The parent company of Ottawa-based grocery chain Farm Boy says it plans to convert another Sobeys store in the capital to a Farm Boy next year.
Empire Company Ltd., which also owns the Sobeys and Safeway grocery chains, says the Sobeys at 1581 Greenbank Rd. in Nepean will be one of the national supermarket chain’s three Sobey and Sobeys Urban Fresh locations in Ontario that will be rebranded as Farm Boys in 2021, along with stores in Toronto and Oakville.
The stores will close this fall and reopen under the Farm Boy banner next year.
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“Farm Boy’s unrivalled fresh food offer and popular private label brand have connected tremendously with customers in Ontario,” Empire president and CEO Michael Medline said in a statement on Thursday.
“This format is a clear winner for us and is part of our Project Horizon commitment to grow market share and optimize our store network over the next three years.”
Empire says it plans to add about 20 new Farm Boy locations in Ontario as part of a $2.1-billion, three-year plan for its wider retail portfolio. The Nova Scotia-based company, which closed its acquisition of Farm Boy in late 2018, says it plans to build and renovate stores, expand its e-commerce offering and grow its private label portfolio as it drives to add $500 million in annualized earnings.
The company says Farm Boy is on track to have 43 stores in the province by the end of 2021. Farm Boy is in various stages of development on more than 25 new stores in Ontario, a mixture of new builds and conversion sites that will range in size from 12,000 square feet to 38,000 square feet.
