Great combo for Loblaw

Article Excerpt

LOBLAW COMPANIES $68.18 (Toronto symbol L; Shares o/s: 389.5 million; Market cap: $26.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.loblaw.ca) operates 1,095 supermarkets across Canada. In March 2014, the company purchased the Shoppers Drug Mart chain, which operates 1,330 drug stores across Canada. Effective February 1, 2018, the company will merge the PC Plus loyalty rewards plan at its Loblaw supermarkets with the Shoppers’ Optimum program. That combined plan will be called PC Optimum, with users able to collect and redeem points at both chains. The existing two plans have 19 million members. Half them are enrolled in both programs. A combined loyalty plan should cut Loblaw’s administrative costs. It will also make it easier to analyze customer spending patterns and spur repeat visits with individualized offers. Loblaw is a buy. buy…