The Canadian National Newspaper: Metro Inc. plans to cancel Dominion Name in Ontario at the prospective expense of shareholders

Metro Inc. plans to cancel Dominion Name in Ontario at the prospective expense of shareholders

The plan of Quebec's Metro Inc. to destroy the historic and trusted Dominion Supermarket name in Ontario is an apparent megalomaniacal decision, which promises to become financially disastrous. That's like Nike taking over the New York Yankees, and then desiring to change their name to the New York Nikes. Do you think that Yankee fans would just say, "oh well, we are just interested in watching baseball, and we don't care about any affinity to the name Yankees" ? The last Quebec Supermarket chain which displayed a similar ignorance and arrogance about Ontario that was called "Maxi Plus", bankrupted itself seeking to "colonize" Toronto.

Starting next month, the province's second largest supermarket operator will begin renaming all 158 of its Ontario stores, starting with 49 Dominion outlets in Toronto.

Quebec's Metro Inc. is displaying the kind of arrogance that led to the implosion and bankruptcy of Eaton's Department Stores.

Based upon the "Maxi Plus" experience, and the result of other such short-sighted actions by corporations that guide their decision on ego, and not on marketing wisdom, Ontario consumers will turn their backs on "Metro" -- even though that brand is strong in Montreal and other parts of Quebec.

Herein's an insight comment made by a respondent to a Toronto Star article about Metro Inc.'s plans.

Metro alleges that their research indicates that the Dominion name "has lost its relevance." But it is apparent that this is a bogus allegation. It is apparent that the elites of Metro Inc. must have sought information that could simply be used to confirm a corporate decision which was already taken.

Shareholders who have held on to stock in A&P Canada and Dominion should carefully consider the wisdom of this apparent vain decision.

Founded in 1919, Dominion was once synonymous with supermarket leadership and a catchy slogan, "Mainly because of the Meat." At one point, the former national chain was owned by now-jailed newspaper baron Conrad Black, who then broke up and sold off the company piecemeal, property by property, fired hundreds of employees and attempted to withdraw, for his own use, the surplus from its rich pension fund.

Wal-Mart Canada executives in Canada, should now begin to start celebrating, because it is likely that changing the name to "Metro", which has substantively no recognition and respect in Ontario, compared to Dominion, will become one of the top dumb moves in Canadian corporate history.

Shareholders in supermarkets, appreciate that the supermarket business secures commercial profits on a very thin margin for error. Short-sighted corporate re-branding schemes like Metro's planned destruction of the commercially sound Dominion name, is just the kind of dumb move that would eat up that thin margin, resulting in financial disaster. Indeed, Wal-Mart is the only corporation that has enough money and marketing interest to pick up the pieces from Metro Inc.'s vain decision to replace its vacuous name, with the name of a well-recognized Canadian national institution. Loblaws and Sobeys in Ontario would not have enough capital to sort of the likely market fall-out Metro Inc.'s decision.

Dominion is a supermarket which has sought to develop smaller scale stores tied to various Southern Ontario neighbourhoods. Many of these consumers may not like everything about Dominion, but it is a name Canadians in the southern Ontario market have become comfortable with. When the egoists at Metro Inc. use their Quebec template in Ontario, it will be viewed basically as Quebec francophones trying to muscle in on Ontario.

Torontonians and other southern Ontarians, who find out that there neighbourhood Dominion supermarket that has been their since the 1960's, etc, was taken over and shut down by francophones elites in Montreal. They could very well boycott the store in indignation and disgust.

The people of southern Ontario will not make a lot of noise about this apparent dumb move by Metro Inc., but rest assured, the same dismal performance of the Maxi Plus venture is likely. But, like Eaton's, expect that once "things hit the fan", and Metro Inc, commercial profits go way down, rather than Metro Inc admitting their misguided decision, they are unlikely throw more and more money into their Metro sink hole in Ontario. The end result: Wal-mart takes over, and Metro Inc elites get their golden handshake to retire in Florida, or to some exotic place, while the shareholders and employees of Dominion are left with an empty shell.

It is ironic that when A & P, a U.S. company took over Dominion and its mis-direction from Conrad Black, that A & P protected the Dominion name, which led to a renaissance of a historical national institution in the southern Ontario market. However, the new Canadian owners are seeking to destroy that name.

Canadians may wish to think twice about patronizing any company that shows absolutely no respect for a venerated national institution as Dominion, that has been around since 1919. Such a destructive company will not likely have any respect for the Canadians who had historically shopped there.

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