No Frills (grocery store)
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| Type | Supermarket |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | East York, Ontario |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Bakery, beer, dairy, deli, frozen foods, gasoline (select locations), general grocery, general merchandise, liquor (select locations), meat & poultry, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks |
| Parent | Loblaw Companies Ltd. |
| Website | http://www.shopnofrills.ca/ |
No frills is a chain of franchised "hard discount" grocery stores currently located in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, that are owned by Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited.
The early no frills stores mostly sold only no frills' No Name products (probably the first supermarket to do this in Canada). The franchise was widely expanded in the 1990s by Loblaw Companies Limited, which also operates several other chains of supermarkets, including Loblaws.
The company operated a few stores in the Buffalo, New York, area in the United States, as well as in Gloversville, New York, but these closed after Loblaw Companies' U.S. chain was sold in the mid-1970s.
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[edit] History
Initially, No Name products were branded in yellow and black packaging (the product name in black letters on yellow), without any graphics or product photography to cut down product cost. This went against the prevailing assumptions of marketers about how to attract customers.
Loblaws had introduced the successful better-quality President's Choice products in the middle to late 1980s with higher quality graphic design on their packaging. It started redesigning the No Name products packaging right afterwards. No Name product packaging went from the minimalistic look of the 1970s and early 1980s, to including abstract production illustrations in the 1990s, to (more recently) photos of the products as seen today, all the while maintaining the well-branded yellow colour the brand is known for.
In the 1980s, regular national brands were introduced as part of the stores' offerings, and in the 1990s, the President's Choice line of products was introduced from Loblaws. There was originally little public association between no frills and Loblaws even though they were owned by the same company. George Weston Limited, which owned both companies, may have wanted to separate the markets. no frills was geared towards budget-conscious consumers, while Loblaws was geared towards more middle class and well-to-do consumers.
[edit] Pricing
In order to maintain low prices, no frills customers are expected to bag their own groceries. This practice eliminates the additional paid staff who would traditionally perform this service. Shoppers are also expected to bring their own bags in order to save the store expense of plastic bags, although they are available for purchase. As an alternative, product shipping boxes are provided to the customers to use to transport their groceries, further reducing the need for plastic bags.
no frills gained a large share of the ethnic consumer market in the Toronto area for the grocery business when Knob Hill Farms went out of business.[citation needed] A huge part of Knob Hill Farms' customer base was ethnic consumers. Some no frills buildings were previously Knob Hill Farms locations. no frills also advertises on the multicultural television stations in the Toronto area as did Knob Hill Farms.
In Quebec, similar stores are branded as Maxi. A recent store has opened in the city of Vancouver in a former Extra Foods store that was converted.
In the late 1990s, A&P Canada introduced Food Basics, a discount grocery store to compete directly with no frills. Sobeys, another competitor of Loblaws, introduced Price Chopper stores to compete in the discount grocery market.
Until the end of 2007, all item prices finished with a 7 (0.97, 1.97, 2.97...) Even if some of the prices remain with the 7 at the end, most now finish with a 9 (0.99, 1.99, 2.99...) like most stores.
[edit] Locations
[edit] Alberta
11 locations:
[edit] British Columbia
1 location:
[edit] Ontario
150 locations:
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