No Frills launches small format store in Toronto's Liberty Village
No Frills announced the opening of its second small format (on average 10,000 sq feet or less) store in the city, this time in Toronto's Liberty Village neighbourhood.
The new location at 42 Hanna Ave., follows No Frills' compact format first introduced earlier this year at the corner of King and Shaw in Toronto.
Despite its smaller size, the Loblaw Companies says customers can still find an extensive selection of grocery items, including fresh produce, meat and baked goods even though the site is half the size of a traditional No Frills location.
"The reaction to the first smaller format store in Toronto was beyond anything we could have imagined. It's made us even more excited about the latest location, here in the vibrant Liberty Village neighbourhood," explained Melanie Singh, president of hard discount at Loblaw Companies that includes No Frills and Maxi. "We know Torontonians are looking for convenience and low prices - but that sometimes those are trade-offs in the downtown core. It was important for us that customers can do a full grocery shop at this location, and still take advantage of the unbeatable prices they expect from No Frills."
READ: No Frills small format location opens in downtown Toronto
These new smaller-format stores are part of a larger strategy by Loblaw Companies to reach more customers who are looking to discount stores and private labels to save on their grocery bills.
“We're able to offer an entire shop within the space of 10,000 square feet in a pocket of downtown Toronto that we don't have a hard discount presence in,” she said in an interview at the grand opening of the first store in the rollout to The Canadian Press. “So, we’re super proud of that.”
The first of these smaller-format stores opened at a former City Market location, another banner owned by Loblaw. Loblaw in February announced a more than $2-billion capital investment plan that it said will result in more than 40 new discount stores.
With files from The Canadian Press
