Loblaw boycott had ‘minor’ impact on sales, CEO Per Bank says
Global News
Loblaw's CEO on Thursday acknowledged a 'minor' impact to the grocer's sales in the second quarter amid a grassroots movement to boycott the company's stores.
The boycott of Loblaw stores in May had only a “minor” financial impact on Canada’s largest grocers, according to the company’s CEO.
Loblaw Co. Ltd. reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday, including the month of May, which saw the grocer targeted in a grassroots boycott campaign venting frustrations over rising grocery prices.
Loblaw CEO Per Bank was asked about the impact of the movement during an earnings call accompanying the earnings. He said “the overall financial impact was minor.”
Chief financial officer Richard Dufresne acknowledged that the boycott had “a bit of an impact in certain stores in specific markets.”
“That said, at the end of the quarter, things had returned to normal,” he said.
The company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the quarter, with same-store food sales up just 0.2 per cent.
Dufresne attributed the softer-than-expected sales in part to the company lapping a much stronger growth quarter a year ago, when same-store food sales rose 6.2 per cent.
He also said the “extremely hot” temperatures in May 2023 fuelled a boom in the company’s outdoor and gardening segments, while a comparatively cold and rainy season this spring dampened sales here this past quarter.
AFN Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak has said Budget 2025 failed First Nations because it did not include more infrastructure funding and educational resources for their communities.
Conservation officers in B.C. say they've captured four more grizzly bears that are being tested to determine if they were involved in an attack on a school group last month.
Joshua Wright says a yellow cedar tree he photographed last year was "incredible," the largest he'd ever seen in a decade of hiking around Vancouver Island.
Canadians could face grocery bills up to $1,000 higher in 2026 as food prices rise 4-6 per cent, with restaurants and meat seeing the biggest jumps.
Despite a growing homelessness problem in the South Okanagan city, council voted 4-2 against the project and the millions of provincial dollars that would come along with it.
Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon told a House of Commons committee the updated strategy will come next year, after saying in the fall it would come this year.
Reports emerged this week of U.S. government procurement plans to order 20 Senator vehicles for its ICE officers, a move worth roughly $10 million.
The 16-year-old was arrested in April after police said a credible threat was made against students at Citadel High School.
A committee meeting also heard an extra $194 million is needed to pay for carbon price fuel charges that the provincial government didn't collect.
The premier of Nova Scotia is calling for an investigation into how a major power utility has handled a cyberattack.
Toronto's fire chief says work on extinguishing a fire at two highrise buildings will continue 'into next week,' meaning those evacuated won't be returning home yet.
The outbreak of salmonella linked to pistachio and pistachio-containing products continues with more than 150 confirmed illnesses now reported.
The 50-unit tiny home community would have been built on a city-owned parcel of land near Dartmouth Road and Dartmouth Drive and funded by the provincial government.