Last month we explored the province of Ontario with Canada’s largest population that includes a very dense urban core. This month we will move to the prairies, where we have big open spaces and population spread across smaller cities and towns.

 

In Manitoba, Winnipeg is home to more than 50 per cent of the population. The next largest population centre Brandon, has less than five per cent of Manitoba residents. This widely dispersed population poses a challenge for food retailers. It is expensive to distribute product and operate larger numbers of smaller volume stores. We are all familiar with the decline in the small stores servicing smaller communities. People in Manitoba have certainly experienced this change to the retail landscape. In the following table we illustrate the top five cities and towns in Manitoba:

Manitoba has a diverse population. According to Stats Canada we see a number of areas where Manitoba over indexes compared to the Canadian population. The following table illustrates the Mother Tongue:

Some of the diversity is evident in the vibrant restaurant community in Winnipeg. There are many great places to eat and the variety is very good for a city of this size. Consumers are exposed to many different foods and tastes and then they want to try them at home. This can be an opportunity for producers.

 

Customers influence the buying decision

 

All of the large food retailers have a presence in Manitoba, except Metro.

 

Sobeys has been restructuring its business nationally and Manitoba has experienced changes as well. Sobeys and Safeway stores both operate in the province. The company also supplies some IGA stores and managers have indicated they plan to bring FreshCo to the western provinces to give them an option in the discount segment of the market.

 

Loblaw operates Real Canadian Superstores in Manitoba and they also supply the Extra Foods and No Frills banners. Previously, Loblaw operated Western Canada from Calgary but now it is all operated from the store support centre in Brampton, Ontario.

 

Walmart has continued to expand the number of Supercenters in the province. Walmart operates the Manitoba stores from its national office in Mississauga, however as in many Walmart markets, stores do have some autonomy to ensure they meet the needs of consumers in the market.

 

Costco has three warehouses in Manitoba. The Manitoba Costco stores are operated out of the Burnaby, B.C. Costco office. These warehouses offer similar assortments to warehouses in other regions.

 

Co op stores continue to have a presence in Manitoba. Supplied by Federated Co op, they have recently been renovating stores in Winnipeg. With some good urban locations and newer models they can compete better with the larger national chains. Co op continue to be locally owned and support local products and initiatives.

 

Recently, Overwaitea has expanded into Manitoba with three stores in Winnipeg. The stores are similar to the Save On Foods stores in other markets. It is a conventional store offering with more focus on local.

 

Your competition

 

Manitoba is unique in that vegetables produced on any farm larger than one acre, must be sold through the Manitoba Producers’ Vegetable Marketing Board, otherwise known as Peak of the Market. This method of consolidating products was legislated in 1942. The following commodities are available through Peak of the Market:

Asparagus                                                       Onions

Carrots                                                            Parsnips

Beets                                                               Red potatoes

Broccoli                                                           Russet potatoes

Cabbage                                                           Yellow potatoes

Cauliflower                                                     Rutabagas

Cucumbers                                                      Summer squash

Green peppers                                                Winter squash

 

The legislation was passed to provide producers with one place to market their products and avoid the price competition between producers that can drive selling prices down.

 

The Peak of the Market website states this is a “grower owned, ‘not for profit’ vegetable supplier and operates in Manitoba under the Farm Products Marketing Act.” The website also states that produce is sold across North America and occasionally into Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

 

The Manitoba market

 

Manitoba offers consumers modern stores as we have seen many stores renovated recently in Winnipeg. The challenge of servicing population spread across sizeable geography is still the biggest challenge.

 

If you have any questions about selling your products or developing strategies for specific customers please give me a call at (902) 489-2900 or send me an email at peter@skufood.com.   

 

WHAT’S IN STORE?

 

When was the last time you said “Thanks”?

 

Recently I had some printing done at Staples.  I picked up the box filled with the SKUFood C.A.R.T. process and when I opened it there was a note inside. Just a brief card to say “Thank you for your business.” Inside, the person who had done the printing work had signed it and written that my business was appreciated.

 

It does not always cost a lot more to do the little things that make a difference. When was the last time you thanked your customer or the people who work in the stores and merchandise your products?