Why It Matters
Delivering for our customers is integral to who we are and what we do as a national grocer and retailer—which is why we aim to put our customers first in everything we do. We’re committed to exceptional customer shopping and food experiences every day. And we strive to find new and compelling ways to engage customers as our partners in progress towards building a more sustainable future.
Analyst Spotlight Fiscal 2022 Performance Highlight
43 new urban beekeeping sites added in fiscal 2022 in partnership with Alvéole, taking total number of stores with urban bees to 50.
5M litres of water saved thanks to customers purchasing fresh herbs from Infarm vertical farms in our stores.
Our Approach
Over 115 years of operation, delivering for our customers has been core to our values and our business strategy. Customers look to us for reliable value, exceptional experiences and innovative solutions that make shopping easier and more delightful. We work hard to meet these expectations and deliver on our customer commitments every day.
In fiscal 2022 we continued to face COVID-19-related challenges that affected our customer experience and engagement approach. In addition to responding to staffing impacts (see Employee Development & Experience) and ongoing health and safety issues (see Health, Safety & Wellness), we continued to see supply chain impacts and inflationary pressures on costs. As we have since the start of the pandemic, we are addressing these challenges by collaborating with our industry and supplier partners to think creatively about our supply chains and ensure we can continue to offer the goods and services our customers expect at great value. We also continue to find ways to fulfill at-home shopping options for our customers—a trend that accelerated during the pandemic and continues to gather momentum.
Delivering sustainable value and exceptional experiences for our customers is foundational to our in-flight business strategy, Project Horizon (see About Us). In addition to an ongoing national program of in-store renovations, one of our major areas of focus as a business is expanding our e-commerce offerings. In fiscal 2022 we accelerated plans for our remaining two Voilà e-commerce Customer Fulfillment Centres (CFCs)—for a total of four CFCs across Canada. In addition, we are investing in spoke facilities that will integrate with our CFCs in the years ahead to make our e-commerce offerings available to over three-quarters of Canadian households.
We expanded our Voilà home-delivery service to customers in Montreal in fiscal 2022, and we added more Voilà curbside pick-up locations in Central, Western and Atlantic Canada, serving customers in areas where our CFCs will not operate or are not yet operating. As we expand, our e-commerce platform is delivering strong results for on-time order fulfillment and customer satisfaction.
We also continue to help our customers make more sustainable choices when they shop with us. This includes growing our Own Brands portfolio with new and more innovative options for customers, helping them access foods and goods that are great value and better for our suppliers and the planet (see Product Safety & Quality, Health & Nutrition, Ethical & Sustainable Sourcing, Supplier Partners). It also means an ongoing focus on customer engagement and education. For example, in fiscal 2022 we continued to shine a spotlight on sustainable behaviours and options through OurPartTM, our customer-facing sustainability storytelling platform. We also delivered customer-facing campaigns focused on reducing food waste (see Food Waste) and making more sustainable purchasing choices. Additionally, we continued to expand technology-based innovations that enrich our customers’ experiences, including expanding the availability of EV chargers at our stores in Quebec and rolling out more in-store farming programs in several stores across the country.
Highlights
Delivering Over One Million Vaccinations to Customers
In March 2022, our pharmacy group achieved the milestone of delivering over one million COVID-19 vaccinations to eligible Canadians. In addition to playing a critical role in keeping our communities healthy and safe during the pandemic, this achievement represents tremendous collaboration, innovation and overarching dedication from our teammates. Other ways the pharmacy team stepped up to help keep our customers safe include:
- Launching a new, industry-leading online appointment booking system
- Offering a range of COVID-19 testing options to customers, including a BorderPass Kit for travellers along with rapid antigen and in-store PCR tests
- Volunteering at a large-scale vaccination clinic in Calgary dedicated to Indigenous people
- Offering pop-up clinics in addition to in-store options to enable all our teammates from coast to coast to get vaccinated
Empowering Our Teammates to CARE
In fiscal 2022 we completed the national implementation of our CARE (Customers Always Receive Excellence) Program. CARE is one of our required training programs for teammates, including annual recertification and recognition through awards for high performers. The program is delivering results, leading to measurable improvements across a range of customer experience and engagement metrics.
Expanding Healthcare Options
To increase access to timely healthcare for customers in Nova Scotia, our pharmacy group has partnered with Nova Scotia Health to open two pharmacist-led walk-in clinics in Truro and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Located in our Lawtons Drugs stores, the clinics offer an alternative for patients who would otherwise seek non-urgent care in an emergency department for health concerns that could be treated by the Lawtons pharmacy team. The healthcare professionals in-store can assess, treat and prescribe medications for a variety of minor illnesses, including acne, seasonal allergies, indigestion, eczema and minor joint pain. This mutually beneficial partnership is improving healthcare access in rural communities.
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We’re also creating customer value through our commitment to reduce plastics, source our products responsibly, partner with local and innovative suppliers and ensure the quality and safety of every product we sell.
As a family nurturing families, we want to ensure Canadians are taken care of today, tomorrow and in the future. By doing OurPart™ for the environment, we hope to inspire our customers to do theirs. Every step we take together—big or small—can make a difference.
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