2024 Loblaw boycott

A Loblaws supermarket in 2020

On May 1, 2024, a month long boycott against Canadian retail corporation Loblaw and its supermarkets began. The boycott was organized by Reddit community r/loblawsisoutofcontrol and later spread nationally, amidst accusations against Loblaw of engaging in corporate greed practices such as greedflation and price gouging, due to the corporation recording major profits whilst heavily increasing grocery prices. The aim of the boycott is to pressure Loblaw into lowering prices and signing Canada's grocery code of conduct.

Background

Loblaw is the largest grocer and supermarket chain in Canada. Amidst the early 2020s inflation surge, the corporation has made significant profits, such as a 30% increase in its third-quarter profits in 2022 compared to its previous year. Their next quarterly results saw further profits, as grocery prices saw a continuous rise. In late 2022, a Dalhousie University study found that Loblaw as well as Canada's other largest grocers, all of whom had been receiving "greedflation" accusations by critics, recorded making record profits in comparison to that made throughout the last five years.

In early February 2024, an online petition seeking for Loblaw to be investigated for "pandemic profiteering and greedflation" was created, which has since received over 100,000 signatures.

Boycott

In October or November 2023, Emily Johnson, a mental health worker from Milton, Ontario, established the Reddit community r/loblawsisoutofcontrol, which over time accumulated thousands of members who utilized the platform to share their complaints and criticisms about Canadian grocers, particularly Loblaw. The community quickly started gaining popularity in January 2024, when Loblaw made a controversial raise in discount prices for sell by date-approaching food, and began organizing a boycott campaign against Loblaw, which was to be held throughout the entire month of May 2024. As the month drew near, the movement gained popularity among shoppers in Canada, and the Reddit community had grown to over 60,000 members by the onset of the boycott. On May 1, 2024, the boycott officially began. The aim of the boycott is to pressure Loblaw into making a 15% reduction on their grocery prices, and signing Canada's grocery code of conduct, which they as well as Walmart have both previously refused to do.

On the same day marking the start of the boycott, Loblaw reported CA$459 million in profits out of CA$13.58 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2024, a 9.8% increase in profits and a 4.5% increase in revenue from last year.

"Steal From Loblaws Day"

During mid-April 2024, anonymous posters were placed around Toronto and in Atlantic Canada advertising the "first annual Steal From Loblaws Day" along with the date May 12, 2024. The posters additionally attached multiple logos of Loblaw's divisions. Organizers later stated that the posters were unrelated to their boycott.

Reactions

François-Philippe Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said that he "isn't surprised to see consumers organizing boycotts," adding that "Canadians are hurting."

On April 30, Sylvain Charlebois, a food professor at Dalhousie University, sponsored by Loblaws, and outspoken critic of opposing arguments made against Canadian grocery inflation, referred to the boycott on a columnist piece for the Toronto Sun as "embarrassing attempts of a group that isn’t even trying to understand how the food industry functions and how it needs to be improved," adding that the "accusations of profiteering are largely unsubstantiated."

By Loblaw officials

Per Bank, the president and CEO of Loblaw, stated during an interview that "the company is paying attention to customers and sees them trying to mitigate inflation by seeking out sales, buying more private-label products and shopping at discount stores." Bank previously released a statement in response to the upcoming boycott on April 22, stating "Nok er nok," Danish for "enough is enough," in reference to “misinformation being spread online, in the media and by politicians.”

On May 2, 2024, Galen Weston Jr., the chairman of Loblaw, considered the boycott calls to be "misguided criticism" and added that given their significance in Canada's grocery business, "it is natural that Loblaw would be singled out as a focal point for media and government and of course consumer frustrations.” Weston denied Loblaw's alleged responsibility in the rising costs of groceries, adding that "inflation is a global issue and is not specific to our company or to our industry."

See also

• List of boycotts

References

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