2023-12-12 05:00:00
While grocers’ profits could exceed the record sum of six billion dollars this year according to an organization, the CEO of Metro vowed to go out of his way to avoid hurting the wallets of Quebecers before a parliamentary committee on Monday. in Ottawa.
“We strive to give the best possible price in all our banners. We open discount stores. We are doing everything we can,” insisted Metro CEO Eric La Flèche, visiting the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) in Ottawa on Monday afternoon.
Stung by politicians who asked him if he was going to do more to lower his prices in stores, the big boss admitted that the context means that “it’s too expensive” and that “it hurts”, but he said inflation was worse in other countries.
“Our costs have increased significantly over the past two years. Our profit margins have not increased. This is what must be emphasized. Yes, our turnover has increased with inflation. Yes, our profit level has increased, but our margins, as a percentage, have not increased,” he explained.
$6 billion milestone
According to economist and director of the Center for Future Work, Jim Stanford, profits in food sales have more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic at grocery stores nationwide.
“Food retailers earned nearly $6 billion in net profit in 2022, up from $2.4 billion in 2019 and an average of $1.8 billion per year in the five years before the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19,” he observes in a brief presented to the committee.
“In the first nine months of 2023, grocery retailers earned $4.6 billion; At this rate, total profits for the year 2023 will exceed the $6 billion mark,” he goes so far as to write.
From a brief by the Center for Future Work, December 2023
Scapegoat
In mid-November, the big boss of Metro said in an interview with Journal to have “a little” the impression of playing the role of the scapegoat in the inflation issue.
“We are the last link in a long chain. There are price increases throughout this chain and we are the last in front of the customer, so it’s somewhat normal that we move to cash“, he said.
Last Thursday, The newspaper reported that a family’s grocery bill will cost a good $700 more next year, according to a report from Dalhousie, Guelph, Saskatchewan and UBC universities.
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“I understand that people can get upset,” concedes Metro CEO
Cooked by the NDP’s Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie MP, Alexandre Boulerice, Metro’s number 1, Eric La Flèche, had to defend his total compensation of $5.4 million in 2022, in committee in Ottawa on Monday.
“I understand that people can get upset. I understand that these are large amounts. Nobody says that these are not large amounts,” Eric La Flèche finally said, before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI).
“But it’s the remuneration that is competitive and we are in a competitive market,” he added.
«More than 155 times»
During the exchange, the NDP MP pointed out to him that “he earns 155 times” the average salary of the cashier in his supermarkets, who often earns a little more than the minimum wage.
“Don’t you find that a little indecent at some point?” asked the Quebec MP to the leader of Metro.
To which the number 1 of the company replied that his remuneration was up to his board of directors.
“I am in a bad position to talk about my own remuneration,” he replied.
“Executive remuneration at Metro is normal and competitive,” he concluded.
– With the collaboration of Raphaël Pirro
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