Loblaw boycott organizer says she met with CEO to talk about grocery prices

One of the organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores says she met with the grocer's president and CEO Per Bank on Thursday afternoon.

One of the organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores says she met with the grocer's president and CEO Per Bank on Thursday afternoon.

Emily Johnson, who started the Reddit page that led to the boycott, said she shared shoppers' concerns and questions with Bank, a European retail executive who took on the top role about months ago. 

"Obviously, the boycott is still on," said Johnson. But she said she's "confident in the fact that we got an audience, we have their attention, and they're listening to what we have to say and what we want to do."

Loblaw said earlier in the week that it had reached out to boycott organizers to set up a meeting.

Bank believes the conversation was productive, said Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas: "We’re listening, and thought it was important to hear her concerns in person." 

The CEO discussed some of the things the grocer is doing to try to help customers struggling with the cost of living, Johnson said. 

One of these is removing "multi-buy" promotions —  where customers get a better price per unit if they buy more than one item — from No Frills stores.