If you live in Canada, you’re probably part of the Loblaw ecosystem, whether you like it or not. The chains the company operates include Provigo, Zehrs, Fortinos, Independent, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Maxi, T&T, Shoppers Drug Mart, and, of course, its own eponymous supermarkets. Its brands are household names: President’s Choice, No Name, Joe Fresh, Life. You almost surely have some Loblaw products on your shelves or in your cupboards.
A domestic grocer that first saw the promise of self-serve shopping in 1919 (at the time, items were collected for you by clerks), Loblaw expanded five years after its debut. It kept growing. As of 2023, it accounts for nearly a third of Canada’s grocery market. But there’s more to Loblaw than frozen meals, soy milk, and minced turkey. With over 2,500 stores in Canada, it claims to process roughly 2 billion transactions a year through its online pharmacy, cosmetics, apparel, and financial services. It boasts that 90 percent of Canadians live within ten kilometres of a location, while nearly half of us (over 18 million) are part of its data-hoovering PC Optimum program. On top of that, 3 million hold a PC Financial Mastercard. Loblaw, whose slogan is “Live Life Well,” is also gobbling up health care: it operates seventy-four for-profit clinics; almost as many are planned this year. With its stake in the telemedicine platform Maple, Loblaw is on a mission to capture your dollars from cradle to grave.
