Joe Fresh gives Loblaw an edge

Article Excerpt

LOBLAW COMPANIES $36 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 282.2 million; Market cap: $11.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) has opened five stand-alone Joe Fresh casual-clothing stores since October 2010. It plans to open five more stores by the end of 2011. It eventually wants to expand the chain to 20 stores. As well, Loblaw continues to sell Joe Fresh clothing in its supermarkets. That’s helping it compete with general retailers, like Wal-Mart, which have expanded into groceries. Loblaw is a buy. …