President and CEO
"It's a multi-year plan and we're going to do it gradually in phases," he told analysts during a conference call Wednesday as Metro reported a bump in its second quarter profits and sales amid renewed lockdowns and curfews.
"It's some heavy lifting for sure. We're going to manage through it."
In February, Metro started ramping up operations in its new semi-automated produce distribution centre in
A new fully-automated distribution centre for frozen foods is in the final stage of construction and will be commissioned over the coming months with a planned opening in
"It is always challenging to start a new distribution centre — even more so during a pandemic," he said. "But our team is doing a good job to manage the expected transition costs."
The
Metro has about 260 stores with self-checkouts and is planning another 90 this fiscal year, chief financial officer
The rollout is in both its conventional and discount banners, La Fleche added.
"It's a store-by-store analysis where we think it pays off and where it accelerates service for customers and reduces hours for us," he said.
Metro is also adding electronic shelf labels to some stores, focusing primarily on the company's discount stores for now in a bid to make them more efficient, La Fleche said.
The retailer operates a network of supermarkets under several banners including the full-service grocery stores Metro and Metro Plus and the discount stores Super C in
Meanwhile, the company recorded a five per cent uptick in sales and a profit of
"We had very solid results in the second quarter ... in what can only be described as a challenging operating environment," La Fleche said. "Our teams continue to demonstrate great dedication and resilience to serve our communities. I'm grateful for their hard work."
Metro paid out
Online grocery sales grew by 240 per cent in the quarter compared to the same quarter last year, and volumes in Metro's so-called hub stores remained strong.
Overall, food same-store sales were up 5.5 per cent while pharmacy same-store sales were down 0.8 per cent, Metro said.
Restrictions on the sale of non-essential goods in
Metro has about 650 drugstores primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet,
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