Real Canadian Superstore

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Real Canadian Superstore ^[1] (often shortened to RCSS or "Superstore"; the alternate name Loblaw Superstore is presently being tested in some areas^[2]) is a chain of hypermarkets owned by Canadian food retailing giant Loblaw Companies. Originating in Western Canada, the banner has recently begun expansion into Ontario as Loblaw attempts to fend off competition from department stores including U.S.-based Wal-Mart. The biggest to date is located in Windsor, Ontario.

[edit] Overview

The Real Canadian Superstore on Southport Road in Calgary, Alberta.

Edmonton, Alberta, Inside the Clareview Superstore.

Real Canadian Superstore in Grimsby, Ontario.

Inside the Grimsby store.

Inside the Grimsby store.

Logo formerly used at most Western Canada locations. The logo was used in Ontario initially but was soon replaced. All fliers and advertisements, as well as all new locations in the west, now use the logo shown at the top. Old locations still use this logo on the buildings themselves.

The stores carry a variety of goods; like Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart Supercentres, but the vast majority of space is devoted to groceries and about a third of each store is set aside for electronics, housewares, and clothing. Items in the latter two categories are mainly from Loblaw's private labels, such as President's Choice, Life at Home, or Joe Fresh. As with many Loblaw stores, they offer corporate-branded services such as PhotoLab photo finishing and DrugStore pharmacies. Many outlets also boast a GoodLife Fitness club, drive-through pharmacies, gas bars, photo studios, community rooms, as well as walk-in medical clinics managed by Primacy Medical.

In 2007, Loblaw Companies Limited initiated a new platform for the company entitled "Simplify, Innovate, Grow." As part of the new growth strategy, Superstore will be their key store format for growth in the future. The newest redesign format opened in Ontario in the fall of 2007.

Loblaws is working to cut costs and compete effectively with this multi-format store. Each store has a similar layout, useful for both cost efficiency and shopper ease. Also, in an effort to cater to individual customer segments, RCSS buys specific products for different regions. Superstore locations now top 210,000 square feet.

In the west, Superstores are operated by Loblaw subsidiary Westfair Foods Ltd. Ontario stores are operated as part of Loblaw's other banners, including Loblaws and Zehrs, although Superstore is considered a separate chain, and prices at one chain may not apply at the other. Loblaw as a whole is in the process of centralizing their head office operations, which includes the relocation of the General Merchandise personnel from Calgary, Alberta to Brampton, Ontario to consolidate Loblaw's operations.

There are currently no RCSS locations as such in Atlantic Canada or Quebec. However, the chain has recently adopted a secondary brand, "One Stop / Un seul arrêt", which has been also used by several larger locations of other Loblaw banners, particularly Atlantic Superstore in the Maritimes, Dominion in Newfoundland and Labrador, Maxi and Co. and Loblaws in Quebec, and, to a lesser extent, Loblaws and Zehrs in Ontario. In all cases these stores stock a similar mix of food and general merchandise. It is presumed that the large Ontario stores will eventually come under the RCSS banner; the future status of the other stores is unknown.

In Alberta, where private liquor retailing is permitted, a chain of 29 Real Canadian Liquorstores operate, mostly near Real Canadian Superstores in that province.

As with Loblaws stores, employees of the Real Canadian Superstore are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union.

[edit] History

The first Real Canadian Superstore location opened in March of 1979 in a former Loblaws location in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan under the name SuperValu. Numerous other SuperValu locations opened across Western Canada before most gradually expanded into Superstore sites; the SuperValu name had all but disappeared by the mid-1990s, although the name is still in use on four Atlantic SuperValu locations in the Maritimes. Today there are more than 66 Superstore locations in Western Canada with a total of 72 by the end of 2006.

In the early 21st century, Loblaw announced it would bring the Superstore banner to Ontario as a response to the introduction of large grocery sections in most Canadian Wal-Mart stores and other department stores, as well as a pre-emptive strike against any plans by Wal-Mart to bring its "Supercenter" format to Canada. Originally, Ontario stores were co-branded with the local Loblaw banner (i.e. "Loblaws - The Real Canadian Superstore"), but this was quickly shortened to reduce confusion and allow separate weekly specials for each chain. RCSS marks the return of Loblaw's superstore format in the Greater Toronto Area after the unsuccessful launch of the the SuperCentre format in the 1980s and 1990s.

In 2003, Loblaws purchased Maple Leaf Gardens, the former home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and announced plans to convert it into a Real Canadian Superstore, despite heavy criticism from historical groups such as Friends of Maple Leaf Gardens. As of Spring 2008, construction is still on hold, and there is currently no signage on the site advertising the future Superstore location.

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Spelled the real Canadian Superstore, including the definite article, in most Western Canadian markets.
2. ^ Loblaw Superstore Milton launch site

[edit] External links

• Official website