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Downtown Grocery Store List (current + proposed)

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Northern Light said:
While not (yet) being tested in downtown Toronto, Loblaws is bringing back a variation of 'The Box' that it tested in smaller markets a few years ago.

retail-insider.com

Loblaw pilots new no name® store

The no name store will help customers save up to 20 per cent on everyday grocery and household essentials.
retail-insider.com retail-insider.com

The 'No Name' store will aim to lower prices around 20% and will do so by cutting costs in the following ways:

Short Hours: 10am-7pm
Limited to no marketing (no Flyers)
Limited product selection: 1,300 skus (items) (here some comparisons may help, typical full-line grocers stock 30,000-50,000skus); a typical Aldi in the U.S. is 1,500skus; side note, the first ever No Frills stocked only 500skus!
No Refrigeration - No Meat, No Dairy

My comments: The above won't work. They need limited meat and dairy for the store to do well. It doesn't have to be large, 200skus would work. Milk, Butter, Industrial Grade Cheese, Sour Cream etc could be 100skus; basic high-selling deli meat, bacon, chicken etc. They could probably omit beef and get away with it. But leaving those out entirely means people need to make more trips.

The weekday hours are too short, they might be able to get away with an 8pm close, but 7 is a non-starter.
Click to expand...

Another thing which may kill them is only selling No Name products. I get that SOME no name products are ok but the vast majority of them are not something I would touch with a 80 foot pole.

Me personally, I would want a variety of brands not just No Name. If that was all they stocked, I would go elsewhere so I could see my options and get what I actually want.

I don't see this lasting.
 
Richard White said:
Another thing which may kill them is only selling No Name products. I get that SOME no name products are ok but the vast majority of them are not something I would touch with a 80 foot pole.

Me personally, I would want a variety of brands not just No Name. If that was all they stocked, I would go elsewhere so I could see my options and get what I actually want.

I don't see this lasting.
Click to expand...

It wont' be all 'No Name'; it will be about 60% No Name and/or PC, 40% national brands.
 
evandyk said:
That's funny. My grandmother was like that about microwaves, but I've never heard of someone not wanting a fridge!
Click to expand...
I frequently used to ask her about it in exasperation, and the answer was always, "why should i get one of those things?? I don't need one!"

She finally had one in the last decade of her life because she moved and the unit already came with one 🤣
 
I won't go to a grocery store that doesn't have fridges. I'm a one stop shopper.
 
Hold your horses. We ain't seeing this in Toronto yet and it will probably fail miserably with the no fridge debacle.
No fridge but will have small range of frozen stuff. I guess ice cream and frozen ready meals.

Customers can expect a small range of frozen food items, complemented by pantry staples, household necessities, and shelf-stable bakery and produce items including bread, bagels, apples, bananas, peppers, and carrots. This curated line up of products ensures every item on the shelves contributes to the store's mission of affordability and quality.

The no name store is piloting in three markets in Ontario, beginning in September 2024: Windsor, St. Catharines, and Brockville.
Click to expand...
Above is from their press release.
https://www.loblaw.ca/en/big-saving...-name-store-to-bring-more-value-to-customers/
 
Northern Light said:
While not (yet) being tested in downtown Toronto, Loblaws is bringing back a variation of 'The Box' that it tested in smaller markets a few years ago.

retail-insider.com

Loblaw pilots new no name® store

The no name store will help customers save up to 20 per cent on everyday grocery and household essentials.
retail-insider.com retail-insider.com

The 'No Name' store will aim to lower prices around 20% and will do so by cutting costs in the following ways:

Short Hours: 10am-7pm
Limited to no marketing (no Flyers)
Limited product selection: 1,300 skus (items) (here some comparisons may help, typical full-line grocers stock 30,000-50,000skus); a typical Aldi in the U.S. is 1,500skus; side note, the first ever No Frills stocked only 500skus!
No Refrigeration - No Meat, No Dairy

My comments: The above won't work. They need limited meat and dairy for the store to do well. It doesn't have to be large, 200skus would work. Milk, Butter, Industrial Grade Cheese, Sour Cream etc could be 100skus; basic high-selling deli meat, bacon, chicken etc. They could probably omit beef and get away with it. But leaving those out entirely means people need to make more trips.

The weekday hours are too short, they might be able to get away with an 8pm close, but 7 is a non-starter.
Click to expand...
It sounds like a dollar store but without the general merchandise to help bring up profitability.
 
The concept reminds me of Valdi Discount Grocery that was around in the 1990s. No fridges or freezers, everything was boxed, bagged, or canned. The only difference I see here is there will be limited produce - but of course it won’t be things like leafy greens that are typically cooled and misted.

It could work in some suburban markets but definitely not in downtown Toronto where few drive.
 
gabe said:
I won't go to a grocery store that doesn't have fridges. I'm a one stop shopper.
Click to expand...
I like Dollarama, but I believe they have no excuse for not (at least) selling (a small bag of) powdered milk. The new No Name store just might do that...
 
Even more details on Pusateri's financial woes:

streetsoftoronto.com

Glam grocer Pusateri’s owes $37 million to various creditors

Pusateri's Bayview Village Limited owes over $10.1 million in liabilities but, allegedly, doesn’t have enough assets to cover the debts
streetsoftoronto.com streetsoftoronto.com


Pusateri’s reportedly owes creditors more than $37 million, including $4,948,037.10 to Scotiabank c/o Canaccede International Management Ltd, which is Pusateri’s largest secured creditor. This is according to notices to creditors published by Albert Gelman Inc., who was appointed as the insolvency trustee for the grocer.

The notices — dated earlier this month on Aug. 13, with the first meeting of creditors scheduled for Aug. 30 — show that Pusateri’s Bayview Village Limited owes over $10.1 million in liabilities but, allegedly, doesn’t have enough assets to cover the debts. The businesses that this location reportedly owes the most money to (unsecured claims) include Pusateri’s Avenue Road ($4,310,560.60), Rahier Patisserie Inc. ($74,744.10), KeHE Distributors ($47,593.91), Lesley’s Party Sandwiches ($31,603.96), Mike’s Seafood – Bayview ($20,697.25), Markham Quality Meats Ltd. ($19,691.28), Bento Sushi ($19,267.29), Dufflet Pastries Inc. ($18,511.70), Protech Plumbing & Drain Service ($18,506.51), Konig Foods ($15,256.73), and Shirini Sara-Pastry House Ltd. ($15,072.80).

Pusateri’s Yorkville Limited location, which closed at the end of March, has reportedly just over $8 million in liabilities. The businesses that reportedly have the highest unsecured claims include SSK Signs Inc. ($15,485.11), Roltek International Inc. ($9,529.34), Russell Hendrix Foodservice Equipment ($9,040), Rahier Patisserie Inc. ($8,753.50), Mary Macleod’s Shortbread ($8,222.59), Bioraw, The Vegan Broker Inc. ($6,372), Gaucho Pie Co ($6,138.75), Zara’s Gourmet Kitchen ($6,077), Ma’s Best Foods Inc. ($5,130), and KPMG LLP ($4,957.31).

Finally, Pusateri’s Kitchen Limited has reportedly just over $19.3 million in liabilities (this includes over $14.3 million in unsecured claims). As with the other two locations, some of the unsecured debt is owed to Pusateri’s Avenue Road ($13,835,101.44), but other businesses that are reportedly owed the most money (unsecured claims) include Happy Pops Inc. ($117,133.74), Martelli Foods Inc. ($41,729.44), Sugarfina ($23,967.30), Oracle America, Inc ($23,699.98), La Bastille ($21,680.20), Consolidated Bottle Corporation ($18,860), IDA Pusateri ($17,182.48), Commerce Technologies LLC ($15,524), Walker Environmental Group Inc. (14,944.03), and Butter Baked Goods ($14,092).

The unsecured creditors who are reportedly owed the most across all locations (according to the notices) are Happy Pops Inc. ($117,133.74), Rahier Patisserie (about $83,497.60 from two locations); KeHe Distributors ($47,593.91), Martelli Foods Inc. ($41,729.44), and Lesley’s Party Sandwiches ($31,603.96).
 
Interesting to see two high end grocers struggle (this one and McEwan); and I could throw the small 'Fresh City' concept in there as well.......

While Eataly goes gangbusters, and another high end grocer will be adding new outposts, in the next year or two. ;)

Speaks to the perils of debt, ego, over-expansion, poor locations and all/around management issues.

In the case of McEwan, rescued out of bankruptcy by a long time, very affluent patron.

Clearly, Toronto has a market in the luxury food segment. But some are better able to capitalize on that than others.
 
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