Loblaws buys T&T
 

From today's Globe and Mail:

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Loblaw buys Asian grocery chain

Marina Strauss

Globe and Mail Update
Last updated on Friday, Jul. 24, 2009 10:02AM EDT


Loblaw Cos. Ltd. (L-T35.36-0.39-1.09%) is buying Canada's biggest Asian food retailer for $225-million, allowing the grocer to extend its offerings to what it says is the country's largest growing customer segment.

Loblaw said Friday T&T Supermarket Inc., which runs 17 stores in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, will operate as a separate division.

“Some of our customers have a nickname for us – The Asian Loblaw,” Cindy Lee, chief executive officer of T&T , said in a statement.

The move came as Loblaw, the country's largest grocer, said that its second-quarter profit rose almost 38 per cent to $193-million or 70 cents a share from $140-million or 51 cents a share a year earlier. Sales rose 2.8 per cent to $7.2-billion from $7-billion.

But Loblaw executive chairman Galen G. Weston also warned that the second half of the year will be tougher for the company – and profit and sale will probably be “significantly challenged.”

“This quarter's improvement in earnings was largely cost and gross margin driven,” Mr. Weston said. “This is a trend that we do not expect to continue. We have consistently said that the second half of this year would be by far the toughest, and with market volumes in decline, inflation dropping off, intensified competitive activity and a substantial ramp up in our infrastructure and renovation programs, we expect sales and margins to be significantly challenged.”

The company's latest results were helped by increased food prices, although the chain's internal food inflation rate dropped from the first quarter. And while the retailer's food and drug-store sales were strong, its private label Joe Fresh Style apparel business saw just “modest growth” while other non-food merchandise sales continued to drop.

Loblaw beat analysts' second-quarter forecast of a profit of 56 cents a share, helped by strong gross profit margins and a low tax rate. However, sales didn't meet analysts target of $7.32-billion, according to a ThomsonOne Analytics survey.

“All in all it's a good quarter,” said David Hartley, managing director of equity research at BMO Nesbitt Burns.

The T&T acquisition is expected to boost Loblaw's bid to expand into the burgeoning ethnic food market, Mr. Hartley added. “To be there is very important and it's getting bigger every day.”

Loblaw has been bolstering its ethnic food offerings at its discount No Frills supermarkets over the past several years, and is now adding No Frills stores in Western Canada. The stores cater to ethnic consumers with an emphasis on fresh produce such as karela and okra.

Now, Mr. Weston said, the T&T takeover will be used “to help Loblaw extend its ethnic offerings to better serve Canada's largest growing customer segment.”

Loblaw looks forward to “continued growth and effectively serving Asian food to even more families across Canada,” said Ms. Lee, T&T's CEO.

Loblaw is targeting a market whose households spend up to 23 per cent more on groceries than others in Canada, according to data last year.

They are members of the fast-growing South Asian and Chinese Canadian communities, and they account for about one-third – or $5.7-million – of grocery spending in Toronto and Vancouver, a study last year by market researcher Solutions Research Group found.

It found that South Asian Canadians spend $154 a week on their groceries, or 23 per cent more than an average household in Toronto and Vancouver.

Loblaw's No Frills has copied elements of T&T of Richmond, B.C., which is considered a westernized version of Chinatown shops carrying live crabs and barbecued duck in bright, wide-aisled stores.

More recently, T&T started to branch out to South Asian goods, such as coconut milk and instant fried noodles with chili.

Loblaw said that it expects the T&T deal to close before the end of its fiscal year, and that it will add to its bottom line in the first year after the closing.

It said $191-million of the $225-million purchase price will be paid in cash and the rest through preferred shares issued by T&T, the value of which will be tied to the latter's future performance.

Loblaw also said it is making progress in its turnaround efforts after faltering a few years ago in a botched restructuring. Mr. Weston took the helm then, aided by Allan Leighton, a British businessman and long time adviser to the Weston family, which controls the grocer.

More to come.
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cool

great..so it's not Taiwanese owned anymore

Hope that this doesn't take away from T&T's product line.

this might give t&t more buying power

what does that mean? lower costs making for higher profit margins =)

Seems like a good move

good to see

Does this mean T&T will no longer sell expired products as "sale" items?

lol, isnt that what the clearance bin at superstore is for haha

Most of it is 50% off stickers now. Not sure if it's still going on, but the store I go to had single cans of pop for like 49 cents.

Just called my buddy who manages one of the stores and they are having a meeting now.

Gay, the white man is taking back power

I always dig through the clearance bin...it's filled with goodies!

Update:

Meeting was just over.

Nothing much will change the way T&T does their business.

Good thing is that my buddy will get a fat bonus at the end of the year:thumbsup:

Definitely interesting...

Will be interesting to see how this plays out. Stuff at T&T will definitely change over time as Loblaws streamlines the store.

Superstore sells perishable items that are expiring in a day or two for like 50% off.

Lol...cheapasses unite

yes,

expiring,

and T&T does the "expired" sale.

You wont believe some of the shit people bought there.

I love showing up after 6 and buying all the old-ass sushi and BBQ meats for like half off.

are you guys really that fucking cheap that you want to save one to five dollars and risk food poisoning?

jesus, they were wrong about the jews.

don't you forget it :thumbsup:

T&T has a lot of white guys shopping in it too

Overwaitea & Safeway are probably not too happy about this acquisition given that they are already struggling with Walmart and Superstore's low price approach.

i always though safeway as expensive compared to everything else, but yes they better not fuck with the tnt product line. but is osaka in yohan a part of tnt?

How places that sell the same grocer but charges a premium survives is beyond me. Places like Safeway and IGA, why do ppl even go there when they know they'll get raped?