Small grocers, co-ops receiving boost from Loblaw boycott: ‘A lot of anger’

The boycott of Loblaw stores in Canada is underway and while it may not have a big impact on the company’s bottom line, smaller grocers, co-ops and other businesses say they’re seeing a boost.

For Gateway Meat Market in Nova Scotia, that has meant longer lines — sometimes out the door — drilling home why their recently improved expansion was important.

Co-owner Tamara Selig told Global News amid inflation and food insecurity, the lines have extended out to the parking lot. And as calls mounted for the boycott movement against the retail giant, they’ve been hearing the anger customers are feeling.

“Definitely, the whole mentality of being able to afford groceries right now is a very sad one,” she said. “It’s causing a lot of anger and it’s really nice to see the different look on their faces when they walk in our store.”

Selig said the store runs on a “very low-profit margin” while selling a large volume, bringing in many tractor-trailer loads every day and week with no distribution centre.

It’s why, she said, they’re able to offer items like organic strawberries for $0.97 a pound. By comparison, a pound of strawberries at Atlantic Superstore in Halifax, owned by Loblaw, can often cost $5.99 or more.

The lower cost is attracting customers from outside the province.

“As long as they’re able to stock up and get a good supply, they’re more than willing to drive hours to get to us and are coming even from out of province at this point,” she said.

Karma Co-op in Toronto is another grocer seeing a boost due to the boycott, with some of it coming from online discussion.

“The primary way folks hear about us is our members talking about what we’re doing,” Karma general manager Zacharie Weingarten said. “The Loblaw boycott definitely has