Empire pausing plans for Vancouver facility

Sobeys owner says e-commerce growing slower than predicted

- SAMMY HUDES

The CEO of Empire, which owns Sobeys, FreshCo and the Voilà service, said the company hoped "rapid growth" in grocery e-commerce would compensate for the initial operating losses at the fulfilment centres.

Grocery company Empire Co. Ltd. is pausing the opening of a fourth customer fulfilment centre in Vancouver, citing a smaller e-commerce market for groceries in Canada than the company anticipated when it launched its Voilà online delivery platform in 2020.

Empire president and chief executive Michael Medline said the company is losing more money than it had initially estimated when launching its first three warehouses in the Greater Toronto and Montreal areas, along with Rocky View County, Alta.

“This is actually masking the strength of our bricks and mortar business,” he told analysts on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Thursday.

Medline said Empire had planned a phased timeline for opening its various fulfilment centres, which was designed to protect its profitability levels. He said the company hoped “rapid growth” in grocery ecommerce would compensate for the initial operating losses at the fulfilment centres.

But all three existing warehouses are still losing money, said chief financial officer Matt Reindel.