Rumours and things

For the third straight year, the percentage of consumers that are purchasing organic products has held steady in the 38-39% range, reports Shelton, CT-based marketing research and consulting company, TABS Group, Inc. While there has been no growth in the buyer count of organic products since last year, there was a considerable shift in outlet patterns towards Mass Market and away from Natural Foods.

When we see a consistent penetration over three years combined with the fact that adding more categories does not increase that penetration, we conclude that there is a well-established consumer base for organics. Any growth in organics from one supermarket must, therefore, for organic products come from 27% of consumers. There seems to be little hope of increasing that base anytime soon.

While organic products showed growth in Traditional Grocers, certainly due to the major increases in shelf space.

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The province finally agrees to expanded role for sheriffs to relieve some of the demands now being handled by police departments.

B.C. sheriffs will be taking over the job of escorting high security prisoners to other jurisdictions starting this month. Police departments have carried out the program, often referred to as “Con Air”, since it started in 2007.

The B.C. Government and Service Employees' Union was informed of the decision by the province in late December.

“This is something we have advocated for with the employer since the program was unveiled and have said our sheriffs should have been doing all along,” says Dean Purdy, chair of the union’s corrections and sheriff services component.

“Sheriffs are already responsible for picking up prisoners in other provinces who have warrants and are ordered by court to appear in B.C."

Approximately 30 escorts per year are anticipated, the approximate number carried out by police last year. Prisoners who have outstanding warrants for serious crimes are escorted under the program to other parts of the country.

The ministry of public safety and solicitor general is funding the program.

"Since sheriffs are involved in the escort of prisoners from jail to court, this additional work falls neatly into their duties," says Purdy.

"In addition to this announcement, we are anxious for a decision from the government on adding traffic duties to the work of sheriffs. For some reason the government appears to be dragging their feet," he adds.

"We've been hearing from the public for months now that they want to see the police concentrating on more serious crimes. It has been proven that by putting additional resources on the road and focusing more resources in this area, we will improve safety on the roads for all British Columbians."

A total of 14 sheriffs are trained for the pilot project and are waiting for it to get underway. Sheriffs are trained in Campbell River, Cranbrook, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, Prince George, Salmon Arm and Victoria.

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Joe Fresh is in expansion mode and it’s hitting the malls.

Loblaw Companies’ Joe Fresh Style brand just announced it would open four new stores this spring as part of its goal to launch 20 stand-alone Joe Fresh stores in Canada.

When we were in Toronto in October we saw one of the first stand alone Joe Fresh stores in the downtown area. It is well done and the company now has one in Vancouver. This Joe Fresh line has been a clever addition to Loblaw-SuperStore line up. The style and the quality are exceptional. The Canadian retail leader is nearing the one billion dollar amount in sales.

They will all be freestanding stores in popular shopping destinations to target the brand’s urban customers. Three of the stores will be in Ontario and one will be in Alberta, with sizes ranging from 6,000 to 18,000 square feet. “We are happy to be in high-traffic mall locations to answer the demands of our customers,” said Lucy Van Der Wal, SVP of Joe Fresh stores, in a company release.

The stores will carry everything from women, men’s and baby clothing to cosmetics, jeweler and sunglasses. Toronto-based commercial interior design firm Burdifilek will design all. It’s the same company that designed Joe Fret’s flagship store that opened on Granville Avenue in Vancouver last October. The design for the upcoming stores includes white and natural oak decor, along with a grey matte floor.

Launched in 2006, the Joe Fresh Style collection was started as a way for Loblaw to differentiate itself from its grocery retailer competitors.

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