Loblaw Leads Retailing In Canadian Market
PC Blue Menu Angus Sliders contain 45% less fat than PC Mini Angus Burgers and is a “Must Try” item that is being featured in this summer’s President’s Choice BBQ Tour.
The PC Decadent Ice Cream Sandwich is also a “Must Try” item that is being featured by this summer’s touring PC Ice Cream Shop Truck.
Founded in 1956, Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada’s largest food retailer and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Its President’ Choice and No Name control brands are the number one and number two consumer packaged goods brands by sales in Canada respectively.
Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada’s largest food retailer, is owned by the Weston family holding company. Galen Weston is head of the world’s second largest luxury goods retailer as chairman of Holt Renfrew in Canada, Selfridges in the the United Kingdom, Brown Thomas of Ireland, and the De Bijenkorf department store chain in the Netherlands.
Loblaw, based in Brampton, ON, operates more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores across Canada under 22 different banners.
Store banners include Loblaws, Loblaw Great Food, Zehrs, Zehrs Great Food, Fortinos, Loblaw Superstore, Real Canadian Superstore, Atlantic Superstore, SaveEasy, Freshmart, Maxi, Maxi & Cie, No Frills, Provigo, Extra Foods, valumart, and more. Collectively, these banners offer more than 8,000 control brand products under the trend-setting President’s Choice, PC Blue Menu, PC G.R.E.E.N, PC Organics, no name, and Joe Fresh Style labels as well as other control brands.
Loblaw will launch its newest line, President's Choice Black Label, at a dinner party on Septmeber 22. The new line will feature products normally found in specialty gourmet stores, like smoky bacon marmalade, eight year old cheddar, and cherry shiraz fruit jelly, all priced from $1.99 to $24.99, according to thestar.com.
PC Mini Revolution
One of the biggest trends in food this summer at Loblaw stores is mini-sized food items that are well suited for the barbecue season. Products include PC Smokin’ Stampede Brisket Sliders and Sweet Italian Mini Pork Sausages. The Mini range includes a dozen or so bite-size meat items, and buns under the President’s Choice and Blue Menu labels.
Loblaw’s launch of its mini platform of barbecue products this summer follows the successful introduction of sliders last year, according to Ian Gordon, senior vice president, Loblaw Brands. “It’s not just about sliders and launching a new mini burger. It’s about how we take this innovation platform that we are calling the mini revolution and apply it across as many categories as possible” says Gordon.
In this regard, to complement the different types of sliders and mini burgers in the line, Loblaw has paired them with a variety of mini buns including ciabatta buns and top-sliced hot dog buns as well as a variety of PC Memories of sauces and marinades. Speaking about Loblaw’s marketing program to support the Mini Program, Allan Lindsay, vice president marketing, explains: “We have the benefit of owning the stage in our stores, so we bring together a number of the mini products including the burgers, the sausages, and the chicken sliders and cross merchandise them with our buns as well as with our ketchup, our relish, our sauces and other relevant products.” “By bringing together all of these products and signing them in a way that creates some theater in-store, we can really make a statement about our mini offerings and how we can enhance people’s barbecue season with President’s Choice which is really our signature brand for our stores.
“We very much look to be the voice and advocate for the Canadian consumer and to be the innovation leader. The principal work that Ian and his team do is to really drive and lead innovation in our control brand categories as opposed to just following and copying what the national brands are doing.
