Metro CEO Eric La Flèche has reported that the company’s third-quarter earnings have been “satisfactory,” partly due to the food price deflation, the growth of e-commerce, meal kit businesses, and the anticipating minimum wage increase.
While the minimum wage increase is beneficial for company employees, Metro has expressed the weighty impact that this increase in wage will have over the entire company, specifically costing the food retailer anywhere between $45 – $50 million in 2018. When asked if higher wages would translate into higher prices for food, La Flèche said that the company would control the gradual increase in prices that would be a natural effect of structural costs in addition to wage increases.
With online shopping and the growing popularity of meal kit businesses, Metro is adapting with promise, as they expand their e-commerce programs to remain competitive. “We keep abreast of all trends,” La Flèche said. “It’s a small investment, with good promises of future development and we will see where it goes.”
In keeping with trends, Metro has recently acquired a large portion of MissFresh Inc., a company in Montreal that delivers recipes and ingredients to customers, similar to Blue Apron in the US. According to La Flèche, Metro will also be expanding their online products to offer prepared meal kits, along with offering online shopping to Ontario consumers in the near future.
