Sobeys brings everyday low pricing to Western Canada

Sobeys has extended its lower price strategy in Western Canada to include key areas such as grocery, dairy, frozen and health and beauty products.

The move, which began Sept. 2, comes on the heels of Sobeys’ affordability strategy launched last winter in Western Canada that focused on lower prices for produce and meat. It applies to 182 Safeway, 82 Sobeys and 31 IGA stores in Western Canada.

The overall goal is the same as the similar price drop campaign that was launched by Sobeys Quebec in April, namely better and more competitive everyday lower prices, says Keri Scobie, director of communications, Western Canada at Sobeys. However, “elements of execution differ because of markets, demographics, retail operations differences between banners, etc.,” she says.

Sobeys put its focus earlier this year on lower prices for hundreds of produce and meat items because they represent “two key areas we believe really matter to our customers in Western Canada,” Scobie says.

The expanded price-cut applies to thousands of items across the stores.





Sobeys is investing in dropping prices as a long-term plan, Scobie says.

“As a company, we’ve made a strategic decision to move toward more affordable, consistent prices,” she says. The strategy allows customers “to have confidence in our prices, do all their shopping at one store and buy their favourite brands when they want to buy them, not just those on sale.”

Weekly in-store and flyer promotions, Buy More Save More promotions and customer appreciation days (such as 10% Tuesday), will continue.

“The biggest point to stress is this is not a sale or a short-term promotional,” Scobie says. “Our pricing changes reflect a long-term commitment to our customers. Our prices have never been more competitive.”

The price drop commitment extends across national brands and Sobeys private label products.

Safeway and Sobeys have also introduced new in-store shelf tags that clearly indicate price drops. The stores will also provide recipe and lunch box ideas for affordable and nutritious meals.

In the produce department, Sobeys is placing a priority on better handling of produce in store that includes improved produce training, crisping techniques and coming logistics changes to ensure produce will be fresher on delivery.

In addition, signage and communication in the produce department have improved and there are tips from Jamie Oliver and callouts on better produce picks, Scobie says.

Priorities in the meat department include every day seasonal pricing on ground beef and the Buy Big, Save Big program that provides savings on larger packaged quantities of beef.