Sales of U.S. products ‘dropping’ at Empire-owned grocers amid tariff uncertainty

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The CEO of Empire Co. Ltd. Groceries are witnessing products from the United States “a rapid decrease” as shoppers are looking to support the Canadian economy and avoid the possible effects of definitions.

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“We have heard out loud and clear from our customers that they want Canadian products,” Michael Middlain said in a call discussing the company’s results in the third quarter.

Medline said about 12 percent of Empire products from the United States in the normal year, but this is not a normal year.

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He said: “This number of 12 percent has decreased during the past year and will continue to convert our offer to meet the increasing demand for our customers on Canadian and non -American products.”

Empire, which has multiple signs throughout the country including Sobyys and Freshco, has a list of good alternatives in most groups, the products are the most difficult to replace them.

“In Canada, in winter, we do not always have viable alternatives,” he said.

“We can see an effect here, either by increasing costs or a discounted assortment, if the product is no longer able to compete for our shelves over time.”

However, Medline said that Empire is working with its suppliers to ensure that unnecessary costs are not transferred to customers, and said that some suppliers are proactively looking for solutions. He gave an example of the Lindt chocolate maker, which turns its production so that all the chocolate provided to Canada comes from Europe instead of the United States by this summer.

Canada is in the midst of a trade war with the United States after President Donald Trump enacted a comprehensive tariff for Canadian goods, and Ottawa responded with two rounds of revenge definitions on American imports.

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Middlain said he believed that the empire and industry as a whole can “roll up with punches”, and that they will not be greatly affected by definitions – at least not directly.

“In the end, the biggest danger to us is not actually in our own business, but the influence on the Canadian economy as a whole,” he said.

“I don’t want to reduce this. The weakest consumer environment will hurt the retail sector as a whole.”

Empire told a profit in the third quarter of $ 146.1 million, as its sales increased during this period.

Sobeys Company, the parent company of the grocery store, says that profit reached 62 cents per shares for 13 weeks ending on February 1, compared to profit of $ 134.2 million or 54 cents per loving share a year ago.

On an average basis, Empire says she got 62 cents for every diluted arrow in the last quarter, which was the same compared to the third quarter of last year.

Total quarter -sales of $ 7.73 billion, an increase of $ 7.49 billion in the previous year.

The increase came as the sales of the stores itself increased by 2.5 percent. The growth of store sales, with the exception of fuel sales, reached 2.6 percent.

Middlain said that growth is supported by a stronger performance on the upper lines in both services and full discount signs. He said that the gap between the two continues to decline, as we mentioned earlier “green buds” to normalize consumer behavior in growth.

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He said that other signs of this normalization include significant growth in elements such as meat and products, an increasing basket size and a decline in people who choose reduced elements.

The other brand, Pierre Saint Laurent, said that the other brand is that consumers are shopping in less stores.

Medline also had sunny notes on the e -commerce trade in Empire. He said that the total sales growth reached 72 percent between both the VOILA internal service for grocery and third -party services such as Instacart and Uberats.

He said: “We are excited about our e -commerce growth capabilities, and we believe that we have the right assets in force to serve this growing market effectively.”

The operating income of the company decreased from investments and other operations in the first place due to the increase in members of the loyalty program in the scene+ and the recovery of loyalty points.

“What we see in these times is the participation of very high members and very strong recovery rates,” said Matt Rendel, Financial Director.

The Loblaw competitor has won a similar success in his latest results for the same reason.

Empire announced that the release is scheduled to retire, with Constantine Bifanis taking over the role in May.

In the call, MEDLINE praised the reindeer to lead it during the epidemic and the inflation period that followed.

This report issued by the Canadian press was published for the first time on March 13, 2025.

Companies in this story: (TSX: EMP.A)

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