“10% Joe”: The Joe Fresh Style label is Loblaw’s original apparel brand, with significant growth potential. We will extend this brand into accessories and children’s clothing, while increasing the retail square footage of Joe Fresh Style in our larger store formats. Our overall goal is to build Joe into a $1 billion sales brand.
“Health, Home and Wholesome”: Loblaw aims to make healthy living affordable for all Canadians with product lines such as President’s Choice Organics, President’s Choice Blue Menu and EXACT, and by bringing together our community spaces, pharmacies, dietitians and fitness clubs in a way we believe that no competitor can duplicate.
“Priced Right”: We will improve the way we invest in price and the way we communicate in-store to ensure we get credit for the value we offer.
“Always Available”: Through new forecasting and replenishment tools, our goal is to have consistent availability in both food and general merchandise in all of our stores.
“Friendly Colleagues Motivated to Serve”: At the centre of our growth strategy are our employees. Across our organization, there are 139,000 employees who will execute this strategy. We will provide our team with the training they need to meet customer needs. In 2007, we will introduce a new share ownership program to help align employee goals with Company strategies.
By effectively implementing the Formula for Growth, management aspires to achieve, on average, 5% sales growth, 10% adjusted net earnings(1) growth and $250 million free cash flow(1).
Simplify, Innovate, Grow is an ambitious plan. It is a plan that has been carefully considered and is achievable and already well underway. It is a plan that is conceived and deeply committed to by the new team of senior executives that I have the privilege to lead. And it is one endorsed and embraced by our most important asset – our Loblaw colleagues across Canada. Indeed, it is a plan that once complete, will give our employees the tools they need to do what they do best – serve millions of customers in virtually every community in this great country.
At key moments in its history, Loblaw has been faced with difficult challenges. Each time, it rose to those challenges – transforming itself and Canadian retailing by setting standards admired worldwide. It is that same spirit and determination that inspires the women and men of our Company today to Make Loblaw the Best Again.
Galen G. Weston
Executive Chairman
(1) See Non-GAAP Financial Measures (51 KB PDF) in the Financial Report.
