When Empire-owned Sobeys opened its new e-commerce Voilà division in April, the company significantly expanded its online capabilities. Continuing to build out this strategic sector, the grocer is now expanding the service to reach the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). With a freshness guarantee and products available at affordable prices, shoppers can easily and efficiently have their groceries delivered straight to their doors in convenient one-hour delivery windows. As of Monday, shoppers in Vaughan began to order online through Voilà and service across the GTA will follow shortly.
“Voilà by Sobeys is the future of online grocery retail in Canada, and now it’s here,” said Michael Medline, President and CEO of Empire. “Ocado’s technology gives us the best e-commerce platform in the country—there’s nothing like it in North America. We can’t wait to share Voilà with our customers in the GTA this summer and across Canada in the future.”
According to a press release, Voilà is powered by Ocado Group’s industry-leading technology and fills orders through its state-of-the-art automated Customer Fulfillment Centre (CFC) in Vaughan, Ontario. Robots assemble orders efficiently and safely, resulting in minimal product handling, while Voilà teammates safely deliver orders directly to the customer’s home.
Voilà is the first and only grocery retailer to offer Farm Boy and Well.ca products through its online home delivery service. Voilà customers will be able to shop for thousands of grocery products from Sobeys, alongside customer favorites from Farm Boy and health, wellness, baby, pet, and beauty products from Well.ca.
“Canadians deserve a better way to shop for groceries online,” said Sarah Joyce, SVP, E-commerce of Empire. “Because Voilà delivers customers’ orders directly from an automated warehouse, we have tremendous control over the freshness and quality of our products and the reliability of our deliveries. Our teammates are ready to provide best-in-class service to our customers.”
At capacity, Voilà by Sobeys will bring approximately 1,500 jobs to the area, including operations, delivery, and customer service teammates. A second CFC is currently being built in Montreal to bring Voilà par IGA to major cities in the province of Quebec as well as Ottawa.
The grocery delivery landscape is ever changing, so stick with us here at Deli Market News as we uncover the latest.
