Compliments’ Tomato Ketchup a well-balanced flavor and delicious – and made with 100 percent Canadian tomatoes! Sobeys Inc. makes Compliments ketchup. Sobeys Inc. is the second-largest retail food store within Canada and has more than 1,500 stores in operation across Canada under various banners. The company’s headquarters are at Stellarton, Nova Scotia It operates stores across 10 provinces and had accumulated sales in excess of C$125.1 billion during the fiscal year of operation. It is a wholly-owned affiliate to Empire Company Limited the Canadian company that is a conglomerate.
Sobeys was established at Stellarton, Nova Scotia by John W. Sobey in 1907 as delivery of meat business. In 1924 the son of John W. Sobey, Frank H. Sobey convinced the company to grow into a full-fledged grocery store that would serve those in the region of Pictou County region. Between then and the day of his death, Frank was the driving drive for the company. Sobeys launched its first self-service store in 1949.
The chain later expanded across Atlantic Canada. Through the majority during the last half 20th century, it was the leading grocery store. in the 80s Sobeys extended into southern Ontario in an attempt to take on Loblaws at their “home turf”, thereby sparking what would become an all-out fight for supremacy in the market.
Sobeys owned large stakes New England grocer Hannaford and Quebec grocer Provigo prior to the late 1990s. in 1998 Sobeys has become the largest retailer in the United States after acquiring Oshawa Group. Oshawa Group, which owns IGA, the IGA Franchise throughout Canada, and a number of chain stores in regional Ontario as well as different wholesale and foodservice businesses.
in 2002 Sobeys made major adjustments to store layout and customer service policy through the introduction of “Ready to serve”. This initiative was reportedly an attempt to emulate the successful moves of the Publix supermarket chain in the southern United States.
