Sobeys acquires 213 Safeway stores in Western Canada

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      Empire Company Limited, which owns the Sobeys grocery store chain, announced today (June 12) that it has reached a deal to buy 213 Safeway stores in Western Canada. The agreement came at a cash purchase price of $5.8 billion.

      “This is a significant and historic event for Sobeys, which has been proudly serving Canadian food shoppers for 106 years,” Paul D. Sobey, president and CEO of Empire Company Ltd., stated in a news release. “The acquisition of Canada Safeway represents an excellent strategic fit, strengthening our presence in Western Canada with the addition of great employees, excellent stores and exceptional real estate.”

      Currently in B.C., Sobeys stores are only found in three cities: Fort St. John, Golden, and Invermere. The majority of Sobeys locations are found in the Maritimes, and the company is based out of Nova Scotia.

      “The acquisition allows us to leverage our existing assets and in turn position Sobeys to compete even more effectively within the changing, and increasingly competitive, grocery retail landscape,” Sobey said.

      Along with the 213 full-service Safeway stores, Sobeys has also acquired 199 in-store pharmacies, 62 fuel stations, 10 liquor stores, 4 primary distribution centres and related wholesale businesses, and 12 manufacturing facilities. Empire Company Limited hopes that the new acquisition will position Sobeys to be the leading grocer in Western Canada.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Mike

      Jun 12, 2013 at 6:09pm

      Let's hope they turn the Safeway at Broadway and Commercial into a viable place to shop. I remember not being able to buy tomatoes because of problems with their U.S. supplier.

      Shop Canadian

      Jun 13, 2013 at 6:04pm

      Could see this coming a couple or so years ago. Safeway prices increased dramatically, while selection still sucked and got worse.

      Lots of deceptively labelled so called "natural" and milk products from the US. Canada isn't supposed to allow growth hormones in our food.
      Yuk.

      RealityCheck

      Jun 17, 2013 at 3:16pm

      YAY! King Cole Tea for all!

      Mad

      Jun 20, 2013 at 12:52am

      Mad to be loosing our Safewy. Sobeys in FSJ sucks. They are closing a huge store and great selection to keep a tiny little Sobeys.

      SanityInFSJ

      Jul 15, 2013 at 9:09am

      The FSJ Safeway has made no comments about closing. I doubt the Shoppers will be closing to make way for more Warehouse, either.

      Just because A buys B, doesn't mean B is going to get shut down. In fact, it would make more sense to KEEP the Safeway and CLOSE the Sobey's since the Safeway name is more trusted in Western Canada.

      FSJer

      Jul 15, 2013 at 9:17am

      Got to agree. I live right next to Sobeys, and overall I find most of their selection to be lesser quality than Safeway.

      However, I'm not really a fan of Safeway either, but they were the better choice in town.

      Chris McMann

      Sep 16, 2013 at 8:57am

      I am really cranky about this. I LIKE Safeway. Sobey's does not have the brands I like and Safeway has a bakery!