The new Loblaw No Name grocery store opened in Windsor, Ontario, on Thursday. After browsing through the aisles, one shopper had a lot of thoughts.
User ICantGetPowerBackOn shared an honest review of the discount supermarket on Reddit.
“No Name Stores is just a No Frills Box store” reads the post’s title.
“Some people, including me, had the opportunity to go into this new No Name Windsor store today and the verdict is… don’t waste your time,” they wrote.
Not a great start.
If you’re unaware, in late August, Loblaw announced it would pilot a new concept of “value-based” No Name grocery stores in parts of Ontario.
Based on the grocer’s distinctive line of bright yellow generic brand products, the discount store promises to help customers save up to 20% on everyday groceries and household essentials by lowering operating costs and carrying only a targeted assortment of products.
A No Name grocery store that opened in Windsor, Ontario, on Thursday (Crystal Meloche, mayor of the Town of LaSalle/Facebook)
The Windsor location is at the Windsor Crossings Premium Outlet Mall, near the US border.
ICantGetPowerBackOn likens it to “Box by No Frills,” an offshoot of the discount chain that seems to have existed around 10 years ago. Daily Hive found a couple of articles on it from 2013 and 2014, which described it as a small-format store with “rock-bottom prices.”
“[It’s] where obsolete inventory goes to die,” recalled the Redditor. “[The No Name store] has the exact same format feel.”
They said a handful of customers were comparing pricing from one store to the next and that there was an average 1% to 19% difference on various items, “but it’s bottom-of-the-barrel things.”
“The dry grocery was okay but nothing I would say ‘start-the-car’ worthy,” reads the review.
Crystal Meloche, mayor of the Town of LaSalle/Facebook
According to Loblaw, the No Name store has a limited selection of 1,300 products, including a small range of frozen food items, pantry staples, household necessities, shelf-stable bakery items, and produce items like bread and apples.
One thing the shopper really liked about the store is that there was no trace of self-checkout counters.
“There were roughly six registers, and there was a Canadian working behind every one of them, eliminating the need for self-checkout automation,” the Redditor wrote.
From a personal perspective, ICantGetPowerBackOn says the store is “lipstick on a pig.”
“They took a format that was in Western Canada eight years ago (which failed) and brought it here to Ontario to see if it can be brought back to life,” reads the review.
Crystal Meloche, mayor of the Town of LaSalle/Facebook
From a customer perspective, the Redditor says the savings are not worth the drive to the discount store.
They added that there is no added value for the consumer —”it’s a value brand priced the same way as a national brand item.”
“From my initial walk though, it looks like a place where COVID overstock goes to die when they told suppliers to ramp up production,” the shopper ended the review.
Canadians chimed in with their thoughts in the comments.
Several people wondered why Loblaw created a new discount store when it already had No Frills.
“Why waste money on entirely new stores when you have No Frills? Just lower the prices,” reads one reply.
Others think the grocer is just trying to pacify consumers.
“I think this is more to please the politics than anything else: ‘We’re trying to provide a ‘value solution’ to Canadians, but nobody came. They like paying high prices for groceries for the experience. So please stop asking us to make groceries cheaper. There’s nothing we can do,’” reads another comment.
In an email response to Daily Hive, a Loblaw spokesperson said No Name stores are “an entirely different shopping experience” from No Frills, citing the 20% savings on groceries and household products.
“Reaction to the first location has been very positive, and we’d urge anyone who is curious about the new format to check it out,” stated the spokesperson.
Besides Windsor, No Name grocery stores will also be piloted in St. Catharines and Brockville.