Facets of Freshness

ONTARIO FOOD TERMINAL: MARKET STATS
Address: 165 The Queensway
Toronto, Ontario M8Y 1H8
Phone: (416) 259-5479
Email: info@oftb.com

Established: 1954

Location: Between Park Lawn Road and Stephen Drive, South Etobicoke
Hours: Deliveries accepted 24/7
Terminal: Mondays to Fridays: 4:00 am to 2:00 pm
Sundays: 6:00 am to 11:00 am
Size: 40 acres (1.74 million square feet)
Office Space: 37,934 square feet above warehouse area
Cold Storage Space: 80,000 square feet on two levels. Temperatures are computer controlled with rooms generally set at either 32°F or 42°F. Space can be rented per pallet, weekly, or monthly.
Current Number of Tenants: 21

Farmers’ Market: Saturdays, May through October
550 stalls available for lease on either a semiannual basis (January to June or July to December) or annual basis (July through June). Space is also rented on a daily basis. Daily growers can take occupancy of any vacant stalls before the market opens.
Parking: 4 acres with space for 575 cars

Competition from the Chains
With a growing population and increasing demand for fresh produce, the OFT and its wholesalers must balance location versus space. But the merchants aren’t the only ones working the territory. In recent years U.S. retailers Walmart and Target have increased their presence and moved into the produce business, with varying degrees of success. This is above and beyond Canada’s own major retail chains, with Sobeys, Loblaw, and Metro willing and able to fight for grocery and produce dollars.

Loblaw Companies Limited’s recent acquisition of Shoppers Drug Mart increased its presence to more than 2,300 stores across Canada and is helping the nation’s top retailer step up competition with Walmart and Target, by not only increasing its share of fresh foods, but sourcing and stocking locally-grown commodities within its banners. A third of Loblaw’s fresh produce is sourced from within Canada, and major marketing campaigns continue to tout locally-grown items and attract shoppers.

Sobeys also continues to up the ante, having acquired Safeway stores to augment both its presence and bottom line in the retail grocery sphere. In a recent cost-cutting measure, the conglomerate forced suppliers to accept lower prices and other retailers were trying to follow suit. In all the maneuvering, it seems consumers are winning this all-out ‘food fight’ as the big chains, independents, mom-and pops, and suppliers duke it out for market share.