RCC's Leaders Retail Breakfast Series October 17, 2018: Commport was excited to attend the RCC's Leaders Retail Breakfast Series* featuring Sarah Davis, CEO of Loblaws. RCC’s CEO, Diane Brisebois interviewed Sarah on stage in front of over 400 people and asked a number of pertinent questions related to Loblaw and the Canadian retail industry.
Sarah is a gifted communicator and answered all the questions with a lot of clarity, depth, and honesty in telling the Loblaw story and handling hot topics such as online competition and how the largest Canadian retailer manages its various loyalty and credit cards. The Loblaw story is a great Canadian success story and with Sarah at the helm it appears to be in very solid hands.
Loblaws Inc. is a Canadian supermarket chain with stores located in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, Loblaws is a subsidiary of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor.
Loblaw Groceritas was founded by Theodore Loblaw and John Milton Cork in 1919. Loblaw opened the first Canadian self-service grocery store in Toronto in June 1919. During the 1920s the company grew throughout Ontario. By the 1930s it had 107 stores in Ontario and 50 in New York state.
The company initiated a broad marketing strategy that saw a prototype store renovated and remodeled in new colors and a new Loblaws logo. In the mid-1970s stores in the United States were sold to Bells Markets; however, some Loblaws stores in northwestern Pennsylvania continued operation into the early 1990s.
In 1996, in addition to revitalizing the look of its stores, Loblaw management earmarked $40 million for the development of its in-house, private label program
*The Leaders in Retail Breakfast Series provides an exclusive and unique opportunity for vendors and suppliers of goods and services to hear directly from senior leaders of Canada’s biggest retail brands. with none of their fellow retailer competitors or media in the room.
