.gif)
Dominion Stores (Newfoundland and Labrador)
Encyclopedia
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
. The Dominion brand name is used under licence from Metro Inc., which discontinued its use of that banner in the rest of Canada in late 2008 and has no other affiliation with the Newfoundland stores.
History
The chain began as Ayre's Supermarkets, a division of local department store chain Ayre and SonsAyre and Sons
Ayre and Sons Ltd. was a now-defunct department store chain that once existed in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The chain was formed in 1859 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador by Charles Robert Ayre. Ayre opened his flagship store on Water Street in St. John's in 1859...
. It was acquired by Argus Corporation via Dominion Stores Ltd.
Dominion Stores (Ontario)
Dominion Stores was once a national chain of supermarkets in Canada, which was still known as the Dominion of Canada at the time of the company's founding. The chain was founded in 1919 in Ontario and was later acquired by Conrad Black's Argus Corporation...
in 1963, eventually adopting the Dominion brand. Following the sale of Dominion to A&P Canada
A&P Canada
A&P Canada was a Canadian supermarket company from 1927 to 2009.In 1927, A&P opened its first stores in Canada. By 1929, A&P was present in 200 communities in Ontario and Quebec....
, the Newfoundland operations were resold to local owners in 1987 and subsequently merged with two smaller local chains. The newly-amalgamated parent company was named Amalco Foods, but the combined chain's brand name remained "Dominion".
Loblaw acquired the Dominion chain in Newfoundland in 1995, and soon after began implementing its own private-label products and store designs at these locations. Ultimately Dominion's traditional "Big D" logo was replaced with a derivative of the Loblaws
Loblaws
Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
logo, rotated to look like a D instead of an L. This logo had also been used by Loblaw's former U.S. subsidiary, National Tea (as it also somewhat resembles a lower-case "n").
Today
In all respects other than name, the majority of Dominion stores in Newfoundland operate with the same appearance and format as the company's flagship Loblaws and Atlantic SuperstoreAtlantic Superstore
Atlantic Superstore is a Canadian supermarket chain of 54 stores in the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island...
supermarkets, and its newest St. John's area locations are similar in format to the Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstore
Real Canadian Superstore
Real Canadian Superstore is a chain of hypermarkets owned by Canadian food retailing giant Loblaw Companies. Its name is often shortened to RCSS or Superstore....
. Since 2002, these locations have in fact been operated as part of the Atlantic Superstore unit, with nearly identical advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
campaigns, including the "Prices you can trust" slogan used by both Atlantic Superstore and Real Canadian Superstore. Nonetheless, Loblaw has not indicated any plans to discontinue its use of the Dominion banner.
In the past few years, the chain has relocated or consolidated a number of locations into the "market" or superstore formats. Whereas there were roughly six locations in the early 2000s in St. John's proper (and many more in years past), there are now only three Dominion stores in the city, none built before 2000. This transition culminated with the opening of a Dominion on the site of the former Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (St. John's)
The Memorial Stadium was a 4,000-seat multi-purpose arena, in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. St. John's previous indoor arena, Prince's Rink, burned down in 1941, but the demands of the Second World War prevented the city from replacing it until well after the war ended...
in St. John's in 2007. Coincident with that opening, two medium-size locations in the east end of St. John's built in the early 1990s were closed, while a third (Churchill Square
Churchill Square (St. John's)
Churchill Square is a shopping area in St. John's, Newfoundland, located on Elizabeth Avenue near Memorial University of Newfoundland. "The Square", as it is often referred to as, contains two parallel rows of shops on each side of a parking lot...
) was converted to a SaveEasy
SaveEasy
SaveEasy is a chain of small retail grocery store franchises in the Atlantic Provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island, owned by Loblaw Companies Limited...
. As a result, it is believed that all Dominion stores in the province have now been transitioned to the newer formats.
Newfoundland
There are 11 locations within Newfoundland.
|