As a boycott of Loblaw-owned stores gains steam across Canada, a prominent Canadian food expert is sharing his skepticism about it bearing desired results.
Members of the “Loblaws Is Out Of Control” Reddit community plan to boycott all Loblaw storesāincluding No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Real Canadian Superstoreāfor May.
The group, which boasts more than 33,000 members and is growing rapidly, says the boycott targets Loblaw in particular because it has become the face of Canada’s cost of living crisis.
“Seeing groceriesāan essential that nobody can avoid paying forārise beyond the rate of inflation is really upsetting a lot of people,” the group’s founder, Emily Johnson, told Daily Hive in a previous interview.
“Because Loblaw is one of the most prolific grocers in the country, many people have placed most of that frustration onto Loblaws, especially Galen Weston Jr. himself.”
The movement has garnered media and online attention, with hordes of Canadian consumers expressing their support.
@calilopezz UR DONE @LoblawsON #food #costofliving #canada #ontario #groceryshopping #fyp ā¬ original sound – nxghtxcore.audiosšāØ
@brianjknowler Theres a movement to boycott all Loblaw properties in May picking up steam on Reddit… #loblawsisoutofcontrol #loblaws #pricegouging #boycottloblaws #boycott #corporategreed #canadiangroceries #groceryshopping #canadianbusiness #cdnpoli #enoughisenough ā¬ original sound – Brian Knowler
Sooooo-
Apparently there's a boycott of Loblaws going on to protest the price-gouging that's been going on lately.
I found a WIP chart of some brands to avoid if you'd like to join in: pic.twitter.com/WjYcwW5UfK— OliOllie (@0li0llie) March 22, 2024
Does anyone know of any rural strategies to participate in #boycottloblaws? Rural areas donāt have options for shopping like urban areas. How can we organize rurally to acknowledge the boycott? We have a No Frills here – and the other only one is the pricier Foodland. pic.twitter.com/udcD6m6Mtj
— roy bruno (@roybruno) March 22, 2024
However, Sylvain Charlebois, director of the agri-food analytics lab at Dalhousie University, is not so enthused by it.
Charlebois expressed his views about Loblaw’s public image on social media.
“Despite a year of scrutiny and negative publicity, Loblaw’s stock price has increased by 35% over the past 12 months. This means Galen Weston [Jr.’s] shares are now valued at $3.35 billion more than they were a year ago,” he wrote on X.
For those critical of Loblaw and Galen Weston, consider this:
Despite a year of scrutiny and negative publicity, Loblaw’s stock price has increased by 35% over the past 12 months. This means Galen Weston’s shares are now valued at $3.35 billion more than they were a year ago.
ā The Food Professor (@FoodProfessor) March 21, 2024
“If you want to boycott Loblaw because of price gouging, you should be aiming at other grocers, too, if that’s the logic you’re following,” Charlebois told Daily Hive.
He feels Canadians are better off voicing their concerns to the Competition Bureau “about price fixing, discount fixing, some of the issues that we see with the code of conduct and suppliers, and Loblaw and Walmart just bullying the supply chain.”
“Those are absolutely real problems affecting consumers,” he said.
The academic noted that if consumers stop shopping at Loblaw stores, it could result in competitors raising their prices “because when demand goes up, prices go up.”
Some have responded to Charlebois on social media saying they support the Loblaw boycott but think other grocers should also be targeted for their high prices.
I’ve boycotted all the major chains, mostly anyway. I buy from nearby farms and small grocers and grow my own. I just got too mad after the bread price fixing. It’s not just Loblaws.
ā Anstria (@Anstria_G) March 21, 2024
No no no, what’s happening is people will adjust their consumption to reflect their budget.
The BIG Organized Groups squeezing the food game will understand this too late to adjust.
Lots of agencies have forgotten that People/Customers hold the power.
ā Wiggles&Lines (@8_point_1) March 21, 2024
I think people āshouldā boycott Loblaws, and Walmart too. Then, the way that the market works, they will adjust prices down to attract the lost shoppers that wonāt go back, but will benefit me with marginally lower prices. Go, please.
ā Neilg Gravitas (@NeilgGravitas) March 21, 2024
While the effects of May’s Loblaw boycott have yet to be seen, some Canadians, like Ann D of Toronto, have already stopped buying from the company’s stores.
In a previous interview with Daily Hive, D said she has opted to shop at smaller, independently owned stores instead and has seen her grocery bill shrink “significantly.”
The “Loblaws Is Out Of Control” subreddit hosts a list of Loblaw-owned stories and its subsidiaries to avoid and province-specific alternatives to shop at if you are boycotting.
Loblaw has not responded to news of the May boycott but did release a statement this week claiming that it’s “making efforts to lower food inflation.”
Members of the Loblaws Is Out of Control group are asking the company to reduce its prices by 15% and remove “member-only pricing,” where customers are forced to sign up for a PC Optimum card to access deals and sales.
However, Johnson told Daily Hive that their biggest goal is to make it clear that as consumers, they “do have the power” and “want to be taken seriously…we don’t want to tolerate monopolies in Canada anymore.”
With files from Isabelle Docto and Imaan Sheikh.Ā
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