One of Canada’s biggest grocery store chains is taking steps to help shoppers battle inflation.
Loblaw Companies Ltd., announced Monday it’s freezing prices on all of its No Name products until Jan. 31 of next year. The No Name brand includes more than 1,500 grocery items.
In a letter to customers, Loblaw chairman and president Galen G. Weston said the price of an average basket of groceries is up about 10 per cent this year, with some items like apples, soup and chips up even more.
He says “maddeningly,” much of the increase is out of the company’s control as food suppliers pass on higher costs to Loblaw.
Weston says while the grocery chain is pushing back against unfair price increases, most are reasonable and stem from increases in basic costs for suppliers.
He says that’s why Loblaw has decided to focus on what it can control and is locking in No Name prices and promising more deals in the weeks ahead to provide relief from escalating food costs.
— With files from The Canadian Press