{"id":946152,"date":"2026-10-25T21:30:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T21:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946152\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T21:30:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T21:30:21","slug":"loblaw-ceo-per-bank-says-discount-stores-now-key-to-winning-price-weary-shoppers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/946152\/","title":{"rendered":"Loblaw CEO Per Bank says discount stores now key to winning price-weary shoppers"},"content":{"rendered":"

TORONTO \u2014 Narrow aisles, fewer shelves, and plenty of house-brand items: this Loblaw store feels cosier but still offers enough variety for a grocery run.<\/p>\n

Loblaw\u2019s Danish chief executive, Per Bank, brought a little bit of Europe with him three years ago when he moved here to run the country\u2019s largest grocery chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall discount stores \u2026 I would probably say that\u2019s some of the things I brought to Canada,\u201d Bank said, sitting in the backroom of a small-scale Toronto No Frills on a brisk October morning.<\/p>\n

In its smaller 5,000-product stores, Loblaw has done away with the deli counters, live pizza stations and fresh bakeries typical of its conventional banners \u2014 and shoppers aren\u2019t complaining. While discount stores aren\u2019t a new phenomenon, Loblaw\u2019s transition into a quick in-and-out shopping experience at its discount banners, No Frills and Maxi, has taken it up a notch.<\/p>\n

Now, many of its discount banners are downsized into something more like a corner store. <\/p>\n

When he took the helm, Bank said the company had about 43 small-format stores under 20,000 sq. ft. Today, there are more than 75 across the country with an intentional strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we have a plan to go for the small stores. And it\u2019s both urban and it\u2019s rural,\u201d Bank said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s opened room for Loblaw to grow its discount footprint even in smaller communities with as few as 4,000 people, where a full-scale conventional grocer may not set up shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot many years ahead, I believe that discount will be more than half of our food business,\u201d Bank said. \u201cI don\u2019t think that was something anyone had seen prior to my arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discount banners make up about 40 per cent of the company\u2019s grocery footprint and are on track to outnumber its conventional stores \u2014 Real Canadian Superstore, Loblaws and Fortinos \u2014 as consumers hunt for deals. <\/p>\n

The company\u2019s continued move into discount comes as household budgets have been hammered in recent years by a string of economic shocks. It began with soaring food inflation coming out of the pandemic, a tariff dispute between the U.S. and Canada that flared up after President Donald Trump\u2019s return to the White House, topped with an energy crisis stemming from war in the Middle East. <\/p>\n

As headline inflation hovers around three per cent, grocers could once again be at the forefront of consumers\u2019 anguish \u2014 d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu from recent years, when Loblaw became the poster child of food inflation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think inflation is in a great place now,\u201d Bank said. <\/p>\n

When asked if Loblaw could bear consumers\u2019 wrath once again, Bank said: \u201cIf we will, all will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopefully in a better place than most because of all the other things we do for value. So for us, it\u2019s just important to stay really, really competitive.\u201d <\/p>\n

Bank believes Loblaw\u2019s reputation is \u201cin a good place.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe were quite humble about the challenges,\u201d Bank said of the boycott movement championed by the Reddit group dubbed LoblawIsOutofControl.<\/p>\n

He recalled meeting the subreddit\u2019s organizer even when he was advised not to. <\/p>\n

Still, Bank said grocers will always be under pressure for prices because consumers interact with stores and not suppliers \u2014 and there will always be some unhappy consumers.<\/p>\n

Consumer well-being researcher Monica LaBarge said Bank took the reins when the company wasn\u2019t in a good place and still holds an \u201cunenviable job\u201d trying to improve Loblaw\u2019s reputation from where it was with the bread price-fixing scandal and the boycott a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile its (brand image) may have recovered a little, Loblaw is still at the bottom of the list in terms of Canadian grocers,\u201d said LaBarge, an assistant professor at Queen\u2019s University studying food access and consumer well-being.<\/p>\n

She pointed to a 2026 Great Canadian Brand Index consumer survey, which ranked Loblaw last among 130 brands in Canada and labelled it the \u201cmost scrutinized\u201d among all grocers.<\/p>\n

Loblaw may have become an easy target for consumers because of its past behaviour, while other grocers have flown under the radar, LaBarge said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s compounded and if you need a bad guy, they\u2019re an easy bad guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winning back consumer trust depends on the interplay between shareholders\u2019 desire for returns and consumer perception, she said. And it will take years to repair its reputation.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Bank\u2019s job isn\u2019t getting easier with a slowing economy and rising geopolitical tensions, LaBarge said.<\/p>\n

Record-high diesel prices from the war in Iran have created a fresh set of challenges for the grocer: suppliers proposing price hikes. <\/p>\n

Bank said one of Loblaw\u2019s biggest suppliers came in with a 15 per cent price increase request, which the retailer is pushing back on. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just something that made me really angry,\u201d he said. \u201cWho\u2019s going to get the blame? We are.\u201d <\/p>\n

Bank said it\u2019s the grocers who face consumers\u2019 anger over price increases, not multinational suppliers such as Nestl\u00e9, Unilever or P&G, who are behind these hikes.<\/p>\n

A fight for consumer dollars comes as the U.S. and Canada stand far apart on a trade deal.<\/p>\n

If he could, Bank said he\u2019d like things to \u201cgo back where it was before the tariffs.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go back in time, and I don\u2019t know whether that\u2019s possible, but it\u2019s not helpful that we are in the situation that we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the resolution reached in Greenland\u2019s situation when Trump mused about taking over the territory earlier this year gives Bank hope that Canada\u2019s tensions with the U.S. will ease over time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m Danish, right? (Trump) wanted to take Greenland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that (the U.S.) was out for me both in Canada and Greenland. It\u2019s like coming from both sides,\u201d he said, jokingly.<\/p>\n

Last month, the U.S., Denmark and Greenland signed an agreement about the status of the island, allowing Washington to set up its military operations in certain areas. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow that (it\u2019s) resolved, maybe that\u2019s an indication that other things will resolve over time,\u201d Bank said.<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 25, 2026.<\/p>\n

Companies in this story: (TSX: L)<\/p>\n

Ritika Dubey, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n

Add CityNews Toronto as a trusted source on Google to see more local stories from us.<\/p>\n

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