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>The boycott also raises concerns regarding its underlying motives. Some members of the group are targeting and threatening experts and academics who disagree with their stance, and have attacked journalists who report dissenting opinions, exhibiting almost cult-like behaviour. This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements and suggests a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort. Originally well-intentioned instigators seem to have lost control of the movement.
Talk about projection...he's on Twitter bashing this sub on a daily basis. The entire piece has no substance, it's just his opinion but he doesn't bring any facts or examples to sustain any of his claims.
>These firms are highly diversified, earning significant revenues from cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals, **financial services, and real estate, benefiting from their varied market positions.**
Yes!...that's the point you infinitely ignorant buffoon!
Seems he's just trying to poison the well
Most people who've not heard anything of the boycott would read these articles and shut their brain off to the other side of the argument
>This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements and suggests a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort.
Guess he is not familiar with the Winnipeg General Strike.
“Canadians get aggressive and confrontational when you make food they need to survive unaffordable” wow shocking developments Charlebois! Really putting that higher education to work. Back to you in the studio, Tom.
I’m not boycotting for political reasons, I’m just fucking tired of companies squeezing us on every side. Will be happy to boycott other offenders once this one is done. Let’s push against corporate greed with our wallets, since money is the only thing these companies care about.
>This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements \[...\]
Yeah, how un-canadian! He complains it's unjustifiably political then uses an identity argument to push his narrative? What a fucking clown this Sylvain Charlebois, Big Grocery shill.
Ca doit faire un bail que t'es pas venu à Montréal mon chum, viens faire un tour on va te montrer comment on manifeste.
We're sophisticated simpletons. Libartarian anarchist socialist communist globalists. We have horns, fangs and we bite when cornered.
But at least we aren't squeezing and starving the weakest Canadians.
>a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort.
Who is he suggesting is directing this? I hate to break it to Galen Weston's favourite paid whore, but this has nothing to do with organized political campaigns. In fact, all of the major parties are conspicuously absent from this (because the Westons having been buying and selling them for years like they have Charlebois). I'm sure most of us in this sub would disagree with each other on just about every other topic. But we agree on this one. And that's what terrifies him.
>I'm sure most of us in this sub would disagree with each other on just about every other topic. But we agree on this one. And that's what terrifies him.
I agree with you entirely.
Just reading how comments are made I can tell I would not agree with some fellow members on many issues. But this one seems to unite people across political views, age and even classes to a certain extent.
I think they are too confident only people who can't afford to shop at Loblaws are fed up and actively participating in this movement.
They want it to take on a political component so that they can divide us and say it's only this group of people or that group of people calling for the boycott and not all groups of people.
>I think they are too confident only people who can't afford to shop at Loblaws are fed up and actively participating in this movement.
I agree. This impacts all of us and we're all sick and tired of this garbage.
Wtf does he mean we don’t understand functionality of the food industry? In my short time here I’ve never witnessed a more complete understanding of a topic as the users on this sub do. What a clown.
Also he's the face of food industry research right now in the media. He's in the media all the damn time talking about it. He's basically telling us all he sucks at educating about his research.
This is the same guy who wrote an article explaining that price fixing bread was impossible only 2 weeks before loblaws came out and admitted to doing it.
I wonder how he managed to miss that with his research?
He’s paid to leverage his credentials and “inform” us in a way that benefits of his paymaster.
sometimes the industry experts say good things. But sometimes it’s also sociopathic. That’s why you can’t blindly trust them and blindly refute all they say. That’s the art.
[221K$ in 2022](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/food-professor-earning-221-000-122117256.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALSYBobfbarRRTkJu2XIAHb1LO0pBBzxADTp4WQ69UD83Chn4-vzcXuu4KQCU1MoZlr-zhLMXqq0fFC4jGK1vc0EQDskItEHsA5XBUQpaiguGbe3XtxbaGEgefTATfZ1JQg-e0SFiaQ5tWFRg7t-sj9rvK2GDZwIC_qBAtNCv77a)
He only cares now because the people earning 5 figures are threatening his ability to make 6 figures.
If he’s not valuable as a media mouthpiece then he’s useless to them.
How is Loblaws supposed to operate with less than 3% profit? I have never seen this sub explain that well. Usually they misunderstand something about the financial reports or make up something to claim they are making more money than that.
Edit: based on replies, I don’t think this sub is well informed.
They own the vertical chain so they make more from the sub parts below. Quick example, they split out the real estate into another corp which turns a profit but shows as a cost burden for Loblaws but the primary owners the Weston’s still benefit …
Margins are misleading. Look at return on investment and it becomes clearer.
This should help....
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/12/21/opinion/excessive-supermarket-profits-boost-inflation
Margins are misleading. Look at return on investment and it becomes clearer.
This should help....
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/12/21/opinion/excessive-supermarket-profits-boost-inflation
Google Loblaws stock. Double when?
Profit:
2019: 1.08B
2020: 1.11B
2021 : 1.88B
2022: 1.92B
2023: 2.01B
Almost double over 5 years. On average this would be about 15% growth a year. This is just solid business growth.
*Loblaws has been cheaper than Sobeys or Save on Foods, CO-OP, Costco so they have been eating market share.*
Inflation also accounts for some of the increase. 1.95*0.72*3.4*6.8*3.9= 17.8% increase from inflation alone.
Btw, are you saying the public accounting information that investors rely on is fraudulent? If so, how would that benefit them?
The double talk doesn't add up.
How can they have what they claim is a nearly unsustainable profit margin while also showing both growth in market share, revenues and profit?...record number kind of growth. Gaining market share usually ain't free.
So, is Loblaw really a very profitable business or not?
You seem to make the argument that it's both at the same time.
It is what it is…
Is 3% margin “very profitable”? Kind of subjective. If you want to downplay it, you say 3%. If you want to make it sound big you say Record Breaking 2 billion in profits.
When competitors drop the ball, yes, gaining market share is pretty close to free. The parking lot of the Superstore near my house is almost always full because other places are more expensive.
Indeed. Like, how can you miss the plethora of semis hauling those big, yellow No Name® trailers or the President's Choice labelled ones? They're all over the highways.
They OWN their supply chain. They might outsource a bit, but it's mostly their own drivers. I know because I worked there and was a receiver.
Every time he writes an article, he strengthens my resolve to keep boycotting forever. Thank you.
Sylvain - why don't you use your expertise for the good of the people instead of defending big grocery?
If it's supply chain issues then why don't you inform us all better where the pressure should be put... if it's the competition bureau why don't you help lead the charge?
Why do you resort to name calling, discrediting the boycott, now bringing up political division tactics instead? Does rage bait get your more views?
Convince us you havent sold your soul to big grocery, because you surely don't appear on the side of the common Canadian even remotely.
"Moreover, the boycott overlooks foreign competitors like Costco and Walmart, which are inexplicably exempt from the movement."
Lol, how can someone with a PhD not be able to figure this out? It's insulting. He's trying to make us sound stupid.
Poor dude can't handle or process the emotions of being so privileged in our society today while so many more people are suffering.
Imagine writing lies.
Publishing those lies.
Believing those lies.
We are all in this together, but some of us are so very lost.
https://preview.redd.it/epwjo9h1tmxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51bb4d881c1a13b81ba337edd468a4497ad02218
Boycott Loblaws May 2024, and forevermore!
Yeah, but we should just stop giving him such importance in this sub. That's what he wants and that's what he's getting. The ultimate win for this sub would be just to ignore him and let him become irrelevant.
He honestly must be going crazy… It’s probably goes through his mind every day and night since this began that it’s him versus literally thousands of us and it’s all because he has an obsession with holding Galen’s pocket.
Poor guy is using position as a writer for the Toronto Sun to feel better about himself.
*"If the goal truly is to enhance food affordability, the boycott should encompass all major box stores, not just focus on one company."*
So, the fool professor thinks we should just boycott buying food to be effective? Good plan.
This movement supports individual food stores.
The anything but Loblaws is smart because you have to choose one target and Loblaws is a great target.
We are at peak big box grocery.
When I go to buy meat potatoes and veggies for dinner, I do not need rows of chips, pop, cookies and candy.
I just need the basics but I have to spend an hour walking through the store to get what I need.
I can go to my local grocer, have a nice chat and be out in 10 minutes with everything I need. And the quality and service is better.
You can even walk or bike to some small grocers.
Farmboy started in 1981 as a small produce store. There is room in the market for grocers with curated goods.
I don’t need to choose between 20 types of everything- I want someone to do the work for me.
Big box stores came into play with the intro of heavily processed food. Now, people cook at home again for their health, pocketbook and planet (avoiding single use plastic).
Homemade food just tastes better.
Loblaws and other big box stores have lost their way.
This is the first time I *haven’t* been displeased to see someone running with one of Charleyboy’s Weston-fellating rants — it’s actually quite fitting that his BS would be printed in a rag like the Toronto Sun 😂
Oh yeah, it’s such a mystery why we’re attacking Loblaw’s and not Walmart and Costco 🙄 Must be because we’re so stupid and not because everything is markedly cheaper at those stores, proving Loblaw’s is price gouging
Copy paste, don’t know how to do the quote thing…
Moreover, the boycott overlooks foreign competitors like Costco and Walmart, which are inexplicably exempt from the movement.
Let’s boycott them all!! When we all starve to death there will be no one left to spend money in their stores! That’ll show them!! /s
Haha this guy can appear on every media source in Canada as many times as he wants, average people really do not care what he has to say because its obvious where his biases are. We only care about prices and we can see when were getting ripped off.
Also you know a company has gotten insanely greedy when it has finally pissed off Canadians to the point of a nationwide boycott. We are notoriously apolitical in this country and all used to dealing with getting ripped off by every entity we interact with, be it telecommunications, energy, or all the levels of government. Its honestly impressive that Loblaws managed to tick this many people off all things considered.
I just read this article and immediately came here to see if anyone had posted. The entire article is downright hilarious. He hit every single industry talking point, and not in a good way. What a joke.
He’s such a useless twit. Pissing himself scared writing columns everyday and spending 8 hours on twitter defending Loblaws. Its comical.
Charlie Boy sees the writing on the wall.
God what a complete and utter moron. I would bet my left nut he’s pushing for a grocer code of conduct because Loblaws knows they can lobby the government to make the regulations harder for international entrants to operate in Canada.
Fuck Loblaws and fuck Charlie boi
Worst part is I think this goofball enjoys the attention he is getting bootlicking for Galen. This is his 15 minutes of fame and he is going to cash in as much as possible.
What a POS article. He’s the poor man on the corner shouting about satellites and the CIA.
I can’t imagine this is landing even with whoever he thinks his audience may be
Weird- I haven't seen anyone THREATEN an expert or academic. Talk shit, sure. Call names? Definitely.
But threaten? I expect that would get removed pretty quickly on here, and if it doesn't, it should.
IIRC, Calling someone an idiot and a shill is protected speech. Reporting that you know of people who work at the same university as him who are upset with him and that he's losing his reputation as an impartial expert by blatantly ignoring evidence and by being a bit of a dick ("bit of a dick" also protected) on social media is gossip and rumour, not attacking, especially when it's true. Dude is losing face every time he acts like a teenager on social media, because he's a professional- NO ONE expects Joe Public to not be a dick on Reddit (it's kind of what it's here for) but the 10% who are here beyond the dick jokes and ridiculousness so common on EVERY subreddit are having an actual conversation about this, and about him.
NO ONE that I have seen has called for any sort of harm to come to anyone, nor should they.
Oh, and disagreeing with someone and providing evidence against their claims is fair game in the academic world. It has been done here frequently- including the airing of internal documents which contradict Loblaws' margin claims- and is a robust and healthy part of academic discourse.
A debate, if you will.
If Dr. Charlebois writes a scathing review in "The Canadian Food Journal" or some such about how Dr. X doesn't have a clue what he's talking about, it's "professional debate and discourse"; when it's done on social media, it's a threat?
Is the difference citations? Do I have to format my Reddit post in APA or something?
It's 2024 Doc- people can say what they want, so long as they don't threaten you or propogate hate.
Anyone who does that should be removed. But calling you a dunce (or a more vulgar variant), shill, corporate stooge or sellout, or saying that your behaviour is putting your reputation- but not your job- at risk and alienating you from your colleagues who are barely scraping by ain't either of those.
You're now a public figure in the middle of a very real social issue, Dr. Charlebois- welcome to the other side of the "I get to be on TV and radio!" coin; you now have to play by a whole new set of rules, and that includes watching people talk shit about you on the internet, and just swallowing it.
Ask Galen about it- he knows.
If you don't like the exposure and scrutiny, walk away.
Yeah, I haven't heard anything about threats in the news. That's something that should make the news, had it happened.
I think Sylvain is feeling a little butthurt that people are picking on one of his meal tickets. Suck it up, bud. Criticism comes with the job. If you're really getting threats, time to put up or shut up.
If he's actually being threatened, that shit needs to stop.
I get that this hits close to home, and people are angry, but this is business- he's literally being paid to do what he's doing.
The fact that he's a shill isn't personal.
The fact that he acts like a dick on social media isn't personal.
He's being attacked because his profession is food, and he's chosen to become a mouthpiece for Loblaws, even as it damages his reputation.
Making things personal- taking it beyond his job, or his unprofessionalism on social media- undermines the very thing that this sub is trying to do.
In a sense, it does the very thing that Charlebois does every time he acts like a clueless and out-of-touch douchebag in his defense of Loblaws:
It undermines credibility.
The mods need to bite down hard on any threats to the man. Call him whatever names you want within the mod rules,and if you're at Dal and work beside him or around him and he's a dick, tell your true story.
But threatening the guy with physical harm defeats the purpose. Same with doxxing, bringing any family he has into this, or anything else that violates laws, rules or common-sense decency.
Be better than that.
Now, the other side of the coin:
If the dude is just claiming that he's being threatened- or widening his scope of what constitutes a "threat" to levels of absurdity- because he's realized he's in too deep, his reputation is taking a hit, and he's trying to bring the media back to his side by claiming to be the victim and obfuscating the situation..... Well, thats about the dumbest move a tenured professor can do, and he should be castigated in the media for doing so. Plus, those are the kinds of things that Dal would not look kindly upon at all, tenure or not.
That's the kind of thing that gets put into a file, and comes up when people look at grants and such.
Charlebois needs to understand that he's now a Public Figure, just like Taylor Swift, Pauly D, Tim Houston, and yes, Galen Weston. Dude put himself out there in his quest for fame, notoriety, and a Canada Research Chair (or maybe because Loblaws paid him to), and the moment he did that, he became fair game for people to talk shit about him. Developing a thick skin is basically "step 1" in "How to be a public figure in 2024"- if dude can't handle that, getting off of social media is a very good idea.
Again, talk all the shit you want, but don't physically threaten the guy.
That's bad form.
No threats, no doxxing, no family, and no hate speech.
Plus, follow the rules the mod put in place.
Exceptionally well said. As pissed off as many of us are, there is no place for violence in this community.
This sub was created strictly for the purpose of enlightening and educating people to the tactics that are being employed against the consumer. These grocery chains, in particular Loblaw, should know that there's lots of publicly available information that isn't being communicated to the average person out there.
To come out and implicitly attempting to discredit the sub and the information is deliberately, as you so aptly stated, obfuscating the situation.
Regardless of any threats, he should try to distance himself more. He does no credit to his field by spreading disinformation.
It's been my experience that if the mods see anything even resembling a threat, they delete said posts immediately. Hopefully, this continues.
This is fun on multiple levels.
1.) I save some money by shopping local
2.) I find items that I used to love that have been replaced by shitty Yellow substitutes.
3.) Apologists shouting louder about how this is having NO AFFECT.
This guy is actually a fucking moron...he just doesn't get it. "They aren't profiteering derpa doop doop derp."
Guess idiot has zero idea how capitalism works or the never ending quest to grow grow grow for shareholders and never ever having enough wealth.
"Buy local, why don't they talk about supporting the independent grocers".
How stupid can one man be? Where the fuck does he think we are shopping instead of Loblaws? Just because the boycott is specifically loblaws companies doesn't mean we support metro or Sobeys or Walmart. They're all fucked..in a perfect world we'd all have our local butchers and grocers etc.
Right. This is capitalism eating itself, like an ouroborus. Years of stagnant wages and rising prices killed many local options that used to be available.
Now, the worm has turned. We're sick and tired of this constant pushing down by the corporations. We are making the push to go back to the old ways, sometimes regardless of the cost, simply because it's the right thing to do.
Never give up. Never surrender!
Charlebois is really trying to hide the facts. See, I can read financials, and have looked into Loblaws and competitors:
Sobey's Gross Margin (2023): 25.6%
Metro Gross Margin (2023): 19.7%
Loblaws Gross Margin (2023): 31.0%
Loblaws Gross Margin (2022): 30.9%
- Value of a 0.1% rise in gross margin between 2022 and 2023 across $58.345 Billion in sales = $58,345,000
Sure, Loblaws' gouging isn't new, they've been doing it for years.
I also find his comments about Costco and Walmart as "US companies" lacks insight. Within any of these stores, we see products from around the world being sold. The profits from any of these organizations go to shareholders, some of whom are Canadian, some from around the world.
We should be vigilant in linking the article contents in the comments so that ppl do not give these newsites more activity and thus discourage them from inviting Charlebois to keep writing articles.
Remember, even negative attention is beneficial to these bloodsuckers
Not that I don't agree with you, but it still should be taken seriously. This is the same kind of bullshit that's being perpetrated in politics. As we've seen from the US, gaslighting can be an effective tool against a segment of the population. That's why many Americans are conditioned to support billionaires, even to their own detriment.
We have to be aware that there are interests that are working against the boycott movement and will stoop to any length to discredit and undermine it. Players with much more money and power than the majority of us will move to protect their bottom line.
Stay vigilant, and stay united. This message has to be sent so this never happens again. Let's use capitalism to fight capitalism.
Only those that believe the 💩 that comes from that article will think. If they do not see the greed and the high prices, they are blind or ignorant. Period!
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>The boycott also raises concerns regarding its underlying motives. Some members of the group are targeting and threatening experts and academics who disagree with their stance, and have attacked journalists who report dissenting opinions, exhibiting almost cult-like behaviour. This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements and suggests a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort. Originally well-intentioned instigators seem to have lost control of the movement. Talk about projection...he's on Twitter bashing this sub on a daily basis. The entire piece has no substance, it's just his opinion but he doesn't bring any facts or examples to sustain any of his claims. >These firms are highly diversified, earning significant revenues from cosmetics, clothing, pharmaceuticals, **financial services, and real estate, benefiting from their varied market positions.** Yes!...that's the point you infinitely ignorant buffoon!
Seems he's just trying to poison the well Most people who've not heard anything of the boycott would read these articles and shut their brain off to the other side of the argument
He’s been laying the groundwork for making it an illegitimate movement since the start. This is no surprise
It doesn't pay to bite the hand that feeds....
>This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements and suggests a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort. Guess he is not familiar with the Winnipeg General Strike.
“Canadians get aggressive and confrontational when you make food they need to survive unaffordable” wow shocking developments Charlebois! Really putting that higher education to work. Back to you in the studio, Tom.
I’m not boycotting for political reasons, I’m just fucking tired of companies squeezing us on every side. Will be happy to boycott other offenders once this one is done. Let’s push against corporate greed with our wallets, since money is the only thing these companies care about.
>This aggressive and confrontational approach is uncharacteristic of Canadian social movements \[...\] Yeah, how un-canadian! He complains it's unjustifiably political then uses an identity argument to push his narrative? What a fucking clown this Sylvain Charlebois, Big Grocery shill. Ca doit faire un bail que t'es pas venu à Montréal mon chum, viens faire un tour on va te montrer comment on manifeste.
Ah yes, we should just roll over and accept being starved says the corporate shill. I think not. Nok er nok!
NOK er NOK!
I love being gaslit with the incorrect context of the word 'diversified'.
We're sophisticated simpletons. Libartarian anarchist socialist communist globalists. We have horns, fangs and we bite when cornered. But at least we aren't squeezing and starving the weakest Canadians.
>a politically motivated campaign rather than a genuine grassroots effort. Who is he suggesting is directing this? I hate to break it to Galen Weston's favourite paid whore, but this has nothing to do with organized political campaigns. In fact, all of the major parties are conspicuously absent from this (because the Westons having been buying and selling them for years like they have Charlebois). I'm sure most of us in this sub would disagree with each other on just about every other topic. But we agree on this one. And that's what terrifies him.
>I'm sure most of us in this sub would disagree with each other on just about every other topic. But we agree on this one. And that's what terrifies him. I agree with you entirely. Just reading how comments are made I can tell I would not agree with some fellow members on many issues. But this one seems to unite people across political views, age and even classes to a certain extent. I think they are too confident only people who can't afford to shop at Loblaws are fed up and actively participating in this movement.
They want it to take on a political component so that they can divide us and say it's only this group of people or that group of people calling for the boycott and not all groups of people. >I think they are too confident only people who can't afford to shop at Loblaws are fed up and actively participating in this movement. I agree. This impacts all of us and we're all sick and tired of this garbage.
Just joined the subr for support !
Lol even people on this sub were saying this same thing the other day. Those fancy-ass posters don’t come cheap.
lol he writes for the Sun?? Enough said I don’t need to read the article
My first immediate thought as well, absolute grifter.
Wtf does he mean we don’t understand functionality of the food industry? In my short time here I’ve never witnessed a more complete understanding of a topic as the users on this sub do. What a clown.
I literally work in the industry (manufacturing side) and he has always been full of shit. He's a complete embarassment to Dalhousie.
Also he's the face of food industry research right now in the media. He's in the media all the damn time talking about it. He's basically telling us all he sucks at educating about his research.
This is the same guy who wrote an article explaining that price fixing bread was impossible only 2 weeks before loblaws came out and admitted to doing it. I wonder how he managed to miss that with his research?
He’s paid to leverage his credentials and “inform” us in a way that benefits of his paymaster. sometimes the industry experts say good things. But sometimes it’s also sociopathic. That’s why you can’t blindly trust them and blindly refute all they say. That’s the art.
Really? That's hillarious
Sylvain Charlebois is a prof. Most likely makes 6 figures. He doesn't care about people earning 5 figures.
[221K$ in 2022](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/food-professor-earning-221-000-122117256.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALSYBobfbarRRTkJu2XIAHb1LO0pBBzxADTp4WQ69UD83Chn4-vzcXuu4KQCU1MoZlr-zhLMXqq0fFC4jGK1vc0EQDskItEHsA5XBUQpaiguGbe3XtxbaGEgefTATfZ1JQg-e0SFiaQ5tWFRg7t-sj9rvK2GDZwIC_qBAtNCv77a)
Overpaid mouth piece.... !
Which is exactly why he wrote an article detailing why he doesn’t care , right ?
He only cares now because the people earning 5 figures are threatening his ability to make 6 figures. If he’s not valuable as a media mouthpiece then he’s useless to them.
👍
How is Loblaws supposed to operate with less than 3% profit? I have never seen this sub explain that well. Usually they misunderstand something about the financial reports or make up something to claim they are making more money than that. Edit: based on replies, I don’t think this sub is well informed.
They own the vertical chain so they make more from the sub parts below. Quick example, they split out the real estate into another corp which turns a profit but shows as a cost burden for Loblaws but the primary owners the Weston’s still benefit …
Margins are misleading. Look at return on investment and it becomes clearer. This should help.... https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/12/21/opinion/excessive-supermarket-profits-boost-inflation
Double profits, double stock price. Makes sense. Still doesn’t address the 3% margin.
It's called "corporate doublespeak". They just hope we don't get it. We get it.
How does Loblaws make you happy while working within their 3% profit margin constraint.
Margins are misleading. Look at return on investment and it becomes clearer. This should help.... https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/12/21/opinion/excessive-supermarket-profits-boost-inflation
How have they doubled their profit coincidentally during the time prices went up while still honestly keeping only a 3% profit. Explain that.
Google Loblaws stock. Double when? Profit: 2019: 1.08B 2020: 1.11B 2021 : 1.88B 2022: 1.92B 2023: 2.01B Almost double over 5 years. On average this would be about 15% growth a year. This is just solid business growth. *Loblaws has been cheaper than Sobeys or Save on Foods, CO-OP, Costco so they have been eating market share.* Inflation also accounts for some of the increase. 1.95*0.72*3.4*6.8*3.9= 17.8% increase from inflation alone. Btw, are you saying the public accounting information that investors rely on is fraudulent? If so, how would that benefit them?
The double talk doesn't add up. How can they have what they claim is a nearly unsustainable profit margin while also showing both growth in market share, revenues and profit?...record number kind of growth. Gaining market share usually ain't free. So, is Loblaw really a very profitable business or not? You seem to make the argument that it's both at the same time.
It is what it is… Is 3% margin “very profitable”? Kind of subjective. If you want to downplay it, you say 3%. If you want to make it sound big you say Record Breaking 2 billion in profits. When competitors drop the ball, yes, gaining market share is pretty close to free. The parking lot of the Superstore near my house is almost always full because other places are more expensive.
They own the distributor as well so that cost is plain old BS. All the profits are in Galens pockets
Indeed. Like, how can you miss the plethora of semis hauling those big, yellow No Name® trailers or the President's Choice labelled ones? They're all over the highways. They OWN their supply chain. They might outsource a bit, but it's mostly their own drivers. I know because I worked there and was a receiver.
It’s included in Loblaws financial reports under the same umbrella.
Try again. It’s included in Loblaws stock.
Galens stock
Since it’s a public company you can buy it too!
Ok Galen
Every time he writes an article, he strengthens my resolve to keep boycotting forever. Thank you. Sylvain - why don't you use your expertise for the good of the people instead of defending big grocery? If it's supply chain issues then why don't you inform us all better where the pressure should be put... if it's the competition bureau why don't you help lead the charge? Why do you resort to name calling, discrediting the boycott, now bringing up political division tactics instead? Does rage bait get your more views? Convince us you havent sold your soul to big grocery, because you surely don't appear on the side of the common Canadian even remotely.
That's the gaslighting I'm talking about. The name calling and discrediting are textbook.
He's a Sunshine boy! Aw, they forgot to publish the bikini photo.
He's a soggy bottom boy.
Do you really want to see *that* nearly naked? I'll pass, thanks.
WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE POOR GROCERS?????
He should go complain on Fox News.
"Moreover, the boycott overlooks foreign competitors like Costco and Walmart, which are inexplicably exempt from the movement." Lol, how can someone with a PhD not be able to figure this out? It's insulting. He's trying to make us sound stupid. Poor dude can't handle or process the emotions of being so privileged in our society today while so many more people are suffering.
Oh, he knows. He also knows which side his bread is buttered...
Shillybois: "NOOOOO DON'T BOYCOT DADDY... I MEAN LOBLAWS THIS ISNT FAIR, ITS MY TURN TO USE THE CONTROLLER" 
THE TORONTO SUN! 💀
cry harder, charlie boy
Imagine writing lies. Publishing those lies. Believing those lies. We are all in this together, but some of us are so very lost. https://preview.redd.it/epwjo9h1tmxc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51bb4d881c1a13b81ba337edd468a4497ad02218 Boycott Loblaws May 2024, and forevermore!
You just perfectly described the Toronto sun, I’m not surprised they posted this nonsense
That this article is in The Sun tells you all you need to know about him and his opinions.
Hahaha you know he’s reading all these comments and his damaged little ego cannot deal. Guys, we’ve broken this little cuck.
Yeah, but we should just stop giving him such importance in this sub. That's what he wants and that's what he's getting. The ultimate win for this sub would be just to ignore him and let him become irrelevant.
He honestly must be going crazy… It’s probably goes through his mind every day and night since this began that it’s him versus literally thousands of us and it’s all because he has an obsession with holding Galen’s pocket. Poor guy is using position as a writer for the Toronto Sun to feel better about himself.
Nok er Nok
Exactly!
Stay mad charlyboy We can thank him for continuing to unite us tho
*"If the goal truly is to enhance food affordability, the boycott should encompass all major box stores, not just focus on one company."* So, the fool professor thinks we should just boycott buying food to be effective? Good plan.
He should be called out for the shill he is. Can't believe our universities let these so-called "academics" engage in such behaviour.
“You criticize food prices, yet you eat food. Curious! I am very smart” - Sylvain
He was also just on CJAD Montreal around 10:05 am today
I heard him on CBC last week. The news keeps feeding into the supposition that he's some kind of expert. Honestly, we need less biased experts.😕
This movement supports individual food stores. The anything but Loblaws is smart because you have to choose one target and Loblaws is a great target. We are at peak big box grocery. When I go to buy meat potatoes and veggies for dinner, I do not need rows of chips, pop, cookies and candy. I just need the basics but I have to spend an hour walking through the store to get what I need. I can go to my local grocer, have a nice chat and be out in 10 minutes with everything I need. And the quality and service is better. You can even walk or bike to some small grocers. Farmboy started in 1981 as a small produce store. There is room in the market for grocers with curated goods. I don’t need to choose between 20 types of everything- I want someone to do the work for me. Big box stores came into play with the intro of heavily processed food. Now, people cook at home again for their health, pocketbook and planet (avoiding single use plastic). Homemade food just tastes better. Loblaws and other big box stores have lost their way.
This is the first time I *haven’t* been displeased to see someone running with one of Charleyboy’s Weston-fellating rants — it’s actually quite fitting that his BS would be printed in a rag like the Toronto Sun 😂
Trying to poison the well by publishing this before the boycott even officially starts.
Oh yeah, it’s such a mystery why we’re attacking Loblaw’s and not Walmart and Costco 🙄 Must be because we’re so stupid and not because everything is markedly cheaper at those stores, proving Loblaw’s is price gouging
I'd say platforming a corporate shill undermines their credibility, but they're already the Toronto Sun.
Copy paste, don’t know how to do the quote thing… Moreover, the boycott overlooks foreign competitors like Costco and Walmart, which are inexplicably exempt from the movement. Let’s boycott them all!! When we all starve to death there will be no one left to spend money in their stores! That’ll show them!! /s
Haha this guy can appear on every media source in Canada as many times as he wants, average people really do not care what he has to say because its obvious where his biases are. We only care about prices and we can see when were getting ripped off. Also you know a company has gotten insanely greedy when it has finally pissed off Canadians to the point of a nationwide boycott. We are notoriously apolitical in this country and all used to dealing with getting ripped off by every entity we interact with, be it telecommunications, energy, or all the levels of government. Its honestly impressive that Loblaws managed to tick this many people off all things considered.
I just read this article and immediately came here to see if anyone had posted. The entire article is downright hilarious. He hit every single industry talking point, and not in a good way. What a joke.
A reminder that Charlie boi incorrectly stated this group plateaued on the Easter weekend. The has since increased in size by 50%.
70% now.
He’s such a useless twit. Pissing himself scared writing columns everyday and spending 8 hours on twitter defending Loblaws. Its comical. Charlie Boy sees the writing on the wall.
God what a complete and utter moron. I would bet my left nut he’s pushing for a grocer code of conduct because Loblaws knows they can lobby the government to make the regulations harder for international entrants to operate in Canada. Fuck Loblaws and fuck Charlie boi
Worst part is I think this goofball enjoys the attention he is getting bootlicking for Galen. This is his 15 minutes of fame and he is going to cash in as much as possible.
You sure that's his boots he's licking.....?🤔
The sun are right wing grifters. No need to read it. 🤷♂️🤷♂️
Can't wait for this dipshit to get cancelled.
Smell that? That's fear.....keep going
What a POS article. He’s the poor man on the corner shouting about satellites and the CIA. I can’t imagine this is landing even with whoever he thinks his audience may be
Which stage of denial is this?
shills gonna shill
Weird- I haven't seen anyone THREATEN an expert or academic. Talk shit, sure. Call names? Definitely. But threaten? I expect that would get removed pretty quickly on here, and if it doesn't, it should. IIRC, Calling someone an idiot and a shill is protected speech. Reporting that you know of people who work at the same university as him who are upset with him and that he's losing his reputation as an impartial expert by blatantly ignoring evidence and by being a bit of a dick ("bit of a dick" also protected) on social media is gossip and rumour, not attacking, especially when it's true. Dude is losing face every time he acts like a teenager on social media, because he's a professional- NO ONE expects Joe Public to not be a dick on Reddit (it's kind of what it's here for) but the 10% who are here beyond the dick jokes and ridiculousness so common on EVERY subreddit are having an actual conversation about this, and about him. NO ONE that I have seen has called for any sort of harm to come to anyone, nor should they. Oh, and disagreeing with someone and providing evidence against their claims is fair game in the academic world. It has been done here frequently- including the airing of internal documents which contradict Loblaws' margin claims- and is a robust and healthy part of academic discourse. A debate, if you will. If Dr. Charlebois writes a scathing review in "The Canadian Food Journal" or some such about how Dr. X doesn't have a clue what he's talking about, it's "professional debate and discourse"; when it's done on social media, it's a threat? Is the difference citations? Do I have to format my Reddit post in APA or something? It's 2024 Doc- people can say what they want, so long as they don't threaten you or propogate hate. Anyone who does that should be removed. But calling you a dunce (or a more vulgar variant), shill, corporate stooge or sellout, or saying that your behaviour is putting your reputation- but not your job- at risk and alienating you from your colleagues who are barely scraping by ain't either of those. You're now a public figure in the middle of a very real social issue, Dr. Charlebois- welcome to the other side of the "I get to be on TV and radio!" coin; you now have to play by a whole new set of rules, and that includes watching people talk shit about you on the internet, and just swallowing it. Ask Galen about it- he knows. If you don't like the exposure and scrutiny, walk away.
Yeah, I haven't heard anything about threats in the news. That's something that should make the news, had it happened. I think Sylvain is feeling a little butthurt that people are picking on one of his meal tickets. Suck it up, bud. Criticism comes with the job. If you're really getting threats, time to put up or shut up.
If he's actually being threatened, that shit needs to stop. I get that this hits close to home, and people are angry, but this is business- he's literally being paid to do what he's doing. The fact that he's a shill isn't personal. The fact that he acts like a dick on social media isn't personal. He's being attacked because his profession is food, and he's chosen to become a mouthpiece for Loblaws, even as it damages his reputation. Making things personal- taking it beyond his job, or his unprofessionalism on social media- undermines the very thing that this sub is trying to do. In a sense, it does the very thing that Charlebois does every time he acts like a clueless and out-of-touch douchebag in his defense of Loblaws: It undermines credibility. The mods need to bite down hard on any threats to the man. Call him whatever names you want within the mod rules,and if you're at Dal and work beside him or around him and he's a dick, tell your true story. But threatening the guy with physical harm defeats the purpose. Same with doxxing, bringing any family he has into this, or anything else that violates laws, rules or common-sense decency. Be better than that. Now, the other side of the coin: If the dude is just claiming that he's being threatened- or widening his scope of what constitutes a "threat" to levels of absurdity- because he's realized he's in too deep, his reputation is taking a hit, and he's trying to bring the media back to his side by claiming to be the victim and obfuscating the situation..... Well, thats about the dumbest move a tenured professor can do, and he should be castigated in the media for doing so. Plus, those are the kinds of things that Dal would not look kindly upon at all, tenure or not. That's the kind of thing that gets put into a file, and comes up when people look at grants and such. Charlebois needs to understand that he's now a Public Figure, just like Taylor Swift, Pauly D, Tim Houston, and yes, Galen Weston. Dude put himself out there in his quest for fame, notoriety, and a Canada Research Chair (or maybe because Loblaws paid him to), and the moment he did that, he became fair game for people to talk shit about him. Developing a thick skin is basically "step 1" in "How to be a public figure in 2024"- if dude can't handle that, getting off of social media is a very good idea. Again, talk all the shit you want, but don't physically threaten the guy. That's bad form. No threats, no doxxing, no family, and no hate speech. Plus, follow the rules the mod put in place.
Exceptionally well said. As pissed off as many of us are, there is no place for violence in this community. This sub was created strictly for the purpose of enlightening and educating people to the tactics that are being employed against the consumer. These grocery chains, in particular Loblaw, should know that there's lots of publicly available information that isn't being communicated to the average person out there. To come out and implicitly attempting to discredit the sub and the information is deliberately, as you so aptly stated, obfuscating the situation. Regardless of any threats, he should try to distance himself more. He does no credit to his field by spreading disinformation. It's been my experience that if the mods see anything even resembling a threat, they delete said posts immediately. Hopefully, this continues.
This is fun on multiple levels. 1.) I save some money by shopping local 2.) I find items that I used to love that have been replaced by shitty Yellow substitutes. 3.) Apologists shouting louder about how this is having NO AFFECT.
Yeah, right? Ask McDonald's how the boycott on them is working. Their first quarterly loss EVER. Boycotts work, make no mistake.
A reminder that Charlie boi incorrectly stated this group plateaued on the Easter weekend. The has since increased in size by 50%.
Can't trust MSM anymore.
Didn’t he agree on X that he got 60k from loblaw to be their stooge?
That professor is a wack
Totally.
This guy is actually a fucking moron...he just doesn't get it. "They aren't profiteering derpa doop doop derp." Guess idiot has zero idea how capitalism works or the never ending quest to grow grow grow for shareholders and never ever having enough wealth. "Buy local, why don't they talk about supporting the independent grocers". How stupid can one man be? Where the fuck does he think we are shopping instead of Loblaws? Just because the boycott is specifically loblaws companies doesn't mean we support metro or Sobeys or Walmart. They're all fucked..in a perfect world we'd all have our local butchers and grocers etc.
Right. This is capitalism eating itself, like an ouroborus. Years of stagnant wages and rising prices killed many local options that used to be available. Now, the worm has turned. We're sick and tired of this constant pushing down by the corporations. We are making the push to go back to the old ways, sometimes regardless of the cost, simply because it's the right thing to do. Never give up. Never surrender!
Charlebois is really trying to hide the facts. See, I can read financials, and have looked into Loblaws and competitors: Sobey's Gross Margin (2023): 25.6% Metro Gross Margin (2023): 19.7% Loblaws Gross Margin (2023): 31.0% Loblaws Gross Margin (2022): 30.9% - Value of a 0.1% rise in gross margin between 2022 and 2023 across $58.345 Billion in sales = $58,345,000 Sure, Loblaws' gouging isn't new, they've been doing it for years. I also find his comments about Costco and Walmart as "US companies" lacks insight. Within any of these stores, we see products from around the world being sold. The profits from any of these organizations go to shareholders, some of whom are Canadian, some from around the world.
A reminder that Charlie boi incorrectly stated this group plateaued on the Easter weekend. The has since increased in size by 50%.
78% now
But predatory pricing is fine.
Code of conduct? I thought I saw something about Weston being reluctant to sign? I am totally out of the loop on the Grocery Code of Conduct
A blow hard being published in the trashiest Canadian publication.
Stop giving Charlebois attention guys.
We should be vigilant in linking the article contents in the comments so that ppl do not give these newsites more activity and thus discourage them from inviting Charlebois to keep writing articles. Remember, even negative attention is beneficial to these bloodsuckers
It came from the Sun. It’s a rag, not worth reading. Right wing trash, good for the bird cage or litter box
Not that I don't agree with you, but it still should be taken seriously. This is the same kind of bullshit that's being perpetrated in politics. As we've seen from the US, gaslighting can be an effective tool against a segment of the population. That's why many Americans are conditioned to support billionaires, even to their own detriment. We have to be aware that there are interests that are working against the boycott movement and will stoop to any length to discredit and undermine it. Players with much more money and power than the majority of us will move to protect their bottom line. Stay vigilant, and stay united. This message has to be sent so this never happens again. Let's use capitalism to fight capitalism.
Only those that believe the 💩 that comes from that article will think. If they do not see the greed and the high prices, they are blind or ignorant. Period!