eastern nebraska and western iowa no frills chain see no frills supermarkets . no frills type supermarket industry retail founded 1978 headquarters toronto ontario canada number of locations 247 2016 products bakery dairy deli frozen foods gasoline select locations general grocery general merchandise liquor select locations meat & poultry pharmacy produce seafood snacks parent loblaw companies website http www.nofrills.ca no frills corporately styled nofrills is a chain of deep discount supermarkets in canada owned by loblaw companies limited a subsidiary of george weston limited . there are over 200 franchise stores located in nine canadian provinces ontario alberta british columbia saskatchewan manitoba new brunswick nova scotia prince edward island 1 and newfoundland and labrador . contents 1 history 2 present 3 locations 3.1 alberta 3.2 british columbia 3.3 manitoba 3.4 new brunswick 3.5 newfoundland and labrador 3.6 nova scotia 3.7 ontario 3.8 prince edward island 3.9 saskatchewan 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit a no frills store in the parkdale neighbourhood of toronto no frills at bramrose plaza brampton no frills in markham no frills in richmond hill no frills in scarborough the first no frills store a converted loblaws outlet previously slated for closure was launched in east york toronto on july 5 1978 . while it offered a very limited range of goods and only the most basic customer service the store promoted discount prices . the opening of the prototype outlet coincided with a period of rising inflation rates and consumer complaints regarding the high price of food . 2 similar limited variety supermarkets had been in operation in europe for a number of years and in some countries had captured significant market share . 3 months earlier loblaw had successfully launched a line of generic products called no name that consisted of 16 unbranded items in very basic yellow and black packaging . the new line was promoted as offering savings of between 10 and 40 percent over comparable national brands . 4 as no name sales exceeded the company s own projections loblaws supermarkets president dave nichol predicted the day when limited line stores would offer a complete assortment of no name groceries 5 while the first no frills originally branded no frills featured the new generic product line most items were still national brands . though the european model typically offered dry goods loblaw promoted fresh produce at the lowest possible price 6 as a way of attracting customers . 7 in order to reduce costs as much as possible no frills customers had to forego some of the conveniences that north american supermarket shoppers had come to expect . customers were required to pack their own groceries as well as bring their own shopping bags or pay three cents for each . whereas shopping carts are unlocked at loblaws stores no frills locations require the deposit of a coin for unlocking reducing the number of stray carts in parking lots and the amount of labour required to retrieve them . the prototype store had only four checkout counters and operated on a low labour principle of minimal staffing . 8 product displays were purely functional with items left in their cardboard boxes with the front cut away . produce normally washed and stacked was left unwashed in its shipping carton . the original store did not offer fresh meat since refrigeration units had been removed in order to cut costs and instead of the 8 000 items normally carried by the average supermarket only 500 were available usually represented by one brand and in only one size . instead of each item individually marked prices were displayed overhead and customers provided with a price list . cashiers who underwent three weeks of training were required to memorize all prices throughout the store . meanwhile loblaws president dave nichol promoted the minimalism of the new operations as a way to save money in a difficult economy . we took all the frills out . we think canadians are ready for a little belt tightening . 8 in spite of the limited product selection and minimal customer service the first no frills store which advertised the lowest overall food prices in toronto proved successful from the initial launch . opening day drew more shoppers than the store could handle the rush never stopped robert st. jean eastern ontario division manager said in an interview . we had to close the doors at 10 30 this morning and let people in as other people left he said giggling with excitement as cash registers rang in the background . we re really excited about it ... really excited he said from the store s second floor at victoria park and st. clair avenues . 9 while some first day customers complained about the added inconveniences most said they didn t mind and were pleased with the money they saved some customers balked at having to pay three cents for each grocery bag and having to pack their own groceries but most said they didn t mind the extra work . frank atlas who lives near the store at victoria park and st. clair avenues said he would pack all the groceries to save a few nickels . it doesn t bother me a bit . i ve saved a couple of dollars with this order he said pointing to three larges boxes of groceries . 8 with the successful launch of the prototype store loblaw began converting a number of its older more marginal outlets to the new discount format . within a few months the company had three no frills stores in operation in toronto and area . 7 during the 1980s the chain expanded beyond the greater toronto area . by 1988 there were 19 no frills stores located in ontario . 10 a year earlier loblaw began converting the outlets from company owned stores to franchise operations . the number of stores more than doubled to 48 by 1994 . 11 by the late 1990s that number had increased to 79 outlets . 12 the new franchise operations typically displayed the name of the owner such as joe s nofrills or derek s nofrills . while most no frills stores were former loblaws locations the company also acquired some outlets including three former knob hill farm supermarkets in toronto after that chain closed all of its stores in 2001 in the face of increasing competition . in 2007 loblaw began expanding no frills beyond ontario first into western canada and later into atlantic canada . present edit inside a typical no frills store . oak ridges neighbourhood richmond hill presently no frills stores are much more like conventional supermarkets but continue to feature deep discount prices . items are typically left in their cardboard shipping boxes but are arranged on store shelves and produce is conventionally displayed . while the original no frills outlets stocked only the most basic products today s stores offer a wide array of items and brands that include loblaw s own private or control label products . no name which is still heavily featured has expanded from the original 16 items to more than 2 900 and the company s premium president s choice line is readily available on store shelves . the range of services has also expanded with some outlets that offer fresh meat and fish counters . frozen food sections excluded from the original stores due to the cost of refrigeration are now standard . other features remain unchanged though with no frills customers still required to pack their own groceries and bring their own shopping bags or pay 5 cents per bag . locations edit alberta edit 35 locations airdrie beaumont brooks calgary 3 chestermere cochrane cold lake edmonton 5 fort saskatchewan grande prairie high river innisfail lacombe leduc lethbridge 2 morinville okotoks olds peace river ponoka slave lake stettler strathmore sylvan lake vegreville wainwright wetaskiwin whitecourt british columbia edit 21 locations castlegar coquitlam dawson creek fort st. john invermere kitimat langley oliver port alberni port coquitlam salmon arm surrey 3 trail vancouver 6 manitoba edit 4 locations winnipeg 4 new brunswick edit 2 locations shediac saint john newfoundland and labrador edit 3 locations clarenville marystown paradise nova scotia edit 5 locations barrington passage bridgewater dartmouth spryfield sydney ontario edit 172 locations acton ajax 2 amherstburg angus arnprior aurora aylmer bancroft barrie 2 beamsville belleville bradford brampton 6 brantford 2 brighton burlington 2 cambridge 2 campbellford casselman chatham cobourg cornwall corunna elliot lake essex fort erie gananoque geraldton glencoe grand bend guelph 2 hagersville hamilton 6 innisfil kenora kincardine kingston 2 kitchener london 7 markham 4 midland milton mississauga 9 mount forest napanee new hamburg newcastle newmarket niagara falls nobleton north bay 2 oakville 2 orangeville orillia ottawa oshawa 4 owen sound parry sound paris pembroke peterborough 2 pickering picton port colborne port dover renfrew richmond hill 3 stratford sarnia sault ste. marie scarborough 1 shelburne st. catharines 2 stratford stouffville sturgeon falls sutton thunder bay 2 tilbury timmins toronto 41 vaughan 5 wallaceburg welland whitby 3 woodstock prince edward island edit 1 location stratford saskatchewan edit 4 locations estevan north battleford regina saskatoon see also edit other canadian supermarkets references edit stratford welcomes no frills . town of stratford . retrieved 4 april 2011 . canadians suffer in silence buy less as food prices rise toronto star may 12 1978 food price crisis what can be done toronto star july 18 1978 no frills war slashes grocery prices toronto star march 21 1978 puffery leaves the consumer cold globe and mail april 12 1978 no frills pricelist loblaw companies limited july 1987 a b no name products they re here to stay ryersonian november 1 1978 a b c no frills supermarket is swamped on first day globe and mail july 6 1978 price must be right toronto sun july 6 1978 annual report loblaw companies limited 1987 annual report loblaw companies limited 1993 annual report loblaw companies limited 1998 external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to nofrills . no frills website no frills won t be beat website v t e george weston limited corporate directors a. charles baillie robert dart peter eby phillip farmer anne fraser r. donald fullerton anthony graham mark hoffman allan leighton john makinson robert prichard wendy rebanks galen weston galen weston jr. president s choice brands president s choice president s choice financial pc points pc mobile food or drink brands arnie s bagels brownberry country harvest exact george weston bakeries canada only interbake foods no name wonder bread canada only loblaw companies stores atlantic cash & carry atlantic superstore dominion extra foods fortinos freshmart loblaws maxi no frills provigo real canadian superstore saveeasy shoppers drug mart supervalu t & t supermarket valu mart wholesale club your independent grocer zehrs markets property maple leaf gardens loblaws at maple leaf gardens rights to these brands in the united states are owned by different companies . v t e supermarket chains in canada loblaw companies atlantic superstore dominion extra foods fortinos freshmart loblaws maxi no frills provigo real canadian superstore saveeasy supervalu t & t valu mart wholesale club your independent grocer zehrs metro inc. food basics metro super c march adonis overwaitea food group overwaitea foods pricesmart foods save on foods urban fare sobeys foodland freshco iga except in british columbia price chopper safeway sobeys thrifty foods other national chains costco walmart regional chains calgary co op ab calgary area choices market bc vancouver kelowna co op atlantic maritimes qc farm boy on ottawa area kingston fairway markets bc victoria area foodex nl galati market fresh on toronto h mart bc & on highland farms on greater toronto area iga bc longo s on greater toronto area march frais qc ottawa northern northmart northern canada saskatoon co op sk saskatoon area spud bc alberta whole foods market bc & ontario defunct banners a & p ayre s supermarkets commisso s food markets dominion