 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Grocery store |
| Founded | 1990; 35 years ago (1990) |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Delta, British Columbia |
Number of locations | 11[a] |
Areas served | |
Key people | Dan Bregg (president) |
| Products |
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| Parent | Buy-Low Foods LP |
| Website | www |
Choices Markets is agrocer based inBritish Columbia, Canada, that is focused on natural, specialty andorganic food.
The chain has eleven stores: eight inMetro Vancouver,[1] one in theFraser Valley and one location inKelowna. Choices Markets opened its 10th location, North Vancouver, in the second quarter of 2016.[2] and eleventh in parksville. Choices was founded in December 1990 by brothers Wayne and Lloyd Lockhart.[3] The original store is located in Kitsilano on West 16th avenue. The owners emphasize that the store caters to a range ofdiets, includinggluten free,vegetarian andvegan. Lockhart cites this is a guiding principle for the chain: "It's all about providing choice."[4]
The company has relied on various techniques aimed at increasingcustomer loyalty in order to compete with larger chains in the area, such as providing customers with the Choices preferred shopper card, which allows customers to receive discounts on specially labelled products and accumulate points when they shop,[5] providing an in-housenutritionist to help advise customers and worked to build energy and "theatre" in stores through product demos, food festivals and farmer/shopper interaction.[6]
The Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers inducted Choices Markets White Rock (inSouth Surrey, British Columbia) into their Hall of Fame in 2015. To be eligible for Hall of Fame induction, a store must win at least three Gold Awards or receive one Platinum Achievement Award and one Gold Award.[7]
Choices Markets was sold to the Buy-Low Foods Group on December 3, 2017.[citation needed] The previous Choices ownership decided to retire and selected an owner they believed would retain what the Choices brand stands for while remaining locally owned and operated.
Choices Markets was selected as the Fairtrade Canada Retailer of the Year in February 2018. They have won this award 5 of the past 6 years.[8]