compliments brand. Their new interior looks similar to the newest Ralphs interior
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by Romr123 »

Its been 2 1/2 years since I've been in one...Loblaws is the 1 ton gorilla--the weird thing is they are like SuperValu in that they both operate stores and are a wholesaler to independents. They own Shoppers Drug Mart (upscale Walgreens). As far as supermarkets are concerned, branded Loblaws (Zehr's in SW Ontario, other brands elsewhere) are concentrated on urban areas, are corporate stores, range from compact urban stores to absolute showplaces (Maple Leaf Gardens is an amazing store built on the old Maple Leaf Gardens hockey arena in downtown Toronto). No-Frills is most comparable, I'd say to Save-A-Lot. Superstore analogizes to Fred Meyer or Meijer pretty well--they're definitely a supermarket-first supercenter rather than a dry-goods-first supercenter (Walmart/Target). The private label products permeate everything a lot more than in the US (that said, Presidents' Choice was the 1st upscale private label and is darn good and darn imaginative).
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: May 11th, 2022, 5:12 am Its been 2 1/2 years since I've been in one...Loblaws is the 1 ton gorilla--the weird thing is they are like SuperValu in that they both operate stores and are a wholesaler to independents. They own Shoppers Drug Mart (upscale Walgreens). As far as supermarkets are concerned, branded Loblaws (Zehr's in SW Ontario, other brands elsewhere) are concentrated on urban areas, are corporate stores, range from compact urban stores to absolute showplaces (Maple Leaf Gardens is an amazing store built on the old Maple Leaf Gardens hockey arena in downtown Toronto). No-Frills is most comparable, I'd say to Save-A-Lot. Superstore analogizes to Fred Meyer or Meijer pretty well--they're definitely a supermarket-first supercenter rather than a dry-goods-first supercenter (Walmart/Target). The private label products permeate everything a lot more than in the US (that said, Presidents' Choice was the 1st upscale private label and is darn good and darn imaginative).
Those independents Loblaw supplies are tightly wound up in Loblaw. Their systems, uniforms, ads, bags, everything come from Loblaw. In some cases Loblaw will franchise out corporate owned stores to "independents." The No Frills Stores are also franchised out operations. No Frills is much better put together than Save A Lot but is a similar idea. Loblaw also runs something called Real Canadian Warehouse Store or something and it is more of a restaurant supply house than a wholesale club store. All of the Loblaw Stores sell the same private label goods but pricing varies between formats/locations. They are excellent at running the different formats and have rolled over Sobey's. The biggest thing I notice with Loblaw is they push HARD on moving center store items/private label in every single one of their formats.

Thrifty Foods in BC is nothing like Haggen; they are more like a bad Safeway. They are not priced well at all and their perimeters are marginal at best. Some of the stores looked nice but the mix and pricing ruined it. These are very low volume stores. The Safeway units run circles around them in volume.

Most Safeways (if you find one still open) still look like a US Store. Very few have been remodeled. The strategy seems to be to close and convert to smaller bare bones franchise No Frills units. I am curious they've opened a handfull of new Safeway units in the middle of the ongoing No Frills conversions.

Real Canadian Superstore is nothing like Fred Meyer as it is devoted 80% to groceries. It also does not have extensive fresh departments, extensive nutrition department, branded clothing, etc. like Fred Meyer. With all of that said I really like Real Canadian Superstore; it is a great format and I wish there was something like it in the US. Meijer- take away most of Meijer's non food and scale back its perimeter and you would have something like a Real Canadian Superstore.

Save-On Foods is also not a store I am too impressed with. I think they have been in a good position to capitalize on the various mistakes that Sobey's has made with the joke Thrifty Foods, running Safeway into the ground, and the awful No Frills conversions and they have taken the opportunity and run with it. I've seen a couple locations that exceeded my expectations but those were just in line with what I'd call an average Safeway (one was actually a former Safeway).
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by Romr123 »

To dive a little deeper: Loblaw had roots in George Weston, the big bread-baker up in Canada. For whatever reason, the thaw/sell--commissary type--bake-off bakery goods are quite "a thing" up there--you see that occasionally in the US with some of those types of creme cakes etc coming from Canada. (FWIW that is all that Tim Hortons does anymore...)

I think Loblaw has sold off the bakery business; and they don't seem to be directly operating much in the way of private label factories (as opposed to, say Kroger/Lucerne Foods); though they may well have Sears-ish positions in some of the manufacturers (like Cott beverages). Dairy products are weird in Canada and I don't think they have any processing themselves (though I find it amusing that we get Canadian bulk-pack yogurt here in Detroit from Costco and specialty (mainly Italian) bread here in Detroit comes almost exclusively from Canada).

Diversion of shopping to the US is a thing (no self-respecting Windsor-ite would come to Detroit without a stop at Meijer/Costco); Port Huron, MI had far more retail than it's population would support (with London, ON 1h30 away). I imagine that continues over in Buffalo (with Toronto 1h-1 1/2 hr away) and in far northern Washington. Farmer Jack (when it existed) had specific instructions on their website on what ZIP code to search on to find the closest stores to the bridge/tunnel.
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by storewanderer »

Romr123 wrote: May 16th, 2022, 7:04 am To dive a little deeper: Loblaw had roots in George Weston, the big bread-baker up in Canada. For whatever reason, the thaw/sell--commissary type--bake-off bakery goods are quite "a thing" up there--you see that occasionally in the US with some of those types of creme cakes etc coming from Canada. (FWIW that is all that Tim Hortons does anymore...)

I think Loblaw has sold off the bakery business; and they don't seem to be directly operating much in the way of private label factories (as opposed to, say Kroger/Lucerne Foods); though they may well have Sears-ish positions in some of the manufacturers (like Cott beverages). Dairy products are weird in Canada and I don't think they have any processing themselves (though I find it amusing that we get Canadian bulk-pack yogurt here in Detroit from Costco and specialty (mainly Italian) bread here in Detroit comes almost exclusively from Canada).

Diversion of shopping to the US is a thing (no self-respecting Windsor-ite would come to Detroit without a stop at Meijer/Costco); Port Huron, MI had far more retail than it's population would support (with London, ON 1h30 away). I imagine that continues over in Buffalo (with Toronto 1h-1 1/2 hr away) and in far northern Washington. Farmer Jack (when it existed) had specific instructions on their website on what ZIP code to search on to find the closest stores to the bridge/tunnel.
A good number of the thaw and sell bakery items at US Wal Mart Store Bakery areas are "Product of Canada." Also almost any "pita" bread I've seen for sale in the western US is a thaw and sell from Canada.

Some of the private label Simple Truth Yogurt at Kroger used to be Product of Canada, but they shifted that a few years ago. I was surprised to see any dairy imported into the US from Canada as dairy is not as subsidized up there as it is in the US so I had no idea how it could be competitive to do that.

A decent amount of the private label center store items in Canada are actually product of the USA also. A lot of products flowing both directions.
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by ClownLoach »

Something to be said about that thaw and serve Canadian product - the Costco stores up there have practically every bakery item they sell available to purchase in bulk thaw and serve. And the bakery departments up there are at least double the SKU count of the US locations. The Quebec ones are different and really seem to raise the bar on the bakery product - the location I visited in Laval, QC a few years back had ultra high end baking equipment and at least 20 people working in the area - everything appeared to be scratch baked. There was some really delicious looking stuff coming out of there... but unfortunately I was only there to take a quick peek then gas up the rental car and head to the airport.
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Re: Canada grocery market share 2020

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: May 15th, 2022, 11:09 pm Most Safeways (if you find one still open) still look like a US Store. Very few have been remodeled. The strategy seems to be to close and convert to smaller bare bones franchise No Frills units. I am curious they've opened a handfull of new Safeway units in the middle of the ongoing No Frills conversions.
You meant FreshCo, not No Frills. FreshCo reminds me of Smart & Final Extra. They have a lot in common with Smart & Final: downgraded former Safeways, quasi-warehouse format, high prices.
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