The owner of Safeway grocery stores has announced it鈥檚 going to close 10 Lower Mainland locations, citing a growing consumer demand for discount stores.
The stores, from Vancouver to Mission, are set to shutter May 5, with the exception of City Square in Vancouver, which is set to close July 28.
鈥淔irst, Sobeys squandered Safeway鈥檚 market share and sullied a well-loved B.C. brand,鈥� Ivan Lampright, president of United Food and Commercial Workers local 1518, said. 鈥淣ow they want to make our members pay for their mistakes? This isn鈥檛 about business: It鈥檚 about people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
Sobeys鈥� parent company, Empire Co., has been in negotiations with UFCW 1518, which represents about 4,500 employees.
鈥淚t is no secret that many of our stores in B.C. have struggled in recent years,鈥� said an emailed statement from a Sobeys spokesperson to Black Press Media. 鈥淐ustomer demand for shopping at discount stores continues to grow and we are not adequately serving this need in B.C. today.鈥�
The company might turn at least five of the locations into FreshCo. discount stores, the email said, depending on the outcome of negotiations.
The following locations will be closing permanently:
路 Safeway, Lougheed Mall, Burnaby
路 Safeway, City Square, Vancouver
路 Safeway, Sunwood Square, Coquitlam
路 Safeway, Point Grey, Vancouver
路 Safeway, Royal Oak, Burnaby
Pharmacy files are to be transferred to nearby locations.
The following locations will be closing, but may reopen as FreshCo.:
路 Safeway, Blundell, Richmond
路 Safeway, Broadmoor, Richmond
路 Safeway, Newton Town Center, Surrey
路 Safeway, Strawberry Hills, Surrey
路 Safeway Mission
The pharmacies will remain open during the store closure, the email said, and during any necessary renovations in locations that may reopen as FreshCo locations.
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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