Grocery giant Loblaws’ corporate Twitter account has been tweeting up a storm over the past few days in response to allegations that it’s unfairly hiking prices on Canadian consumers.
A price freeze on No Name products came to an end on Tuesday and the Loblaw Companies Twitter account has taken to social media to cite food inflation as the reason behind hiking prices.
In one tweet responding to University of Ottawa associate professor Yoni Freedhoff, the official Loblaws account blamed manufacturers for charging higher prices on products.
“Loblaws’ no name price freeze ends today and despite soaring profits have the gall to state they can’t help but raise prices cuz inflation. Listen, you’re a for profit company so do what you want but spare us the bullsh**tery,” tweeted Freedhoff.
“While we may be the face of food inflation but we are certainly not the cause. Food prices are higher in our stores simply because the manufacturers who make the products are charging more for them,” responded Loblaws.
That same message was echoed in another tweet which blamed “big cost increases from vendors.”
“We froze prices to help customers at a time they needed it most. Food inflation continues and we’re seeing a lot of big cost increases from vendors, but hundreds of no name products will not go up,” wrote the company account.
In another tweet about high produce prices at Loblaws stores, the company claimed that their prices were competitive compared to other grocery stores.
“We would say our prices are competitive when compared to other major grocers. We try to offer a wide range of products and locations to meet a variety of needs, but we also encourage you to shop where you feel most comfortable,” said Loblaws.
The company also claimed that it makes less than $4 on a $100 grocery bill.
“We get it. It’s easy to blame grocers for higher grocery prices. But on a $100 grocery bill, our profit is less than $4,” wrote Loblaws.
Loblaws is going on the offensive as politicians in Ottawa question the company’s business practices during high inflation and as Canadians face rising costs of living. In November, it was revealed that top grocers, including Loblaws posted record profits in 2022 as inflation was ramping up throughout Canada.
In the first half of 2022 Loblaws beat records by $180 million, according to research by Dalhousie University.
In 2018, Loblaws admitted to a bread price-fixing scheme after it was found that chains had “regularly increased prices on a coordinated basis.” Additionally, the company was also ordered to pay back $368 million in unpaid taxes that same year.
