Loblaw will test a new store concept that is expected to cut customers’ grocery bills by 20%.
Three of these stores, called without a name, like the minimalist house brand with yellow packaging, will open starting in September in Ontario.
To reduce operating costs, there will be no refrigerator, so customers will not be able to buy milk or fresh meat there, for example.
The assortment will be reduced. Only 1,300 references will be sold, which compares to more than 20,000 in a traditional supermarket. Customers will find basic foods for the pantry and household cleaning products.
Customers will be able to purchase frozen foods, bakery products, fruits and vegetables that keep for a long time, such as apples, peppers, bananas and carrots.
“We are committed to ensuring that the products sold in stores nameless “are up to 20% cheaper than the regular retail price of a comparable product available at one of the four major discount grocers (sic) in the region,” Loblaw wrote in a statement.
The grocer also specifies that the opening hours of the unnamed stores will be shorter (from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) and that marketing will be limited. For example, there will be no flyers. There are even plans to reuse shelves and crates that have been used elsewhere to minimize store layout costs.
The Ontario giant promises a “completely different and simplified shopping experience.”
The unnamed stores will be tested in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville.