Innisfail's Shoppers Drug Mart is now part of the Loblaw Companies Ltd. chain but only temporarily.
The local outlet, along with two other Shoppers drugstores in Alberta, must be sold to another owner as stipulated in an agreement between the Competition Bureau and Loblaw.
Loblaw's sale of the local Shoppers to a new owner could take several months, said Tammy Smitham, vice-president of communications for Shoppers Drug Mart.
"As a result of the agreement with the Competition Bureau that store can no longer operate as a Shoppers Drug Mart. It will remain as a drugstore but it will be a different owner," said Smitham, who was asked by senior Loblaw officials to address the Innisfail issue as "it is an impact to a Shoppers location" and not one for Loblaw.
"We don't really know who it could be," she said of the Innisfail outlet's new owner. "It could be a drugstore chain. It could be an independent. That hasn't yet been determined."
In the meantime, Innisfail residents can expect that business will carry on under the Shoppers banner until a deal with a new owner is reached, which could take several months, said Smitham.
"What is important for community residents to know is that it will continue to operate as usual," she said. "Everything you have come to experience within that Shoppers Drug Mart store will remain there until the sale is complete, the pharmacy team the people are accustomed to dealing with, the products and services that are available in the store. It will continue to have all the programs that customers experience today until that sale is complete."
Smitham said the status of the store's current employees will not change, adding it is hoped the same staff will be in place with the new owner.
"We hope so. The new owner will obviously have to make those final decisions but obviously employment will be required to continue to operate that store going forward," said Smitham.
The massive $12.4-billion corporate merger between Shoppers Drug Mart and Loblaw was announced last July. The deal was not finalized until March 28 of this year after an agreement was made between the Competition Bureau and Loblaw over its purchase of Shoppers Drug Mart. The agreement resulted in the forced sale of 27 stores or pharmacies, including Alberta outlets in Devon, Westlock and Innisfail.
The Competition Bureau is an independent law enforcement agency charged with ensuring Canadian businesses and consumers operate within a competitive marketplace.
"We would have loved to have kept all the locations across the country but we respect the role of the Competition Bureau in ensuring there remains healthy and viable competition and choice for consumers within the various markets," said Smitham. "In this particular market, Innisfail, it was determined and agreed upon that the Shoppers Drug Mart location would be sold to a new owner."
Last week in Ontario, officials for the Competition Bureau said sales for all the 27 affected outlets that have to be made under the agreement will be examined on a case-by-case basis to ensure all marketplace competition concerns are adequately met.
