Hey I like your newsletter. Other thing about Loblaw that I think deserves more scrutiny is how many pretty sweet gov deals they have. Shoppers is your neighbourhood post office, the place you go to add money to your Presto card, where you go to buy Toronto garbage tags, the place you get your flu shot (and maybe COVID vaccine?), etc. All government contracts that make it harder for smaller or newer players to compete.
I know I'm getting to this article a bit late, but it's a nice set of data points. However - as I myself wrote last month (https://www.theaudit.ca/p/the-canada-health-act-may-already) - in the larger Canadian economy, Loblaw isn't really such a large player. They're mid-range from the perspective of market capitalization, they're far from a monopoly in any segment, and they're JV in the data collection business: not even close to credit card companies (and Google).
What I found really interesting was the impact they might be having on healthcare in Canada. I think *that's* worth keeping an eye on.
Learning *a lot* here - it's actually a little mind boggling to think about how much market power canadian behemoth companies acquire as they grow larger (is it fair to say the canadian grocery world is an oligopoly?). It's almost impossible to avoid Loblaw stores... especially for those without the means to shop at local grocers. In some neighbourhoods a No Frills is the only affordable place to go. Thanks for writing so clearly!
👏🏻 this was a super great issue - so much love for the clear call-to-action to look beyond the "tech companies" that dominate the discourse.
Hey I like your newsletter. Other thing about Loblaw that I think deserves more scrutiny is how many pretty sweet gov deals they have. Shoppers is your neighbourhood post office, the place you go to add money to your Presto card, where you go to buy Toronto garbage tags, the place you get your flu shot (and maybe COVID vaccine?), etc. All government contracts that make it harder for smaller or newer players to compete.
I know I'm getting to this article a bit late, but it's a nice set of data points. However - as I myself wrote last month (https://www.theaudit.ca/p/the-canada-health-act-may-already) - in the larger Canadian economy, Loblaw isn't really such a large player. They're mid-range from the perspective of market capitalization, they're far from a monopoly in any segment, and they're JV in the data collection business: not even close to credit card companies (and Google).
What I found really interesting was the impact they might be having on healthcare in Canada. I think *that's* worth keeping an eye on.
Learning *a lot* here - it's actually a little mind boggling to think about how much market power canadian behemoth companies acquire as they grow larger (is it fair to say the canadian grocery world is an oligopoly?). It's almost impossible to avoid Loblaw stores... especially for those without the means to shop at local grocers. In some neighbourhoods a No Frills is the only affordable place to go. Thanks for writing so clearly!