Canadian Grocer’s September-October issue is available online!

Retail is a tough business, and no one knows that better than independent grocers. Even at the best of times, the challenges—from staffing issues to supply headaches and rising costs, to name but a few—are considerable. Throw a pandemic into the mix and the pressures only get amplified.

But while the last several months of 2020 may not be the best of times, they’re not exactly the worst of times for grocers either, as we’ve discovered putting September-October issue together. For our cover story, our writers spoke to five grocers, some of the most admired in the business, and what comes through is the continued resilience of Canada’s independents. Their connection to community, customer focus and keen attention to what makes them unique has pulled them through challenging times before and there’s no reason to believe these things won’t sustain them this time around. As Save-On-Foods’ Darrell Jones says, while there is a lot to be concerned about just now, “if you focus on the right things, you’ll be OK.”

Of course, doing the right things includes looking after your people. In this issue writer Rosalind Stefanac looks at how grocery store staff are being confronted with abusive customers.

We also look at diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace. It’s a hot, complex topic and the story, part of our new Generation Next Thinking series, looks at how businesses are working to get it right and create meaningful DE&I strategies that actually work.

All this and much more in the September-October issue of Canadian Grocer. Happy reading!