Could there be two Save-On-Foods locations in a two-block radius of one another in uptown New Westminster?
Overwaitea Food Group president Darrell Jones said it’s too soon to say what will happen if his company’s bid goes through to buy 15 Sobeys grocery stores, including the Thrifty Foods in Sapperton and the Safeway at Royal City Centre.
“With four stores in the city, it’s something that we are going to evaluate, and we are not making any commitments one way or the other right now,” Jones told The Record.
If the sale proceeds, Overwaitea Food Group will own four locations in the city: Columbia Square, expected to open in August; Save-On at Thrifty Foods; the Royal City Centre Safeway space; and the current uptown Save-On location at Westminster Centre.
Last week’s news that an offer to buy the beloved Thrifty’s and take over the uptown Safeway launched a firestorm of comments on social media and The Record’s website.
Many questioned how Canada’s Competition Bureau could allow Overwaitea to own four properties, given it wouldn't allow Sobeys to own three Safeway locations and one Thrifty's in the city.
Jones couldn’t comment on the bureau’s rationale for its decision around the Sobey’s sale.
Mélanie Beauchesne, a senior communications advisor with the bureau, wrote in an email that the Competition Bureau concluded that Overwaitea's purchase of the Royal City Safeway and Sapperton Thrifty Foods would not lead to a "substantial lessening or prevention of competition in the retail sale of a full line of grocery products in any relevant market."
“As part of our normal approach in examining a merger, the bureau consults with a wide range of industry participants, such as suppliers, competitors, industry associations, customers and industry experts. In reaching its conclusions in this matter, the bureau took into account the relevant facts and information, including comments and information provided by market participants," she wrote.
Last fall, the bureau ordered Sobeys to sell the Thrifty’s location before its acquisition of Canada Safeway. The competition watchdog didn’t mandate the sale of the uptown Safeway, but it was added as a part of Sobeys' overall package, Jones explained.
“It’s not a matter of, ‘I’d like this store, I’d like that store, I’d like the other store,’” he said. “It’s ‘here’s the package of stores, and if you wish to purchase one of the stores, you have to purchase all of the stores.’”
Jones was happy to say that all of the staff intends to stay, including Thrifty’s store manager Doug Ford.
“We know it’s the people that make the store, as opposed to the brand that’s on the outside. And there’s a lot of cultural similarities between what Thrifty’s historically does and what the Overwaitea Food Group does. We think customers will feel good about it, at least that’s our goal,” Jones said.
He also noted the New Westminster locations would likely all be Save-On-Foods and not one of the company’s other brands, which include Urban Fare, an upscale store, or a Cooper’s Foods, a community-style store.
If the sale goes through as expected, Jones estimates the Thrifty Foods and Uptown Safeway would turn over between mid-March and the end of April.
