Voilà by Sobeys launches in Vaughan, Ont.

After a pilot project with friends and family in April, Empire is launching the service to some customers in the Greater Toronto Area

Canadian Grocer staff

6/22/2020

Voilà by Sobeys teammate delivers grocery orders in Vaughan, Ontario (CNW Group/Empire Company Limited)

Sobeys' parent Empire Co. Ltd. is slowly rolling out its Voilà by Sobeys online grocery home delivery service to parts of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

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Starting June 22, customers in Vaughan, Ont. can order their groceries at Voila.ca or through Voilà's mobile app. There is a $50 minimum order and a $7.99 delivery fee. Products from Farm Boy and Well.ca are also available through the Voilà service.

Empire began testing the service in April with friends and family living in the GTA, as demand for home grocery delivery soared during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pilot project provided a "rich, rich vein of feedback," and allowed Empire to make adjustments to some of its operational procedures, said chief financial officer Michael Vels during a call with analysts last week.

Empire is filling orders from a fully-automated customer fulfillment centre (CFC) in Vaughan, which is powered by British company Ocado. At capacity, Empire said Voilà would bring approximately 1,500 jobs to the area, including operations, delivery and customer service teammates.

Voilà par IGA will launch in Montreal serving Quebec and the Ottawa area in 2021.

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