Provigo Le Marché™ banner store opens in Kirkland!

New store means 100 new full and part-time jobs

KIRKLAND, QC, Aug. 21, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - (TSX: L) - Today the flagship Provigo Le Marché store opened in Kirkland. The opening ceremony took place in a festive atmosphere, in the presence of elected officials, local growers and business partners, as well as many enthusiastic customers and members of Provigo's management. In addition to the Provigo Le Marche location recently opened in Sherbrooke, five new stores under this banner will open in Magog, Saint-Bruno, Saint-Sauveur, Vaudreuil and Charlesbourg by the end of the year.

"With our second Provigo Le Marché store now open, we're continuing to focus our mission of helping Québecers live life well by nourishing their joie de vivre", said Pierre Dandoy, Senior Vice President, Operations, Provigo^®, Provigo Le Marché^TM and Loblaws^® Québec. "The store offers an expanded range of fresh products and gives centre stage to a vast selection of local products, once again demonstrating the company's support of Québec and local growers and food processors."

The store is located at 16 900 Trans-Canada Highway, near Saint-Charles Blvd. The opening of this store has created approximately 100 new full and part-time jobs, bringing the total number of colleagues dedicated to providing outstanding customer service at this location to 300.  This 7,670 m² fresh take on a supermarket design has a sleek, yet warm atmosphere that offers customers the convenience of a full-service grocery store, with a distinctive food market style layout and a team that promises to offer its customers an exceptional shopping experience.

Features:

• The Provigo Le Marché store offers a wide selection of fresh items and products from Québec growers and food processors.
• Consumers will discover more than 120 varieties of organic fruits and vegetables, a salad bar as well as a juice bar with freshly squeezed juice.
• Fresh seafood is delivered daily, including a wide selection of sustainable seafood and an oyster bar.
• In-store butchers are happy to share their expertise with customers to help them discover the beef aged in store, several varieties of sausages made on site as well as local products such as the Québec pork, milk-fed veal and lamb.
• The store also offers an incredible variety of ready-to-eat meals, including smoked meat, a sushi bar, several varieties of pizzas from the popular Pizzédélic brand and meals prepared by our chefs and ready to heat.
• A wide variety of cupcakes and macaroons as well as the smell of bagels baked in store.
• An incredible wall of cheese, over 3.3 metres high and with an assortment of 400 cheeses, including 300 from Québec, is located next to the deli counter, alongside an impressive selection of imported prosciutto and local pâtés and terrines.

The Kirkland Provigo Le Marché store also includes a team that's dedicated to wellness and ready to answer any questions consumers may have about health and nutrition. Alessandra Barba, in-store dietitian, will be happy to help customers read and understand the information on food labels, to plan tasty, healthier meals and to discover the Guiding Stars^® program, an impartial rating system that uses stars to identify nutritious food choices at a glance. In addition, two owner-pharmacists affiliated with the CENTRESanté banner, Ms. Florence Melas and Mr. André Desjardins, offer customers a wide range of services such as measuring blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels as well as free delivery and renewal by phone of prescription medications. Finally the Énergie Cardio pour Elle fitness studio, located on the second floor of the store, offers many different dynamic group exercise classes, such as BODYSTEP, Zumba and Pilates.

"My team and I are very excited to operate under the new Provigo Le Marché banner. My 300 colleagues join me in inviting all West Island residents, as well as the many visitors travelling through the Trans-Canada Highway, to come visit us. Our store will amaze you with its impeccable customer service and its wide range of fresh local products and new services", said Store Manager Danny Leblanc.

Mr. Danny Leblanc and his team will continue to support their community and took the opportunity to donate $ 2 500 to the West Island Mission whose mission and purpose is to seek out and make a difference in the lives of people who struggle with poverty in the West Island of Montreal by providing food assistance and other related aid. The representative of West Island Mission, Mrs. Wendy Gariepy, thanked Provigo and stressed that it was the beginning of a wonderful collaboration between their organization and Provigo Le Marché.

About Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group
Provigo is a member of the Loblaw group, one of the largest private sector employers in Québec and Canada's largest food retailer. The Loblaw group employs nearly 30,000 people in the province of Québec through its 400 corporate, franchised and affiliated stores operated mainly under the Provigo^®, Provigo Le Marché^TM, Maxi^®, Maxi & Cie^®, Loblaws^®, Club Entrepôt Provigo^® and Les Entrepôts Presto^® banners. The Loblaw group also offers Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the President's Choice^®, no name^® and Joe Fresh^® brands. In addition, it makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial^® services and offers the PC^® points loyalty program.

Image with caption: "Baguette cutting at the official inauguration of the flagship Provigo Le Marché banner store in Kirkland. On the picture: Danny Leblanc, Provigo Le Marché Kirkland Store Manager, accompanied by Provigo, member of the Loblaw group management and Kirkland Mayor John W. Meaney. (CNW Group/Loblaw Companies Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130821_C7397_PHOTO_EN_30022.jpg

SOURCE: Loblaw Companies Limited

For more information or to schedule an interview

The media are invited to contact:

Geneviève Poirier
Specialist, Corporate Affairs and Communications
Provigo, a member of the Loblaw group
[email protected] or 1 800-361-1168

Jade Lavallée-Labossière
Hill+Knowlton Stratégies
[email protected]
514 349-9090