You guys do know that the Safeway real estate division makes more money than their groceries + pharmacies combined right? It is the land that their stores are sitting on that is attractive, a lot of them are sitting on really high traffic areas in the Lower Mainland eg Commercial and Broadway, Willingdon and Hastings. No matter how great and expensive Whole Foods or Jimmy's Urban Fare do.. they can't compete with safeway on the properties they own.

No use comparing the stores with car brands as it misses the temporal aspects.. more like assets of established families.. Safeway would be old money, Whole Foods etc nouveau rich but will need to do really extraordinary to match old money,