The B.C.-based retailer, Overwaitea Food Group, plans on opening 40 stores in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in the next three to five years pushing its Save-on-Foods banner further east.
The expansion will begin with seven stores set to launch in the spring of 2016 in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatoon, Yorkton and Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan.
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Owned by billionaire Jimmy Pattison, the group currently runs 145 stores in British Columbia and Alberta.
In an interview to the Financial Post, president of Overwaitea Food Group, Darrell Jones, said that the company would like to focus on communities where they plan to grow and that is what makes them stand apart from their competitors.
This move leads to speculation whether Metro Inc., Canada’s third-largest grocery chain will step up to acquire Overwaitea as a way of making an entry into the western provinces.
These speculations ran high after Sobeys acquired Canada Safeway in 2013 for $5.8 billion. However, Jones says this is currently only speculation and does not seem likely to become a reality any time soon.
