Sobeys owner expects more sales at full-service stores

CEO points to improved consumer sentiment as inflation begins to ease

- ROSA SABA

Empire Co. Ltd. is planning for sunnier economic times on the horizon, as the parent company of Sobeys says it’s continuing to see the sales gap between its discount and full-service stores narrow.

The company’s growing FreshCo discount banner has been a “home run” for Empire, said president and CEO Michael Medline on a conference call with analysts discussing the company’s latest earnings on Thursday.

“But having said that, we are increasingly confident that full-service is about to come into its day again, and we want to be there for our customers,” he said. “So we’re looking at ensuring that we’re going to be taking market share in the next few years, as the economy hopefully improves a little bit.”