One of the things I noticed when I first got to BC was, despite being in the same country, that quite a few of the brands I’d been familiar with in Ontario were completely different here. Where in Ontario I’d been accustomed to stopping by a Wal-Mart to satisfy my value proposition of affordable, convenient everyday shopping, and a No Frills for groceries at a “lower food price”, here, people mostly talked about the Real Canadian Superstore and Target. People told me that Superstore was Loblaws, just under a different name, and I just didn’t get it.
Why would the same company need to go under totally different names in different regions? What’s the point of owning different labels?
After class 8 and our class on positioning, I started to understand why companies might want to rebrand to position itself in consumer’s minds a little differently.
It’s interesting how Loblaws operates in different provinces under different ‘banners‘- mostly Loblaws/ Loblaw superstore [Won’t be Beat!] in Ontario, Real Canadian Superstore [Big on fresh, low on price] in BC, and Provigo [Si vite, si bon!- So quick, so good!] in Quebec.
Loblaw-owned banners
Although Loblaw did try to bring the mass-supermarket format of Superstore to Ontario, it didn’t catch on, probably because Wal-Mart already occupies that positioning of mass variety at a cheap price, and the name Loblaw has a large history in Ontario, originating in 1919, which is not easily replaced by Superstore. Hence, No Frills is hugely popular in Ontario, as it’s top on the niche ladder of cheap groceries.
(from http://mariamauricio07.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/loblaws-341810.jpg)
(from http://www.turnerfleischer.com/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=647053eb-61c8-4a0c-be30-ce0b86f38c81)
Similarly, Loblaws is spending $100 million to revamp its market in Quebec , part of which is to change the existing Loblaw stores to Provigo Le Marché, a Quebec-based grocery store which no doubt lies in consumer’s minds as the more “authentic Quebecian supermarket” and the go-to for fast, quality shopping due to the comparitive failure of the Loblaw brand there.
Provigo
(from http://static.argent.canoe.ca/sites/argent.ca/files/styles/x544y306/public/images/article/2013-06/provigo.jpg?itok=ymeW3h-h)
BC, on the other hand, is known to be one of the most eco-conscious provinces, and hence its positioning as being the “Real Canadian superstore” emphasises local food and products in consumer’s minds, and is higher up on the sustainable local business ladder than Wal-Mart would be, and hence more successful.
(from http://lansdowneplace.com/images/uploads/stores/1001-Real-Canadian-Superstore.jpg)
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