More than 17,000 Canadians have signed a petition demanding Parliament conduct a special investigation of Loblaw Companies Ltd. The nation’s largest grocer yesterday reported net yearly earnings of $1.9 billion with a 4.7% gain in same-store food sales..“Open a parliamentary investigation into Loblaw Companies for their pandemic profiteering, greed-flation and continued price gouging of Canadians,” said the electronic petition filed with the Commons by New Democrat MP Blake Desjarlais (Edmonton Griesbach)..According to Blacklock's Reporter, Loblaw has denied profiteering. “The food gross margin has remained unchanged and it’s been flat since inflation took off,” Jodat Hussain, senior vice president at Loblaw Companies, testified last December 5 at the Commons agriculture committee. Margins averaged 3.4% over the past five years, the committee was told..“Loblaw prices are not growing faster than costs and we are not taking advantage of inflation to drive profits,” said Hussain. “We operate in a very competitive industry.”.“Grocers operate at very low profit margins, less than four cents for every dollar we sell,” said Hussain. “This is dramatically less than other Canadian sectors including the suppliers of the products we sell. When the costs we pay go up, generally our prices to customers have to go up too.”.The Commons petition also asked that Parliament “open an investigation into the monopolization of Canadian grocery stores and to create legislation to prevent this from occurring.” The federal Competition Bureau last October 24 said it was reviewing the grocery trade..“The Canadian grocery sector is concentrated,” the Bureau wrote in a Market Study Notice: Competition In Canada’s Grocery Sector. “Many Canadians buy groceries from retail chains operated by one of three companies: Loblaw, Sobeys and Metro.”.“When consumers have more choices between grocery stores they are likely to pay lower prices,” said Market Study Notice. The Bureau stressed it was not looking for evidence of profiteering but questioned how regulators can “stimulate competition for consumers.” A final report is due June 30..The Bureau in 2013 approved a $5.8 billion takeover of Canada Safeway Limited stores by Sobeys Inc. The buyout affected 213 Safeway stores in Western Canada, 199 pharmacies, 62 gas stations, 12 food processing plants, 10 liquor stores and four distribution centres..The Bureau in 2014 also approved a $12.4 billion takeover of Shoppers Drug Market Corporation by Loblaw Companies. The agency at the time acknowledged the takeover “would result in a substantial lessening of competition in 27 local markets.” The merger made Loblaw Companies the nation’s largest grocer with 2,738 stores and the largest pharmacy chain with 1,824 outlets.
