Thrifty Foods (often shortened to Thrifty's) is a chain of supermarkets located in British Columbia, Canada.
Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
Founded | Fairfield, Victoria, BC (1977) |
Headquarters | Central Saanich, British Columbia |
Key people | Alex Campbell (Founder) Michael Medline (President & CEO of Empire Company) |
Products | Grocery |
Owner | Empire Company |
Number of employees | approx. 5,000 |
Parent | Sobeys (2007–present) |
Website | www.thriftyfoods.com |
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Background
editThrifty Foods was founded by Alex Campbell and Ernie Skinner in 1977 when the first store was opened in Victoria's Fairfield neighbourhood. As of June 2018[update], the chain operates 25 stores, with 2 more under construction on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.[citation needed] It is the largest supermarket chain on Vancouver Island. In 2007 it became a division of Sobeys which operated independently of the larger company initially, before being fully integrated.
Since 2004, it has operated an on-line grocery service on Vancouver Island. The online ordering system extends into the Metro Vancouver area.[1]
The company has an annual scholarship program that gives out $1500 to 20 students that are part of the company's web, either directly or indirectly.[citation needed]
Thrifty Foods is the largest private employer on Vancouver Island. In 1999, Thrifty Foods was voted among the Ten Best Companies to Work For in British Columbia.[2] In 2007, Thrifty Foods was recognized as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies.[3]
On April 14, 2014, Overwaitea Food Group took over three Thrifty Foods locations including Brooks Landing in Nanaimo (Save-On-Foods), Abbotsford (Cooper's Foods Then Co-op), and Sapperton at New Westminster (Save-On-Foods) via an acquisition to ensure that Sobeys does not become a monopoly in the region after acquiring Thrifty Foods rival Safeway.