Safeway Sells Canadian Operations to Sobey's

[NBC]

Originally Posted by Minnie

No. Well, there's a lake, of sorts, but it's more of a slough, right in the middle of town, and it's not really the best view.

East of the city. S'more.

Which Freson IGA did you shop at then? To the best of my knowledge there's never been one in Strathmore.

[NBC]

Originally Posted by redforever

That is indeed a bad Sobey's store. Another bad one is at the corner of Southland Drive and Bonaventure Drive.

I have found that the Sobey's stores that used to be IGA stores are not good at all, whereas those built brand new as a Sobey's store seem to be far superior. If that is due to management or whatever, I do not know.

The Bridelwood Sobey's is very nice as is the one in Okotoks. I am not a fan of meat in any Sobey's store, except for perhaps a bit of chicken.

The new stores have quite a nice produce section and selection...in fact, I can get some things at the Bridelwood and Okotoks Sobey's that I can't even get at Superstore...like for instance kaffir lime leaves...poblano peppers too although the Westhills Superstore usually carries them.

Sobey's have great bakeries. Their selection might not be as extensive as Safeway stores but what they have tastes much better and is more natural. I make all my own bread but if I would have to buy bread, I would buy it at Sobey's over Safeway or actually any other grocery store.

Their deli's are also quite nice...especially their cheese section.

Again, I am speaking of the Sobey stores that were built as Sobey stores and not converted from former IGA stores.

It probably has a lot more to do with the ability to renovate an old store with a new design. Lots of the old stores 1960s, etc have low ceilings, specific types of lighting and were set up to follow a circular pattern with meat on the left, followed by produce, bakery, etc. It is much more difficult to incorporate the new design, which was maximized for a particular size of store, i.e. 40 000+ square foot, into an old 25 000 square foot store.

[Gundo]

Originally Posted by Bertuzzied

Well then you should be happy if Safeway goes to Sobey's expensive pricing. More airmiles because you will be paying more for the same type of groceries.

Every time they do the survey Sobey's and Co-op are the 2 highest priced grocers in the city.

I live in Chestermere all we have is a Safeway, unless we drive into Calgary my choices are limited

[username]

I'm not going to overreact and say this sucks big time.

As long as they keep the air miles program and the lines are still short when my Safeway converts to a Sobeys I don't really care.

Anyone who hoenstly thinks Superstore and Costco are better must have enjoyed being picked on as a kid. I would rather pay double for my groceries than have to endure walking into either of those stores.

[DuffMan]

Most of my shopping gets done at Sobeys because there is one inbetween my work and my house. I only get maybe 2 bags of stuff at a time. My wife does the majority of the shopping with a circuit of about 4 stores.
But anyways we also have a Safeway near us, that is much nicer and that I would prefer to shop at, It's only about 5 years old. But, whenever I leave Safeway I always have the feeling that I paid top dollar for everything and that makes me sad. I always presumed it was because I was paying for overinflated union salaries, howerver it's worth it sometimes for the small lineups, when you look at SaveOn or Walmart.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by NBC

Which Freson IGA did you shop at then? To the best of my knowledge there's never been one in Strathmore.

Peace River, mostly. And Brooks, when we're through there. Shopped at the Drum store when we stayed out there for a few days (surgery at the hospital there).

[Russic]

I don't really care too much about this, but I do hope Safeway stays just because it's the second cheapest in the city. Also 10% Tuesday is a god send for stuff like diapers and dog food.

As for Sobeys I actually enjoy the Compliments brand, and for grilling their hamburger buns are unmatched.

[bomber317]

I must be the only one with no brand loyalty, although I do rank Superstore lower due to their awesome checkout experience.....

I have Superstore, Co-op, Sobeys, Safeway all relatively nearby. I go to 1 or 2 of those stores per week based on their sales for that week. I rarely buy anything regular price anymore (some items never go on sale) and I find things are fairly equal for sale pricing amongst the 4 stores.

Some stores do things better than others I will admit. Safeway has the best bakery by a long shot. I find Co-op Meat to be consistently good. In my area, Co-op and Safeway produce are better than Sobey's/Superstore.

anyways.... So Sobey's purchased Safeway Canada

[REDVAN]

Safeway and Co-op are always worth the extra prices for the shorter lines.

Yes, Safeway costs more, but I think their food is far and above better than Superstore. FAR AND ABOVE BETTER.

For brand name boxed stuff, obviously Walmart and Superstore are better deals, but then you have to wait in the god-awful lines with the god-awful clientele of those stores!

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Russic

I don't really care too much about this, but I do hope Safeway stays just because it's the second cheapest in the city. Also 10% Tuesday is a god send for stuff like diapers and dog food.
.

You seriously buy that stuff at Safeway? Have you ever heard of Walmart?

[renny]

i like sobeys cause i can go at 3am and avoid other human beings =P

[redforever]

Originally Posted by NBC

It probably has a lot more to do with the ability to renovate an old store with a new design. Lots of the old stores 1960s, etc have low ceilings, specific types of lighting and were set up to follow a circular pattern with meat on the left, followed by produce, bakery, etc. It is much more difficult to incorporate the new design, which was maximized for a particular size of store, i.e. 40 000+ square foot, into an old 25 000 square foot store.

It seems to be more than that. Outside of their bakeries, which seem to be consistent from store to store, the old IGA store converts just seem inferior in stuff to buy as well.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by username

As long as they keep the air miles program and the lines are still short when my Safeway converts to a Sobeys I don't really care.

The lines at the Kensington and Northill Safeways are ridiculous. I hope they hire more cashiers.

[Coys1882]

I live in Cranston - we have a Sobeys so I shop there. If it was a Safeway I would shop there.

[yads]

I prefer Superstore to Safeway, but I'm guessing location is a major factor here. The Westhills location is typically very well stocked. It may be busier, but it's also bigger and they actually use all of their checkouts unlike Safeway. Bagging your own gorceries kind of sucks, but the selection and pricing is significantly better than Safeway for pretty much everything, especially meat and fish. The only thing that Safeway is significantly better at is bakery and more specifically bagels.

[flamesfever]

The only reason I shop at Safeway is because it's close to my house. Otherwise I much prefer Sobeys, mainly because of fewer lineups, friendlier atmosphere, and better meat selection.

So as far as the sale is concerned, I am delighted...especially because Sobeys is a Canadian company, and more of my money will stay in Canada.

[NBC]

Originally Posted by redforever

It seems to be more than that. Outside of their bakeries, which seem to be consistent from store to store, the old IGA store converts just seem inferior in stuff to buy as well.

It would almost certainly have nothing to do with management. I can't imagine Sobey's corporate sending out terrible managers to all of the converted IGA stores. That doesn't make sense to me.

Maybe the lack of floor space in the older stores has more to do with it. Most old IGA's aren't that big and it is difficult to carry all of the same products that the newer and larger purpose-built Sobey's carry.

[albertGQ]

Weird. I always thought Safeway was Canadian and Sobey's was American

I guess you learn something new everyday

[Swarly]

here is the last 6 months of ctv shop comparison:

$850.19......$856.90.....$862.28......$781.46
coop..........safeway.....sobeys.......superstore
+68.73.......+75.44.......+80.82.......$0.00

confirms what I've always thought from empirical shopping evidence. Co-op is about the same or cheaper than Safeway plus you get back a few percent at the end of the year, which I find them to be almost identical for quality too.

For my money I still go with superstore tho. Six months with those totals for shopping are probably more like 1 month for a family grocery bill, 2-3 months for my grocery bills. That is an extra $80 a month for a family, or an extra 30-40 for someone like me. That $40 goes a long way at either costco or superstore liquor stores, I can get an extra 60 every month.

edit: those totals probably arn't even taking into account the PC and no name brand #### that you can save even more money on. sure for some food you want quality, but I find no name / PC brand just great for simple things (rice, cleaning supplies)

[polak]

Best meat is at Co-Op and Costco without question. Even people who worked for Loblaw knew that.

Superstore, Safeway and Wal Mart have awful meat.