(The Canadian Press) Canadian retail sector competition is heating up after Walmart Canada opened its first Atlantic Canada supercentre in Halifax on Friday.
he Halifax project, which the company said created 30 new jobs, means Walmart now has 217 so-called supercentres in Canada and 380 stores in total.
John Winter, a retail analyst in Toronto, says Walmart's ongoing expansion and heftier presence on the Atlantic coast will force competitors to lower prices to hold onto their customers.
However, Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX: T.L, Stock Forum) said Wednesday it anticipates strong growth for the rest of the year even as it braces for increased competition from Walmart and Target.
Target plans to launch approximately 70 new stores in the country before the end of the year, in addition to Walmart's 37 new supercentres.
Both of the chains sell food products, eating into the market share of grocers like Loblaw, Metro Inc. (TSX: T.MRU, Stock Forum) and Empire Company's (TSX: T.EMP.A, Stock Forum) Sobeys stores.
Loblaw recently acquired Shoppers Drug Mart (TSX: T.SC, Stock Forum) for approximately $12.4 billion, giving it a foothold in urban centres, where many small-format Shoppers stores are located.
Shelley Broader, Walmart Canada president and CEO said the launch of the Halifax store, said it's all part of the retail giant's mission to allow consumers to buy all of their supplies in one location.
The massive, 13,500-square-metre Halifax store is one of nine supercentres planned for the region and one of 37 projects that will involve expansion, remodelling or relocating existing stores across the country at a cost of $450 million.
Broader said Walmart's expansion plans aren't driven by competitive pressures, but on the needs of customers and where they see an opening.
``Our ability to grow fast is really about the demand that is driven by our customer base,'' she said. ``We aren't competition-focused, we are really customer-focused.''
Walmart Canada is a subsidiary of Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT, Stock Forum).