Brampton-based grocer Loblaw Companies Ltd. has shared a look at what its new and remodelled No Frills and Shoppers Drug Mart stores will look like, but the preview isn’t getting much love online.

Brampton-based grocer Loblaw Companies Ltd. has shared a look at what its new and remodelled No Frills and Shoppers Drug Mart stores will look like, but the preview isn’t getting much love online.

The company said on Monday that it is opening 27 new stores in Ontario in 2026 as part of a $2.4 billion expansion plan, with 70 new No Frills, Maxi, Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmaprix locations opening across Canada.

The Brampton company is also renovating 191 stores across Canada, while continuing construction of an approximately 1.2 million-square-foot automated distribution centre in Caledon.

Loblaw CEO and President Per Bank shared renderings of the new look for No Frills and Shoppers Drug Mart locations in a social media post, saying that the renovations and new stores aren’t about square footage, but about “making everyday essentials more affordable,” creating thousands of jobs and expanding access to pharmacy care.

“When communities grow stronger, so do we,” Bank said in a LinkedIn post. “We’re proud to keep investing in Canada, and in helping Canadians Live Life Well.”

But users on the social media website Reddit flamed the new designs, with a post on the thread r/loblawsisoutofcontrol calling the new stores “palatial.”


“That No Frills store looks like a frill – and higher prices,” one user wrote. Another said they “just want a non-descriptive concrete building that says ‘Cheap Food Here’ on the outside.”

Many others poked fun at a Porsche parked in front of the No Frills mock-up, with one user saying, “one of these things is not like the others.”

“Glad to hear about more jobs for people and more stores,” one user wrote. “Maybe with all the extra money these stores make, maybe they can freaking lower prices too.”

The company’s grocery stores, including Real Canadian Superstores, Loblaw’s, NoFrills and Shoppers Drug Mart, have come under criticism amid inflation and an affordability crisis in Canada, where food bank use has hit record highs in recent years.

An online-led boycott of Loblaw stores last year was sparked by consumers frustrated with food prices, which rose by double-digits over just a few years while Canada’s biggest grocers reported higher profits.

The boycott launched the same day Loblaw reported more than $13.5 billion in profits in 2025.


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