Metro doubles down on shift towards more discount grocery stores

Metro, the parent company of grocery store chains Metro, Food Basics, and Super C, is making a strategic shift towards more discount grocery stores. The company plans to convert 10 Metro stores into Food Basics, a discount banner, to provide more value offerings for consumers, according to its latest earnings report. Additionally, one store will be permanently closed, along with a satellite warehouse and an e-commerce fulfillment centre in Montreal.

These changes will involve restructuring expenses, including costs related to employee terminations and facility closures.

Metro's quarterly earnings report for the three months leading up to July 4, 2026, showed a net profit of $211.3 million, a significant decrease of nearly 35% from $323 million a year earlier. The company attributes part of this decline to an ongoing labour dispute at a distribution centre in Laval, Quebec.

Eric La Flèche, Metro's president and CEO, addressed the impact of the strike on the company's results during a conference call with analysts. He emphasized that as long as the strike continues or same-store sales remain negative, the impact on profits will persist. La Flèche also hinted that the store transitions would be announced gradually to employees, without disclosing specific locations at this time.

The company confirmed that the Metro stores in Ottawa's Southgate and Toronto's 20 Church Ave. will be part of the transition to Food Basics, though no further locations have been disclosed. Metro declined to provide an estimate of the number of employees affected by these changes, stating that decisions are made on a case-by-case basis to ensure the most relevant store format for each community.

The shift towards discount grocery stores aligns with a broader trend in the retail sector, where consumers are increasingly focused on value. Other retailers, such as Dollarama and Walmart, have also seen increased sales of "consumable" products and grocery items as customers seek to maximize their purchasing power.