Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group, selected as winner of the Défi Employeurs Inspirants 2012 competition

MONTREAL, Oct. 10, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group (TSX: L), is very proud to announce that it has won the Défi Employeurs Inspirants 2012 award in the large business category, presented by Emploi Québec.

The Défi Employeurs Inspirants, which was created ten years ago, aims to recognize companies in Québec that exhibit excellence in human resources practices and contribute to employee engagement in innovative ways. The contest is organized by the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA).

"Creating a great place to work is at the heart of our company values and takes shape every day through the contribution and engagement of our more than 30,000 employees in Québec who work in our 400 corporate, franchised and affiliated stores, our distribution centres and our store support center. I would like to congratulate and thank them, because it is this approach that is at the heart of our vision and our leadership in the food retail sector in Québec," said Pierre Dandoy, Senior Vice President, Operations for Lobaws Québec and Provigo stores for Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group.

"The Défi Employeurs Inspirants celebrates companies that put their employees first and pride themselves on open internal communication, listening and dialogue. We firmly believe our success hinges on the ideas, talents and contributions of our people. The survey results reflect the strong engagement of our team, their pride in the company and their commitment to serve Québec customers. We are delighted to be recognized in this context," added Jocyanne Bourdeau, Executive Vice President, Maxi and Maxi & Cie., for Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group.

Winners were selected based on a variety of criteria related to the engagement level of their workforce and their commitment to adopting workplace health and safety best practices. Jury members also considered the results of an extensive employee survey conducted by Towers Watson for each registered company.

The names of the Défi Employeurs Inspirants winners in each category (small, medium and large businesses) were announced October 4 as part of the CRHA's annual convention.

About Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group
Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group, is one of the largest private sector employers in Quebec, and is part of Canada's largest food retailer. With its 400 corporate, franchised and affiliated stores located across Québec, its banners include Provigo^®, Maxi^®, Maxi & Cie^®, Loblaws^®, Club Entrepôt^® and Les Entrepôts Presto^®, providing employment to more than 30,000 people. With the country's strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice^®, no name^® and Joe Fresh^® brands, the Company also makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial^® services and offers the PC^® points loyalty program.

SOURCE: Provigo, member of Loblaw group

Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group's Corporate Affairs and Communications Department 514-383-3000 or [email protected]

A picture is available upon request