Loblaw says it’s not to blame for higher food prices as grocer faces backlash online
Global News
Loblaw's corporate Twitter account sought to set the record straight on whether the grocer is profiteering from food inflation, but few online seemed convinced.
One of Canada’s biggest grocers says it’s not to blame for food inflation after a series of social media posts drew the ire of some consumers.
Loblaw Companies Ltd.’s corporate Twitter account began replying to users earlier this week who tweeted about the end of the grocer’s price freeze on No Name products.
While the company claimed its price freeze, instituted last October, was meant to help Canadians deal with decades-high levels of inflation, some Twitter users accused the grocer of raising prices to push its profit margins higher.
Among the replies, Loblaw acknowledged that it had become the “face of food inflation” and said that “while it’s easy to blame grocers for higher grocery prices,” it made $4 of profit per $100 spent in its stores.
Few Twitter users seemed convinced of the grocer’s online messaging campaign, with many levelling further accusations of corporate greed in response to Loblaw’s tweets.
Global News asked Loblaw to break down its profit margins, and was told by a spokesperson that it derives this figure by dividing its net earnings by its total revenue in the same period.