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Price of food to drop this January

Town's only grocery store to switch banners to Save On

 

Well here’s something you don’t hear every day.

The cost of feeding your family is going to drop in January 2016 – at least in Princeton.

Coopers, the town’s only grocery store, will operate under the banner of Save On Foods.

In addition to a new name it means a different – and more competitive – pricing program.

“You just have to take the Coopers flyer and compare it to the Save On Foods flyer and you can see the difference,” said Tony Piwek, general manager of Overwaitea’s BC operations.

Piwek acknowledged Coopers – a name purchased by the Overwaitea Food Group in 1999 – has a reputation with consumers for being a pricey place to shop.

“The customers have been asking for that [a change],” he said. “We’re hearing it in all the communities where Coopers is right now.”

There are currently 12 Coopers stores in British Columbia. Several stores in the Lower Mainland converted to the Save On banner earlier this year.  Stores in Kelowna and Kamloops will also make the transition in January.

While unable to quantify how much food prices will drop locally, Piwek said shoppers will benefit from Save On Foods’ Talk about Savings program, which promises 2,000 advertised specials every week, 5,000 in-store specials, and 1,000 More Rewards promotions.

Additionally the store will adopt all other Save On programs including Darryl’s Deals, Talk about Local and Talk about Fresh Solutions.

There will be no changes for the store’s employees, he said.

“The name’s going to change on the outside of the building…what’s really important is that our team in the store isn’t going to change,” he said. “I think that’s the most important piece I can stress is that they are going to be there as usual looking after the customers and going the extra mile.”

According to Piwek Save On stores in Penticton already have an established customer base from Princeton, and giving those people a chance to shop in their hometown has the potential to boost local shopping for other businesses.

Piwek said the number of Save On customers from Princeton “changes with the weather, but we do know it happens….We’re hoping that this will help them stay in Princeton to shop.”

He noted that Save On Foods is Overwaitea’s primary food banner, and this year was named the province’s most loved brand by BC Business Magazine.

The switch from Coopers to Save On will take place overnight in only 14 hours.

“We have a team that goes in to help,” said Piwek.  “We close the store at 6 p.m. on Thursday and change every label…and we open again Friday at 8 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 



Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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