Farm Boy Inc. is a Canadian food retailer operating in the province of
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. The company is based in
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. The retailer markets itself as selling fresh produce and food products, with an emphasis in their branding on
farm-to-table
Farm-to-table (or farm-to-fork, and in some cases farm-to-school) is a social movement which promotes serving local food at restaurants and school cafeterias, preferably through direct acquisition from the producer (which might be a winery, brewer ...
.
Its current slogan can be found under the Farm Boy sign on its stores, "It's All About The Food."
It was announced in late September 2018 that the company would be acquired by
Sobeys
Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales o ...
' parent,
Empire Company Ltd.
History
In December 1981, Collette and Jean-Louis Bellemare opened the first Farm Boy on Cumberland Street in
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York (state), New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Unit ...
. At that time, the modest 300 sq. ft. store sold only produce.
The original store was moved in 1984 by Jean-Louis and his brother Normand Bellemare.
The move to their 5,000 sq. ft. (460 m
2) Sydney Street location allowed them to expand their products beyond produce with dairy, deli, cheese, and meat product lines. An in-store bakery and bulk food were later added.
The equity firm
Berkshire Partners
Berkshire Partners is an American private equity firm based in Boston. It has invested in over 100 middle market companies since 1986 through nine investment funds with aggregate capital commitments of more than $16 billion. Berkshire has develo ...
has been a major investor in the business since late 2012.
Expansion
By 1992, the success of Farm Boy allowed the family to expand the business into Ottawa. Beginning on Centrum Boulevard in
Orleans, the company expanded in Ottawa with eight additional stores by 2007.
Store openings included
Nepean
Nepean may refer to:
Places Australia
*Nepean Bay, a bay in South Australia,
**Nepean Bay Conservation Park, a protected area in South Australia,
**Nepean Bay, South Australia, a locality
*Nepean Highway, Victoria
*Nepean Island (Norfolk Island) ...
(1996), Hillside Plaza on
Montreal Road
Montreal Road (French: ''Chemin de Montréal''), also known as Ottawa Road #34, is a major east-west Ottawa road that links Lowertown to Vanier and the farther eastern neighbourhoods of Ottawa. Until downloading in 1998, it was part of the p ...
(1997),
Kanata (1997),
Blossom Park
Blossom Park is a neighbourhood in Gloucester-Southgate Ward in the south-end of the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Before the 2001 city of Ottawa amalgamation it was a suburb of the city of Gloucester. The current limits of the neighbourhoo ...
(2003), and a second Orleans location (2004). The Ottawa expansion continued with new stores in
Barrhaven
Barrhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about southwest of the city's downtown core. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 103, ...
(2006), Blue Heron Mall on
Bank Street (2006), and the Kanata Signature Centre (2007). Ottawa continued gaining Farm Boy locations at Britannia Plaza (2011),
Stittsville
Stittsville is a suburban community, part of the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario. It is within the former Goulbourn Township. A part of the National Capital Region, Stittsville is immediately to the southwest of Kanata, adjacent to Richmon ...
(2011),
Place d'Orleans (2012), which was the first store to offer an in store eating area.
In the fall of 2003, the Bellemares created a Board of Directors to oversee the overall direction of the company and appointed Jeff York as the new President of Farm Boy in 2009. In 2012, Normand and Daniel Bellemare stepped down as an investment group based in Boston invested in the company to help them grow.
In 2012, Farm Boy expanded to
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...
.
In 2014, Farm Boy expanded to
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
. Citing success in its first London location at Wellington Road just north of Bradley Ave, the company announced two more locations would open in the spring of 2015. The first located near
CF Masonville Place
Masonville Place (known locally as Masonville or Masonville Mall, and corporately styled as CF Masonville Place) is a two-storey regional shopping mall located in London, Ontario, Canada, at the southeast corner of Fanshawe Park Road and Richmond ...
in the city's north end, and the region's largest store located at Wonderland and Beaverbrook, just west of Western University. The Wonderland and Beaverbrook location is also home to the company's regional offices.
In summer of 2015, Farm Boy furthered its expansion with its first location in
Kitchener and
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
.
In summer of 2016, another store was opened in the
Westboro Westboro may refer to:
Places Canada
*Westboro, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood
** Westboro Station (OC Transpo), an OC Transpo Transitway Station
United States
* Westboro (Topeka), Kansas, a residential neighborhood
*Westboro, Missouri
* Westbor ...
neighbourhood of
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
. This store was meant as an experiment for the company to have a more central location with a greater focus on in-store dining with a larger eating area and "Farm Boy Kitchen" prepared food area.
In July 2017, it was announced that Farm Boy would be taking over part of the former food court location at
CF Rideau Centre
The Rideau Centre (french: Centre Rideau) (corporately styled as CF Rideau Centre) is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street, the ByWard Market, the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie Ki ...
in downtown Ottawa, which opened mid-December 2017.
On March 1, 2018,Farm Boy opened their first store in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, in the
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of
Etobicoke
Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...
at Alderwood Plaza.
On March 22, 2018, the company opened their 26th location in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
, Ontario at Harvard Square Plaza.
As of September 2018, the chain had 26 stores and annual sales of CAD$500 million. The Financial Post summarized the store's appeal as, "It’s known for its fresh products, pre-made food, smaller stores and private label products".
As of Jun 29, 2021, there are 40 Farm Boy locations. The company announced that its focus for future expansion will be on both urban and suburban locations around Ontario. It is planning to open another 3 new locations in 2021, which will include 2 new stores in Toronto.
Sale of the company
On September 24, 2018, Empire Company Limited, parent of the
Sobeys
Sobeys Inc. is the second largest supermarket chain in Canada, with over 1,500 stores operating across Canada under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales o ...
chain of supermarkets, announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase Farm Boy from Berkshire Partners and Farm Boy's management shareholders
in a deal worth CAD$800-million. Regulatory approval will be required for the purchase, which was expected to conclude in early 2019.
Farm Boy founder Jean-Louis Bellemare, his co-CEO Jeff York and other members of the senior executives will stay on and will reinvest, to own a 12% share in the new company which will operate as a separate entity.
The new ownership will allow Farm Boy to continue with aggressive expansion plans into South-Western Ontario, and in particular the Toronto region. The business was expected to double over the next five years.
Empire had no intention of integrating Farm Boy into their major chains.
Michael Medline
Michael Bennett Medline (born July 4, 1963) is a Canadian businessman. In January 2017, Medline was named president and CEO of Empire Company Limited, a Canadian company whose core businesses includes food retailing, conducted through wholly owne ...
, President and CEO of Empire Company Limited, assured consumers that they will continue to get the shopping experience that defines Farm Boy. On Twitter, he made this comment in reply to many who had expressed concern: "I can assure you that we will not screw this up". Medline also told analysts in a conference call, "We do not want to ruin the magic of Farm Boy by trying to integrate them. We love what Farm Boy is doing; it has the best brand ... we want to see it grow ... We intend to enable the leadership team of Farm Boy to do what they do best: grow a highly successful retail format at double digit rates".
Farm Boy products will not be sold in Empire's other chains nor will Farm Boy stock their brands. Farm Boy products will be included in the Ocado-based e-commerce business that was expected to start in 2020, but as a separate entity from the other Empire chains.
Stores
*
Barrie
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...
*
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
*
Brantford
Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...
*
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
*
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
*
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
*
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
*
Kingston
*
Kitchener
*
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(3)
*
Newmarket
*
Oakville
*
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
(16)
*
Pickering
*
Richmond Hill
*
St. Catharines
*
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
(6)
*
Waterloo
*
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
See also
*
List of Canadian supermarkets
References
External links
*
{{Canadian Supermarkets
Retail companies established in 1981
1981 establishments in Ontario
Supermarkets of Canada
Companies based in Ottawa
Sobeys
Organic food retail organizations
2018 mergers and acquisitions