foodowners in BC · for now

← Home · Suggest a correction

Empire Company Limited

family controlled · HQ Canada

Publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: EMP.A) but controlled by the Sobey family of Nova Scotia through a dual-class share structure. The public holds Non-Voting Class A shares (EMP.A); the Sobey family holds the multiple/sole-voting Class B common shares. In late 2017/early 2018 the family's three branches consolidated their Empire voting (Class B) shares into a single holding company, Class B Holdings Ltd. (CBHL), which holds about 92.66% of Empire's outstanding voting common shares. Founded 1907 (as a Sobey-family business); headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Empire's 2025 Annual Report confirms it is 'a Canadian company headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia' whose key businesses are 'food retailing, through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys Inc., and related real estate' (including a stake in Crombie REIT). [1][2][3][4][5]

Brands (9)

via Sobeys Inc.

Other holdings (14)

Businesses and brands these owners hold beyond grocery storefronts.

Food & beverage

  • BoniChoix Convenience — Quebec convenience/small-format grocery banner owned and supplied by Sobeys (listed among Empire's store banners). [6][7]
  • Needs Convenience Convenience — Atlantic Canada convenience-store chain (140-plus corporate and franchised stores) whose trademark is owned by Sobeys; grew out of the TRA wholesale business. [8][6]
  • Compliments House brands — Sobeys' flagship private-label/own brand (roughly 3,400 items), launched under the Compliments name in 2005; includes sub-lines such as Balance and Organic. [9][10]
  • Panache (formerly Sensations by Compliments) House brands — Sobeys' premium own-brand line, formerly marketed as Sensations by Compliments and now branded Panache. [9][10]
  • Sobeys Liquor (Safeway Wine & Spirits) Liquor — Western Canada liquor-store division (100-plus stores in Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan); Sobeys Liquor acquired Safeway Wine & Spirits in 2014 following the 2013 Canada Safeway purchase. [11][12]
  • Sobeys Wholesale (formerly TRA) Wholesale & distribution — Wholesale distribution arm supplying private-label products and independent retailers (incl. convenience stores and gas stations); operates distribution centres in Stellarton, Montreal, Mississauga and Calgary. [10][7]

Non-food & other

  • Voila E-commerce — Online grocery home-delivery business (Voila by Sobeys / Voila par IGA / ThriftyFoods.com) launched in 2020, powered by automated fulfillment technology from UK-based Ocado Group; operates customer fulfillment centres in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. Empire ended Ocado mutual exclusivity in 2024. [13][14]
  • Empire Theatres Entertainment — Former movie-theatre chain (second-largest in Canada); Empire exited the business in 2013, selling its 46 theatres / 397 screens to Cineplex and Landmark Cinemas for approximately $248 million to focus on food retail. Divested 2013. [15][16][17]
  • Sobeys Fast Fuel Fuel — Sobeys-owned retail fuel/gas-bar banner (often paired with Needs stores) in Atlantic Canada; Empire operates more than 350 retail fuel locations company-wide. [8][6][18]
  • Sobeys retail fuel Fuel — Retail gasoline operations; through Sobeys, Empire operates and/or supplies more than 350 retail fuel locations (largely Atlantic Canada and Quebec). Empire sold its 56 Western Canada retail fuel sites to Shell Canada for about $100 million, completed in 2023. [13][17]
  • Scene+ Loyalty — National coalition loyalty program; Empire became a co-owner (equal one-third stake) alongside Scotiabank and Cineplex in June 2022 and rolled it out across its grocery banners starting fiscal 2023, replacing Air Miles. Program has over 15 million members. [19][20][13]
  • Lawtons Drugs Pharmacy — Atlantic Canada retail pharmacy chain (60+ locations across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI, Newfoundland and Labrador), owned through wholly-owned subsidiary Sobeys; Empire acquired the Lawtons drug store business in the mid-1970s. [13][21][22]
  • Crombie REIT Real estate — Publicly traded Canadian REIT focused on grocery- and pharmacy-anchored retail real estate; Empire holds a 41.5% economic and voting interest (largest unitholder) and is its largest tenant via Sobeys. Created in 2006 from Empire's real estate assets. [13][23][24]
  • Genstar (real estate partnerships) Real estate — Residential real estate development company headquartered in San Diego with Canadian offices in Western Canada; Empire holds equity-accounted interests of approximately 37.1% to 49.0% in three of Genstar's companies (residential land development in Ontario, Western Canada and the U.S.). [24][13]

Sources

  1. Empire Company Limited (corporate homepage) — Empire Company Limited
  2. Fast Facts — Empire Company Limited
  3. Empire Company Limited 2025 Annual Report — Empire Company Limited
  4. The Sobey family consolidates its Empire voting shares into single holding company — Canadian Grocer
  5. Sobey families consolidate Empire voting shares into single holding company — Global News
  6. About Us — Empire Company Limited
  7. Sobeys — Wikipedia
  8. Needs Convenience — Wikipedia
  9. Own Brands — Empire Company Limited
  10. Brands - Sobeys Wholesale — Sobeys Wholesale
  11. Sobeys Liquor / Safeway Wine & Spirits (2014 acquisition) - web search results — Web search (incl. liquor.sobeys.com About Us)
  12. Sobeys to sell 23 stores in Safeway deal, says Competition Bureau — Canadian Grocer
  13. Empire Company Limited 2025 Annual Report — Empire Company Limited
  14. Sobeys names Vancouver as next Ocado e-commerce fulfillment site — Supermarket News
  15. Empire Company Completes Sale of Empire Theatres — Empire Company Limited
  16. Empire to focus on Sobeys, sells theatres to Cineplex, Landmark — The Globe and Mail
  17. Empire Company — Wikipedia
  18. Sobeys Fast Fuel / Needs gas bars - web search results — Web search (incl. needs.ca)
  19. Scotiabank and Cineplex Welcome Empire as Co-Owner of Scene+ Loyalty Program — Scotiabank
  20. Scotiabank and Cineplex Welcome Empire as Co-Owner of Scene+ Loyalty Program — CNW / Newswire
  21. Lawtons — Wikipedia
  22. Lawtons Drugs (company profile and history) — Grocery.com
  23. Crombie REIT — Wikipedia
  24. Investments and Other Operations — Empire Company Limited