Wal-Mart opens first of seven Supercenters in Ontario
Wal-Mart opens first of seven Supercenters in Ontario
Wal-Mart has entered the retail produce fray with the opening of seven Supercenters in Ontario.
Company officials from Wal-Mart Canada Corp., which is part of the firm's international division, told The Produce News that the first three Supercenters were opened Nov. 8 in Stouffville, London and Ancaster. Another four have opened in Sarnia, Scarborough, Vaughn and Brampton since.
"We will have 28 Supercenters this year," said Greg Maffey, one of Wal-Mart Canada's two produce buyers. "We have 21 more opening this year. Ten will be expansions, 10 will be new and one will be a 'relo' store," which he explained would entail taking an existing discount store, closing it and then reopening it as a Supercenter in a nearby location.
"We're also going to be outside of Ontario, and we will be opening up in Alberta as well," added Sam Silvestro, Wal-Mart Canada's divisional merchandising manager for fresh items, who oversees the firm's produce, meat, seafood, bakery and deli operations in its 284 stores across the country.
Mr. Silvestro said that Wal-Mart was currently sourcing produce "third party" in Ontario and was pulling "seven days a week" from the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto. "We will be using a third party out of Alberta as well," he said.
"We will absolutely be focusing on the local deal, and we will be buying local produce whenever possible, depending on which commodities are available," Mr. Maffey said. "Now that summer is coming up, we will be focusing on the Ontario deal, and when we move out west, we will be doing the same thing with local product in Alberta."
"We have a huge greenhouse deal up here, and we're using as much [Canadian] greenhouse product as humanly possible that we can up here," Mr. Silvestro added, noting that it was sourced primarily from Ontario and British Columbia.
"What we're really trying to do is to focus on the customer in our trading area," Mr. Silvestro said. "Toronto is a pretty diverse city, and we've tried to diversify all our food offerings, not just in produce but throughout the whole food section, which is approximately 20 percent of the sales floor. We've tried to make sure that they are 'stores of the community.' Greg and our other buyer, Sean McCauley, have done an excellent job in making sure that we have done our homework and making sure that we've bought the products that the 'store of the community' requires."
Mr. Silvestro said that produce departments in the Supercenters, which on average carry about 450 SKUs, would offer items that varied by locations and would be targeted to the different ethnic backgrounds of the surrounding neighborhoods.
"For example, in the Brampton store, it is focused more on the east Indian market, and we sell a lot of okra," karela, which they both described as a "spiny cucumber" and which is often called bitter melon, garlic and ginger, Mr. Maffey said.
"In Scarborough, we have another ethnic market with an Asian population and we sell a lot of sno peas, the choys -- Bok Choy and Muy Choy -- and, when in season, pomelos," he added.
Wal-Mart Canada is also focusing on organics in the Supercenters, and Mr. Maffey said, "We've tried to come to the market with a broad variety to satisfy all the customers' needs with organics."
Mr. Silvestro said that organics accounted for about 10 percent of the produce offerings, and Wal-Mart is working on increasing that. "Whenever it's available, we're trying to carry it." One of its more popular organic items is a one-pound spring mix.
"We're really trying to work on the convenience factor, and we have an excellent cut-fruit and cut-vegetable program that we continue to experiment with," Mr. Silvestro said. "Along with that, we are using sustainable packaging that is corn-based, so it is all biodegradable."
"We also introduced a program to fit our customers' needs called 'Joe's Tasty Travel,'" which was developed by Mr. Maffey, who described the program's products as prepackaged, bulk nut and dried fruit mixes available in both conventional and organic and packaged in resealable bags that allow for "grab-and-go and stay fresh. They are being rolled out to our other discount stores on a smaller SKU basis."
He said, "Our customers have responded very well to the merchandising we have done for the 'store of the community.' We seem to have exceeded our customers' expectations with this."
Company officials from Wal-Mart Canada Corp., which is part of the firm's international division, told The Produce News that the first three Supercenters were opened Nov. 8 in Stouffville, London and Ancaster. Another four have opened in Sarnia, Scarborough, Vaughn and Brampton since.
"We will have 28 Supercenters this year," said Greg Maffey, one of Wal-Mart Canada's two produce buyers. "We have 21 more opening this year. Ten will be expansions, 10 will be new and one will be a 'relo' store," which he explained would entail taking an existing discount store, closing it and then reopening it as a Supercenter in a nearby location.
"We're also going to be outside of Ontario, and we will be opening up in Alberta as well," added Sam Silvestro, Wal-Mart Canada's divisional merchandising manager for fresh items, who oversees the firm's produce, meat, seafood, bakery and deli operations in its 284 stores across the country.
Mr. Silvestro said that Wal-Mart was currently sourcing produce "third party" in Ontario and was pulling "seven days a week" from the Ontario Food Terminal in Toronto. "We will be using a third party out of Alberta as well," he said.
"We will absolutely be focusing on the local deal, and we will be buying local produce whenever possible, depending on which commodities are available," Mr. Maffey said. "Now that summer is coming up, we will be focusing on the Ontario deal, and when we move out west, we will be doing the same thing with local product in Alberta."
"We have a huge greenhouse deal up here, and we're using as much [Canadian] greenhouse product as humanly possible that we can up here," Mr. Silvestro added, noting that it was sourced primarily from Ontario and British Columbia.
"What we're really trying to do is to focus on the customer in our trading area," Mr. Silvestro said. "Toronto is a pretty diverse city, and we've tried to diversify all our food offerings, not just in produce but throughout the whole food section, which is approximately 20 percent of the sales floor. We've tried to make sure that they are 'stores of the community.' Greg and our other buyer, Sean McCauley, have done an excellent job in making sure that we have done our homework and making sure that we've bought the products that the 'store of the community' requires."
Mr. Silvestro said that produce departments in the Supercenters, which on average carry about 450 SKUs, would offer items that varied by locations and would be targeted to the different ethnic backgrounds of the surrounding neighborhoods.
"For example, in the Brampton store, it is focused more on the east Indian market, and we sell a lot of okra," karela, which they both described as a "spiny cucumber" and which is often called bitter melon, garlic and ginger, Mr. Maffey said.
"In Scarborough, we have another ethnic market with an Asian population and we sell a lot of sno peas, the choys -- Bok Choy and Muy Choy -- and, when in season, pomelos," he added.
Wal-Mart Canada is also focusing on organics in the Supercenters, and Mr. Maffey said, "We've tried to come to the market with a broad variety to satisfy all the customers' needs with organics."
Mr. Silvestro said that organics accounted for about 10 percent of the produce offerings, and Wal-Mart is working on increasing that. "Whenever it's available, we're trying to carry it." One of its more popular organic items is a one-pound spring mix.
"We're really trying to work on the convenience factor, and we have an excellent cut-fruit and cut-vegetable program that we continue to experiment with," Mr. Silvestro said. "Along with that, we are using sustainable packaging that is corn-based, so it is all biodegradable."
"We also introduced a program to fit our customers' needs called 'Joe's Tasty Travel,'" which was developed by Mr. Maffey, who described the program's products as prepackaged, bulk nut and dried fruit mixes available in both conventional and organic and packaged in resealable bags that allow for "grab-and-go and stay fresh. They are being rolled out to our other discount stores on a smaller SKU basis."
He said, "Our customers have responded very well to the merchandising we have done for the 'store of the community.' We seem to have exceeded our customers' expectations with this."
