Empire Co. Streamlines E-Commerce Business
Canadian grocery banner Longo’s and its parent company, Empire Co. Ltd., have merged their two e-commerce businesses, Grocery Gateway and Voilà. This partnership aims to unite the freshness and quality expertise of Longo’s delivered by Grocery Gateway, with Voilà’s advanced technology and online grocery home delivery experience. Customers can now shop more than 23,000 products from Empire-owned Sobeys, Farm Boy and Longo’s on one platform through voila.ca or the Voilà mobile app.
“We have worked with Voilà to reimagine a better delivery experience for our guests. Customers will now be able to order the Longo’s products and fresh items they love, paired with the convenience and ease of Voilà,” said Deb Craven, president of Longo’s.
Empire introduced Voilà in fiscal 2021. The e-commerce platform is powered by U.K. e-grocer Ocado Group plc through its automated customer fulfillment centers. Empire currently operates three customer fulfillment centers across Canada, and will open another by calendar 2025. Voilà orders are delivered from these warehouses, where robots help assemble orders and the Voilà team delivers them directly to customer homes in one-hour delivery windows. According to the company, the products are guaranteed fresh at regular in-store prices, with no hidden fees.
“Voilà offers an unparalleled online grocery home delivery experience, with 99% order accuracy and 95% on-time delivery. Adding Longo’s products, including fresh meat, bakery, and prepared foods, only strengthens our offering for our customers. Voilà, we deliver Sobeys, Farm Boy and Longo’s,” noted Sarah Joyce, SVP, e-commerce at Empire.
Starting July 4, the first phase of Grocery Gateway customers were redirected to the Voilà platform to place their orders. To help ease the transition, Longo’s customers, if they request it, will have the ability to transfer their account information, shopping lists and past purchases to Voilà. Longo’s Delivery Pass Plus holders will be welcomed with a Voilà free delivery offer, and Longo’s Thank You Rewards members will receive equivalent Scene+ points.
Additionally, Voilà curbside pickup is currently available at almost 100 stores in locations across Canada and is also powered by Ocado technology.
Stellarton, Nova Scotia-based Empire’s key businesses are food retailing through wholly owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate. With approximately CAD $30.5 billion in annual sales and CAD $16.5 billion in assets, Empire and its subsidiaries, franchisees and affiliates employ approximately 131,000 people. The company is No. 19 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
