As Toronto residents grapple with the soaring cost of living and rising food inflation, grocery giants, including Loblaws, continue to face criticism for reasons ranging from the outrageous profits raked in by its shareholders to its exorbitantly priced items.
The supermarket chain came under fire again this week after a local resident shared a shocking sticker find on a Leslieville neighbourhood Facebook page.
The image shows a pack of fresh lamb shoulder shops that were purchased at a Loblaws location just off Victoria Park Avenue and Gerrard Street East.
In another image, the customer peels back the product’s sticker, revealing that it was once priced at $9.32 despite now selling for $13.17. Some local residents pooled in the comments section under the post to accuse the grocery giant of price gouging its products.
The customer revealed the product’s original price after peeling back the sticker.
Others pointed out that the issue is not exclusive to Loblaws, and that many other supermarket chains across the country also inflate their prices.
“The price and weight remain the same. Looks like they hope we don’t do the math,” one person wrote under the post.
“Is it possible that they were on sale in last week’s flyer? Their sales always run Thursday to Wednesday, so they probably just switched them back to regular price this morning,” another comment reads.
Loblaws also came under fire last month after a customer purchased a Pacific salmon pie from a store in Ottawa that was covered in mould and slapped with a discount sticker.
Loblaws in Ontario under fire for slapping discount on item covered in mould https://t.co/3r7r0lbcry
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 4, 2024
Aside from its sky-high prices, The Westons — who are owners of George Weston Ltd., which in turn owns Loblaw Companies Ltd. — received heavy criticism earlier this year after the staggering amounts they earned in dividends were revealed.
George Weston CEO Galen Weston Jr. and co. took in roughly CAD 45.2 million thanks to their Toronto-based investment arm, Wittington Investments, which saw “soaring profits,” according to an article from The Times.