Loblaw's commitment to being a great place to work bears fruit with a spot on<br>Canada's Top 100 Employers list

Canada's largest food distributor recognized as a top Canadian employer

BRAMPTON, ON, Oct. 9 /CNW/ - Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw), one of Canada's largest private sector employers, has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2010 in recognition of its efforts to attract and retain employees and create a great workplace environment. Loblaw is the only grocery retailer on the 2010 list.

"Our colleagues are crucial to our success and represent our greatest strength. We work hard to meet their needs and show our appreciation for their contributions to our company," said Judy McCrie, executive vice president, human resources, Loblaw Companies Limited. "We are very proud to be recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, especially as this is the first time we entered the national competition. This distinction is a milestone achievement for Loblaw, as we continue to work to build a culture of success where our colleagues are empowered and supported to meet and exceed customer expectations."

Being a Great Place to Work is one of Loblaw's five corporate social responsibility pillars. Among the initiatives that earned Loblaw its place on the list are its action-oriented colleague engagement surveys, colleague discounts on food and non-food items at corporate stores, formal training and educational support programs for new and existing colleagues, a robust set of tools to communicate with colleagues across the country, diversity focus and the company's environmental leadership.

"In the 29 years I've been with the company, I've had many opportunities to expand my knowledge and skill set by taking advantage of Loblaw training programs and working in a number of different areas of the business from Operations, to Procurement, to Merchandising," said Mike Venton, senior vice president, produce, Loblaw Companies Limited. "Loblaw is a great place to work because of its ongoing commitment to providing colleagues with the tools, training and support they need to succeed in their roles."

Now entering its tenth year, Canada's Top 100 Employers is an annual competition to determine which employers lead their industries in offering top workplaces for their employees. Employers are evaluated based on eight criteria, which have remained consistent since the competition's inception: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

This year, the judges for Canada's Top 100 Employers reviewed the recruitment histories of more than 75,000 Canadian businesses and invited 16,000 of these to apply for the distinction, plus another 8,000 companies in industries it wanted to examine more closely. National winners were announced in special editorial features published by Maclean's magazine, the Globe and Mail newspaper and Eluta.ca on October 8 and 9, 2009.

About Loblaw Companies Limited

Loblaw Companies Limited, a subsidiary of George Weston Limited, is Canada's largest food distributor and a leading provider of drugstore, general merchandise and financial products and services. Loblaw is one of the largest private sector employers in Canada. With more than 1,000 corporate and franchised stores from coast to coast, Loblaw and its franchisees employ over 139,000 full-time and part-time employees. Through its portfolio of store formats, Loblaw is committed to providing Canadians with a wide, growing and successful range of products and services to meet the everyday household demands of Canadian consumers. Loblaw is known for the quality, innovation and value of its food offering. It offers Canada's strongest control (private) label program, including the unique President's Choice(R), no name(R) and Joe Fresh Style(R) brands. In addition, the Company makes available to consumers President's Choice Financial(R) services and offers the PC(R) points loyalty program

For further information: Karen Gumbs, Senior Manager, Corporate Affairs, Loblaw Companies Limited, [phone] ext. 616041, [email protected]; Melita Vega, Senior Consultant, Hill & Knowlton, [phone], [email protected]