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Empire closes Longo’s acquisition, sets new FreshCo locations

Sobeys parent adds new fresh market chain and grows discount grocery banner

Russell Redman

May 13, 2021

3 Min Read
Empire_Company-FreshCo-Longos-storefronts.jpg
So far in fiscal 2021, Empire has opened 15 FreshCo stores. The Longo's deal includes the chain's 36 stores in Ontario and Grocery Gateway e-commerce business.Empire Company Ltd.

Empire Company Ltd., the parent of Sobeys Inc., has closed its acquisition of a majority stake in fellow Canadian grocer Longo’s and announced new locations for its FreshCo discount supermarket banner.

Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based Empire said this week it completed the $357 million (Canadian) purchase of 51% of Longo’s issued and outstanding shares, based on a total enterprise value of $700 million. Five years after the transaction, Longo’s shareholders will have an option to sell up to a 12.25% interest to Empire per year, and 10 years after the deal, Empire and Longo’s have options for outstanding minority shares. The Longo family plans to remain long-term shareholders in the business, Empire reported.

Unveiled in March, the acquisition includes Longo’s 36 fresh grocery stores in Ontario and Grocery Gateway e-commerce arm. Empire said the Longo’s stores join its Ontario supermarket network, which includes the Sobeys, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo, Price Chopper and Farm Boy banners. Grocery Gateway, which serves 70,000 customers, is slated to operate as a stand-alone business and collaborate with Empire’s Voilà online grocery service.

“We are so pleased to officially welcome Longo’s and Grocery Gateway into the Empire family,” Empire President and CEO Michael Medline said in a statement. “For more than 65 years, the Longo family and their talented team have served the GTA [greater Toronto area] market, establishing their brands, customer experience and private label as best in class. We know the Longo’s and Grocery Gateway business will continue to succeed under the [current] leadership of Anthony Longo as president and CEO and his management team. The Longo’s culture is so closely aligned with Empire, and our teams will work together to ensure this partnership thrives and that we unlock meaningful benefits for our businesses.”

Related:Sobeys parent Empire to acquire majority stake in Longo’s

Also this week, Empire said three more FreshCo stores will open late this year or early next year in Alberta at Jasper Gates and Lewis Estates in Edmonton and in downtown Fort McMurray. The locations — one Safeway and two Sobeys supermarkets, respectively — are expected to close in the fiscal 2022 second quarter for remodeling to the FreshCo banner and then reopen by the end of the fourth quarter.

Empire said it has opened 15 FreshCo stores in fiscal 2021, in line with its goal to open 10 to 15 locations per year under the company’s Project Horizon strategic growth plan.

“Customers in Alberta are welcoming FreshCo with open arms, thrilled to see a new and fresh discount option in their local markets,” Mike Venton, general manager for discount formats at Sobeys, Empire’s food retail subsidiary, said in a statement. “Our team of frontline leaders and store teammates in the West is committed to continue opening stores that deliver on our freshness, price and in-stock guaranteed promises. The customer response to our entry into the market gives us great confidence in our brand and marketing strategies.”

Related:Sobeys reaches milestone in FreshCo expansion plan

With the three new FreshCo stores, Empire has now confirmed 40 of the approximately 65 planned locations in Western Canada, including 12 in Alberta.

In December 2017, Empire unveiled plans to convert underperforming Safeway and Sobeys supermarkets in Western Canada — roughly 25% of the banners’ 255 locations in the region — to FreshCo outlets over the following five years. The first FreshCo opened in Western Canada in April 2019, in Mission, British Columbia. Since then, the company has opened 16 FreshCo stores in British Columbia, six in Manitoba, four in Saskatchewan and two in Alberta.

Empire said it expects to have all of the 40 FreshCo locations confirmed to date open in Western Canada by the end of fiscal 2022, passing the halfway mark in its store conversion plan.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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