The Overwaitea Story

BC’s Very Own Food People, Since 1915

1915 – Table of Contents

Foreword 7

1

1915-1928 The Origin of Overwaitea: $500 and One Genius Idea

3

11

Afterword 143

2

1929-1932 It Takes a Village – or a Really Good Team

23

1933-1949 Spee Dee Service & a Can-Do Attitude

31

4

1950-1961 A Pioneer for the Times

47

2015 5

1962-1967 Sizing up the Market

7

57

6

1968-1978 The Phone Call that Changed It All

69

1979-1988 Out of the “Other” Column

9

83

8

1989-1997 Over the Rockies

97

1998-2012 New Spaces & Customer Bases

115

10

2013-Present A Company as Good as its People

133

The Overwaitea Story – BC’s Very Own Food People, Since 1915

6

Foreword I bought Overwaitea Foods as a result of a phone call from a person I didn’t know, had never met, and haven’t heard from since.

Overwaitea at that time had small grocery stores in several small towns in British Columbia, and I quickly found out what a very special group of people the Overwaitea folks were.

They were like a tightly-knit family … dedicated, hard-working people who cared about their customers and each other more than any Group I had ever come across in my business life … and they still do!

When we bought the Company from the Founder’s two children and a limited number of employees it gave them some liquidity and the opportunity to grow the Company.

And grow it did … today a large Save-On-Foods store will do jim pattison, Chairman & CEO, The Jim Pattison Group

more sales in a year than the whole Company did in 1967.

There is one simple reason for the Company’s 100 years of continued growth and success: and that is a team of determined, competitive, creative people who are totally committed to satisfying the needs of their customers every day, and in some cases, in very unique ways.

I invite you to read on …

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The Origin of Overwaitea: $500 and One Genius Idea

1

1915-1928

T

hough Overwaitea Foods – along with its sister stores (Save-On-Foods, PriceSmart Foods, Cooper’s Foods, Urban Fare

and Bulkley Valley Wholesale) – has become a household name in Western Canada and “BC’s very own food people,” it’s hard to believe the company was born from some humble origins a full century ago.

The year 1915 offers many historic moments and milestones: It was the year that Alexander Graham Bell in New York made one of the first transcontinental telephone calls to Thomas Watson in San Francisco; the Vancouver Millionaires hockey team swept the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup; and the world was already into the second year of what would become known as the Great War. But it’s also the same year that a savvy 40-something-year-old Irishman by the name of Robert Campbell (R.C.) Kidd opened his first grocery store with a modest $500 on March 8 at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster.

A few years after opening the first Overwaitea, Kidd took over the entire block of shops surrounding his store and rented out space to a variety of merchants – including Quality Meat Market, Caledonian Fish Market, Can Window Baker, Alan’s Café and Lee On, a green grocer. This block came to be known as “Kidd Market.” Photo circa 1919.

11Westminster Public Library Image courtesy of New

The “Overweight Tea” Store As Kidd opened the doors to his narrow 12-foot-wide storefront, little did anyone know that history was being made.

Kidd’s emphasis on product quality, exceptional customer service, innovative ideas and value were the cornerstones of his visionary business practices (which have undoubtedly endured and withstood the test of time).

One of his earliest advertising promotions – and the one for which the store became best known – involved packaging his high-quality Indian and R.C. Kidd, founder of Overwaitea.

Ceylonese-blended teas with 18 ounces

in a one-pound package. In true 20th century know-how, he made sure to market and promote this added value among his potential customers.

The result was highly successful, and Kidd quickly built a reputation for selling “over weight tea.” Though Overwaitea Foods has obviously grown and shifted its business practices with the evolution of time, the concept and the name stuck as Overwaitea and its banner stores continue to deliver high-quality products, outstanding customer service and great value to this day.

R.C. Kidd believed in showcasing his products in long, narrow spaces so the store would look busy, even if only a few people at a time were shopping – which also created a more personalized and familiar atmosphere.

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14

“There is no use offering something different if you don’t tell people about it.”

– Robert Campbell Kidd

Overwaitea’s first store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster, located adjacent to the BC Electric Railway Interurban Station.

Image courtesy of New Westminster Public Library.

Donors: Mr. & Mrs. William Johnson. Photographer: Cleland Dibble Engraving.

15

Tea chests await unloading at Overwaitea’s first warehouse at 1181 Richards Street in Vancouver, BC. Image courtesy of C.S. (Stuart) Mitton.

A Concept to a Cottage Industry The concept of the “overweight tea” store soon led to other advertisements that reflected Kidd’s prior business experience to deliver quality products at a good value through easy and straightforward messaging – a tactic that is still dutifully employed by the company.

For instance, his daily ads in the local newspaper at the time – The British Columbian – were unlike those of his competitors.

What made them different? Much like Kidd himself, the ads were concise, direct and straightforward with an eye-catching layout of the available products and their prices.

An innovator with an uncanny business sense, Kidd is credited (a century ago, no less) for buying and selling product in volume to create better value for his business and his customers, and for introducing the practice of odd penny pricing in British Columbia.

Though pennies were in the monetary system, the usual practice some 100 years ago was to round out prices to the nearest nickel.

Through Kidd’s odd penny pricing system, he could offer goods at lower prices than his competitors – allowing his customers to save pennies at a time as they shopped.

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While Kidd’s competitors would round up to the nearest nickel, he would – as an example – sell four bars of Ivory Soap for 24 cents and two packages of Corn Flakes for 13 cents. This, in 1915, resulted in substantial savings for customers.

In 1918, just as the Great War was coming to an end, Kidd opened his second store in Nanaimo. In 1920, the company built its first warehouse with 2,500 square feet of space at 1181 Richards Street in Vancouver. By 1922, Kidd had opened two more successful stores in Penticton and Kelowna.

Focused on community, and preceded with a solid reputation for fair pricing, courteous service and quality goods, Kidd emphasized value and service – encouraging his store managers and staff to recognize, anticipate and cater to the needs of their customers through personalized service.

Much like the Overwaitea Food Group’s approach to grocery and retail service today, Kidd believed it was important to know his customers by face and by name.

Street photo of New Westminster, BC; circa 1916.

Early advertisements in The British Columbian newspaper, spring 1915.

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A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920

20

Kellogg's 40% Bran Flakes Coca-Cola’s distinctive bottle shape, Nathan's Famous frankfurters in New York’s Coney Island Del Monte’s canned fruits and vegetables Ronzoni pasta, Old El Paso Mexican foods Nestle Milk Chocolate bars Eskimo Pies, Good Humor ice cream, Baby Ruth and Oh Henry! candy bars

1921

Wonder Bread, General Mills Betty Crocker baking mixes, Land O’Lakes butter, Quaker Oats

1922

Clapp's Vegetable Soup (first commerciallyprepared US baby food), Girl Scout Cookies, Gummi Bears

1923

Welch’s grape jelly, Popsicles, Birds Eye brand frozen foods, Butterfinger chocolate bars, Sanka instant decaf coffee (introduced in North America)

1924

Caesar Salad, Wheaties cereal, fruit-flavored Life Savers

1925

Honey Maid Graham Crackers, Mr. Goodbar candy bars

1926

Good Humor (ice cream novelties), Hormel Flavor-Sealed Ham (canned), Milk Duds candy

1927

Gerber’s baby food, Mike & Ike candies, Pez candy with personal dispenser, Kool-Aid, homogenized milk

1928

Rice Krispies cereal, Progresso foods, Velveeta cheese, Peter Pan peanut butter, Drum Sticks (ice cream cones)

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New kitchen technology: 1915

Corning Incorporated introduces Pyrex kitchenware.

1916

First self-contained refrigerator invented

by Alfred Mellowes. (Home refrigerators originally invented in 1913 by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana in which the refrigeration unit was mounted atop an ice box.)

1917

General Electric (GE) begins producing the first hermetically-sealed domestic refrigerators.

1919

First automatic pop-up toaster with a built-in timer invented by Charles Strite.

(It would be another seven years before this toaster reached the public under the name “Toastmaster.�)

1919

The first stand mixer for home use introduced by KitchenAid.

1919

Polish-American Stephen Poplawski invents the electric blender, which he used to make soda fountain drinks.

1922

First electric kettle invented by Arthur Leslie Large.

1927

John W. Hammes, an architect in Racine, Wisconsin, develops the first electric in-sink garbage disposal to help make kitchen cleanup easier for his wife. Eight years later, General Electric introduced garbage disposal units to the public.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

21

Langley, BC; circa 1920.

Image courtesy of Langley Centennial Museum

It Takes a Village – or a Really Good Team

2

1929-1932

“Overwaitea is its people.”

– Robert Campbell Kidd

O

ctober 29, 1929 is a day that still lives in infamy as “Black Tuesday.” It was the day that the US stock market crashed,

signalling what would be known as the “Great Depression” for the next decade or so. In some parts of the world, the depression lasted well into the 1940s.

During that same historic year, 1929, Kidd once again demonstrated his fearlessness in breaking from his industry peers by withdrawing from all newspaper advertising (a common practice among his competitors).

He decided that with good management practices in place, costly newspaper and flyer advertising were unnecessary to building and growing business.

Instead, he turned to word-of-mouth and store window banners.

Kidd believed “If you cut prices in the window and that window is clean and attractive, then people do take notice, and not only take notice, but spread the good news … this is good advertising.”

Kidd used his visionary business practices for Overwaitea to help its people and its customers weather the economic storm that lay ahead.

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As the world around him headed deeper into the Great Depression, Kidd – who described the grocery business “as one of cents” – cut costs on advertising and was able to pass the resulting savings on to customers and the profits to his staff members.

Profit-Sharing for the People In 1929, amid much global economic uncertainty, Kidd made a decision not to worry about making a profit for the next few years, but instead to work on building business and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among his managers. Given the circumstances of the time, this decision would prove to be both astute and prescient.

Attributing Overwaitea’s success as 25 per cent due to head office’s organization and 75 per cent due to sales, he entrusted his staff with the care and reputation of the company and believed that most of the success rested with the individual store managers.

With this in mind, he made another crucial decision – to share the wealth and shift ownership of the company to employees at a time when his empire was rapidly expanding.

When Kidd opened his stores in the smaller communities of Penticton and Kelowna in 1922, it unknowingly started a trend of entrepreneurship. With a fair distance from Kidd’s own home base, the managers in these communities were enabled and empowered to act as the company’s representatives and become more involved by actively participating in local associations and organizations.

As time pressed on – and with the faulty and unpredictable lines of 1930s communications – Kidd began to increasingly rely on his store managers, giving them full control and freedom to run the stores as best they could. In other words, he trusted them to run the business as if it were their own.

Alumni race/community event in Kamloops, BC in 1922.

Image courtesy of Kamloops Museum & Archives.

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In Kidd’s view, the next logical step to sharing responsibility for the store was also to share profits. As a result, he introduced his staff to profit-sharing – a concept previously unheard of in British Columbia.

In an attempt to share the company’s wealth and create greater incentives for a prosperous future, Kidd encouraged his managers to buy shares in the company – thereby shifting ownership of the company to team members.

Along with earning fair wages, store managers received 40 per cent of their branches’ profit before taxes. While this profit-sharing worked as an incentive for managers to expand their branches, it also gave them an opportunity to sharpen their own business acumen and skills. As the store’s profits grew, so did their own.

While the Great Depression continued to obliterate countless businesses and companies throughout North America and the world, Overwaitea survived and thrived (as did its people).

Courtenay, BC; circa 1930.

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The continued emphasis on low prices and increased value also meant that their customers had a better chance of surviving the harsh economic conditions of that time.

Kidd’s incredible foresight and ability to adjust to the depressed economy enabled his business and his team to flourish even in the worst of times, sacrificing short-term profits for long-term sustainability and growth.

R.C. Kidd, the Final Years In the late 1920s and early ‘30s, Kidd stood by his tenet that “Overwaitea is its people” by limiting his own involvement with the company.

“Kidd always stood by his credo,” explains Clarence Heppell, president of Overwaitea from 1971 to 1989. “When he felt it was the right time, he took a step back from operations and trusted his managers to lead the company into the future.”

At this time, Kidd believed that he had provided enough leadership to guide the company to success, and that further growth could be better achieved through the efforts of the staff rather than his own initiatives.

With the unwavering belief that Overwaitea’s people were the future of the company, Kidd stepped down in 1930 from the day-to-day operations side of the business but remained president and principal director until his death in 1932.

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A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1929

Oscar Mayer wieners, Snickers chocolate bars, Twizzlers, 7-Up

1930

Wonder Bread (sliced), Hostess Twinkies, Mott’s Apple Sauce, French’s Worcestershire Sauce

1931

General Mills’ Bisquick mix, Tootsie Pops

1932

Frito Corn Chips, Skippy Peanut Butter, 3 Musketeers chocolate bars

Team pictured with Store Manager Phil Swift (fourth from left) in Abbotsford, BC; circa 1946.

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New kitchen technology: 1929

Clarence Birdseye sells his company and patents to Goldman Sachs and the Postum Company, which eventually becomes the General Foods Corporation and creates the Birds Eye Frozen Food Company.

1930

Considered a pioneer in juicing, nutritional health and the raw food movement, Dr. Norman Walker invents the world’s first living juicer, the Norwalk Juicer (which is still sold today).

1930

Mixmaster is mass marketed to the public two years after first invented by Swedishborn engineer and inventor Ivar Jepson.

Unlike other mechanical mixers of the time, Jepson’s Mixmaster featured two detachable beaters with interlocking blades – quickly making Jepson’s employer, Sunbeam, a household name.

1931

First electric can opener is patented, and is introduced to the public shortly thereafter.

1932

The first plastic-coated paper milk cartons are introduced commercially.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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Spee Dee Service & a Can-Do Attitude

3

1933-1949

“From the outset of the war, the Canadian people have clearly shown that it is their desire to help in every way to make Canada’s war effort as effective as possible.”

– William Lyon Mackenzie King, the 10th Prime Minister of Canada and the longest-serving Prime Minister in Canadian history

D

uring the next 15 years or so, the Kidd family – including R.C. Kidd’s wife, Anne, and their two children – would help

guide the ever-growing company through the Great Depression, the Second World War and the booming post-war era.

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Family Ties When R.C. Kidd passed away in 1932, it was his wife Anne who stepped up to take the reins as president of Overwaitea.

During this time, their two children – Dr. Honor (Molly) Kidd and Dr. Desmond F. Kidd – continued to remain active in the company, both working their way up from the bottom similar to other Overwaitea employees.

Dr. Molly, as she later became known to her fellow employees, began as a warehouse packer at Overwaitea in 1927. She was also a University of British Columbia (UBC) graduate with dual degrees in history and economics.

While at Overwaitea, she was eventually promoted to the office and became the company’s secretary-treasurer – a position she held when her father died, and which she kept for the next six years.

In the early 1940s – just as the Second World War was getting

Molly Kidd

under way – she made the difficult decision to leave the company to study medicine at McGill University. Nonetheless, she remained a director at the company until 1968, when Overwaitea was acquired by another well-known BC company.

Molly’s brother, Desmond Kidd, was also a UBC graduate and appointed as a company director after his father’s death in 1932.

During this time, he continued his academic pursuits in geology and earned a doctorate degree from Princeton University, becoming a consulting geologist.

Though the Kidd family held senior positions at Overwaitea for the next few decades, the company’s operations continued under the direct supervision of the general managers.

Anne Kidd faithfully recognized and supported her husband’s belief that “Overwaitea is its people” – handpicking general managers to oversee the day-to-day operations of this growing organization.

Desmond Kidd

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Anne Kidd (1869-1966) President of Overwaitea 1932 - 1962

A

s Overwaitea’s first female president, Anne Kidd took on this heady leadership role

upon her husband’s death in 1932, at a time when women were not known to occupy roles beyond that of housewife or “pink collar” jobs such as secretaries.

She was around 63-years-old at the time.

Considered to be a strong woman by all who knew her, she guided the company for the next 30 years through some momentous and troublesome eras of history, including the Great Anne Kidd

Depression and the Second World War. Despite these tumultuous eras, Overwaitea flourished under her leadership and opened more than 35 new stores throughout British Columbia by the end of World War II. As time pressed on, she also saw first-hand the impact of technology on the mass production and distribution of goods, and led the company through some leaner periods when the grocery business became increasingly competitive as a result.

But, through it all, she had been known to trust her staff and management implicitly and genuinely upheld R.C. Kidd’s basic principle that “Overwaitea is its people” – a belief that endures and is championed to this very day.

Anne Kidd remained involved in the company until the early 1960s. By then she would have been around 93 years of age. She died on April 11, 1966 at the age of 97 and was survived by her children, Dr. Honor (Molly) Kidd and Dr. Desmond F. Kidd.

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Overwaitea store on 1st Avenue in Port Alberni, BC in 1934.

Overwaitea store in Penticton, BC in 1944.

Background photo: Overwaitea store on 3rd Avenue in Prince George, BC in 1934.

By 1945, following the Great Depression and amidst global conflict, 34

a total of 36 Overwaitea stores were opened across British Columbia.

35

World War II Shifts Thanks to Overwaitea’s increasingly loyal customer base, the company fared relatively well throughout the Great Depression and during the Second World War, which began on September 1, 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland.

Over the next six years, the world would be thrown into disarray and turmoil as dozens of countries fought in what is still considered the most widespread global war in history. For many British Columbians back home, this meant saying farewell – in some cases – to their brothers, fathers, husbands and sons as they headed off to join the fight.

With this shift in the population came a major, irreversible and zeitgeist-defining shift in the workforce. With many men off at war, women were – for the first time – encouraged to take on new opportunities outside the home.

During the war, certain products had to be rationed with citizens routinely issued ration coupons to ensure fair distribution of essential goods. Grocery stores could then order the products depending on their quotas, and the number of ration coupons collected.

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“We Can Do It!” Women who had previously been at home or employed in “pink collar” jobs as secretaries, domestic workers and in lower-paying factory jobs were eager to try new opportunities.

Soon, women could be found driving taxis and streetcars, operating heavy construction machinery, working in lumber and steel mills, unloading freight and much more.

This “can do” attitude was also encouraged and recognized back home at Overwaitea – an expanding company led by a successful woman president – as it welcomed an influx of female staff members in various positions during the conflict.

And despite wartime conditions, business boomed for Overwaitea during the Second World War under the leadership of Anne Kidd, particularly as the scarcity of goods created a greater demand for products.

Service with a smile.

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Stores such as this one in 1940s Creston, BC were entirely full serve, and employees had to memorize the prices of approximately 500 items.

Post-War Boom & Growth Soon after the war finally came to an end in 1945, businesses – including grocery retailers – started to see an increase in goods and competition.

One of the primary reasons for this lies with technology.

Though the Overwaitea stores were still relatively small in size during this time, every effort was made to ensure that grocery shopping was as comfortable and convenient as possible with modern amenities such as shopping carts and Spee Dee checkouts – a mechanized checkout counter that allowed cashiers to reach for and process grocery items with greater accuracy and speed.

Mission, BC; circa 1950s.

39

The war accelerated other types of technological advancements, as well – some of which enabled certain essential consumer goods to be mass produced and mass distributed. This, in turn, resulted in new merchandising policies and increased competition.

Anne Kidd and her general managers knew exactly what this meant: With the abundance of new and plentiful goods in the marketplace, prices had to be dropped immediately in order to remain competitive and keep a loyal customer following – a belief and concept that is still held to this very day throughout all of Overwaitea’s stores.

The result was a successful one.

By the end of the Second World War in 1945 – and under the direction of Anne Kidd – some 36 new Overwaitea stores had been opened throughout British Columbia.

Cloverdale store in 1948, managed by Jim Swanson (left); Clarence Heppell was hired here in 1949.

Main photo: Port Alberni, BC in 1947.

Left: One of Overwaitea’s first self-serve stores. Duncan, BC; 1951.

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Washington Avenue in White Rock, BC; circa 1946.

43

A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1933

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies, Campbell’s Chicken Noodle and Cream of Mushroom soups, Kraft Miracle Whip

1934

Ritz Crackers

1935

Kit Kat chocolate bars and ReaLemon lemon juice

1937

Spam (from Hormel) and Kraft Macaroni & Cheese

1938

Mott’s Apple Juice and Nescafe instant coffee

1939

Lay’s Potato Chips, instant (five-minute) Cream of Wheat

1940

Dairy Queen ice cream stores

1941

M&Ms, Cheerios cereal

1942

Post and Kellogg’s Raisin Bran cereals

1945

Kraft Parmesan Grated Cheese

1946

Pillsbury pie crust mix and Ragu spaghetti sauce

1947

Pillsbury dinner roll mix, Almond Joy chocolate bars, frozen orange juice

1948

V8 Cocktail Vegetable Juice, Cheeto’s brand snack foods

1949

Kraft sliced American cheese, General Foods’ Minute Rice, Junior Mints, Sara Lee Cheesecake

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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New kitchen technology: 1933

Now known as the Moka Express, the Moka Pot stovetop coffee maker (mostly used in Europe and Latin America) is invented and introduced.

1937

William Howard Livens invents the first domestic dishwasher, which included design elements found in modern dishwashers.

1937

Waring-owned Miracle Mixer blender is introduced to the public, retailing for $29.75. In 1938, the mixer’s name was changed to the Waring Blendor.

1938

Inventor Alfred Vischler presents the first pressure cooker designed for home use, named the Flex-Seal Speed Cooker.

1946

German company Electrostar introduces one of the first electric food processors, known as the Starmix.

1948

Inventor Earl Silas Tupper introduces Tupperware to the public, which is now sold in nearly 100 countries around the world.

New Westminster, BC in 1946.

Crofton Photo Service

45

A Pioneer for the Times 1950-1961

4

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.”

– Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States, 1953-1961

T

he 1950s were unlike any previous decade. Mass production made goods more readily available than ever before, and new

innovations and technologies were modernizing and re-shaping people’s day-to-day lives.

This was considered the “Golden Age,” and – among other things – the era brought with it colour TV, credit cards, roll-on deodorant, Disneyland, the polio vaccine and propelled Elvis Presley (and his gyrating hips) to stardom with his iconic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

By the year 1950, the war had been over for half a decade and the Great Depression had already become a historical, unforgettable frame of reference. The 1950s ushered with it a new era of hope.

And this new kind of hope for the future was also ubiquitous among the Overwaitea team members.

As the world around them continued to evolve and progress, Overwaitea followed suit – planning for future growth while securely placing the company’s welfare in the hands of its staff and management.

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Evolving, Innovating & Planning Despite the initial boom in business post-World War II, this sharp growth was both limited and temporary.

Business slowed considerably as new technology developed during the war had enabled mass production of some essential consumer goods – creating a never-before-experienced ultra competitive environment.

To help sustain business during these challenging times, General Manager Harold DeWolf and his assistant C.S. (Stuart) Mitton faithfully subscribed to R.C. Kidd’s principles of continually innovating, remaining at the forefront of the competition and using the company’s capital as efficiently as possible to benefit customers.

Of course, these are the same guiding principles of the Overwaitea Food Group to this day.

Over the next several years, DeWolf and Mitton – along with their management team – planned for the future by instituting programs to improve and upgrade existing stores.

For example, it was DeWolf who, in 1950, first introduced the idea of self-serve in the stores – allowing customers the freedom to personally select their own products while, at the same time, cut down on operating costs. The resulting savings were then passed on to shoppers.

Success followed and by the end of that year, all of Overwaitea’s stores were converted to this self-serve format. Considered a pioneering business model more than a half-century ago, this has – of course – become the modern standard of shopping.

Remodelled Summerland, BC store; circa 1950s. Ken Heales (centre), store manager.

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Making Every Dollar Work When Mitton took over as general manager from Harold DeWolf in 1953, he had his work cut out for him in sustaining the business while also prioritizing Overwaitea’s customers – ensuring they remained happy with the store’s service and prices.

In fact, by the late 1950s, money was so tight that the company could often afford to only open one store a year. Management took this sluggish growth in stride, refusing to run the company on borrowed money.

Rather than investing in new stores, Mitton focused on servicing Overwaitea’s existing customers the best way he knew how: through convenience, quality and cost-savings.

To create a more convenient shopping experience, Overwaitea introduced its first meat operations in the early 1950s – around the same time as it expanded produce operations. (Prior to this, meat markets were generally located in the Fraser Valley and on Vancouver Island; and only selected produce items – such as apples, oranges, potatoes and cabbage – were carried in stores.)

Recognizing the need for in-store meat and produce departments, Overwaitea bought out the existing meat operations and actively brought in a greater variety of fruit and vegetables to meet the growing needs of its customers.

As a result of having to make every dollar work, Mitton’s policies were considered conservative compared with past general managers. His policies, however, formed the foundation upon which the company continues to be based.

And though business and growth were slow at the time, the company’s focus never wavered. In other words, what Overwaitea lacked in financial resources, it more than made up for when it came to customer service and the creativity of its people.

Port Alberni, BC in 1957.

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Retail Resiliency Though Overwaitea’s retail growth was small and limited during the 1950s, the volume of goods coming in and being sold was on the rise – a testament to the company’s continued resiliency and sound planning.

Indeed, by 1951, Overwaitea had outgrown its existing warehouse and moved into a new space on Grandview Highway in Vancouver with some 20,000 square feet.

Though it was believed this new modern facility would meet the company’s needs for the next 25 years or so, the facilities were already becoming too small a mere five years later. In 1956, another 20,000 square feet of space was added to accommodate the influx of goods.

Five years later, in 1961, it became clear that the Grandview Highway warehouse would not be adequate for much longer. It was time to capitalize on the company’s new opportunities and potential – yet again.

Mission, BC in 1953.

Right: Creston, BC in 1953. Hal Wilson (far right), store manager.

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A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era:

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1950

Kellogg’s Sugar Pops, Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant chain

1951

Ore-Ida Foods’ frozen potato products, Duncan Hines cake mix, Tropicana Orange Juice, Jack-in-the-Box restaurants

1952

Kraft’s Cheez Whiz, Kellogg’s sugarfrosted flakes, Birds Eye frozen peas, UK Tetley’s first string-free teabags

1953

Swanson’s TV dinners, Eggo frozen waffles, Denny’s restaurants

1954

General Mills Trix cereal, Butterball Turkeys, Stouffer’s frozen meals, Hershey’s Peanut M&Ms, Burger King and Shakey's restaurants

1955

Kellogg’s Special K cereal, Pepperidge Farm cookies, Kentucky Fried Chicken

1956 1957 1958

Imperial margarine, Certs breath mints

1959

Tang fruit-flavoured powder beverage, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, Jiffy Pop popcorn

1960

Single-serving ketchup packets, Domino’s Pizza chain

1961

PAM cooking spray, General Mills' Total cereal, Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup, Green Giant frozen peas, Carnation Coffee-Mate, Sprite soda

Pillsbury’s refrigerated cookie dough Ruffles potato chips, Rice-A-Roni, Sweet’N Low, General Mills’ Cocoa Puffs, Jif peanut butter, Lipton instant tea, Williams-Sonoma, Pizza Hut, International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurants

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New kitchen technology: 1950

Some 13 years after William Howard Livens invents the first dishwasher, Jerry La Raus creates the first affordable home dishwasher outfitted with rotating hydraulic jets for just $169.50.

1950

Ken Wood develops the iconic Kenwood Chef food mixer, featuring several attachments allowing it to perform an array of functions.

1952

Russell Hobbs invents the first automatic coffeepot, which regulates the strength of the coffee (according to taste) and features a green warning light and bimetallic strip that automatically shuts off when the coffee is done.

1953

Saran WrapÂŽ film is designed and introduced for household use by the Dow Chemical Company.

1954

General Electric introduces the first coloured kitchen appliances, enabling homemakers to customize their kitchens.

1955

Tappan manufactures the first microwave ovens for home use, though sales are low with a price tag of around $1300.

1956

First teflon-coated pans made available to the public by French cookware company Tefal (also known as T-Fal), making cooking and clean-up easier.

1956

General Electric (GE) invents the world’s first toaster oven: the T-93 Toast-R-Oven, a variation on a modern kitchen staple featured in countless households across the country.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

Overwaitea Tea assembly line packaging.

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Sizing up the Market 1962-1967

5

“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.”

– Mary Pickford, iconic Canadian actress of the early 1900s and co-founder of United Artists

D

espite the company’s stagnant growth in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, space in the Grandview Highway warehouse was

becoming more and more limited for the company’s needs. It was time to make plans for the future, and so the search began for a new warehouse location.

A year later – in 1962 – the company moved farther east into

a new 84,000-square-foot warehouse in Burnaby’s Lake City Industrial Estate. This new building was considered ideal because of its central location and ability to centralize the company’s buying, supplying and distributing processes.

Main Photo: Haney, BC in 1963.

Inset Left: Fort St. John, BC in 1961.

Inset Right: Mission, BC in 1966.

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Team Overwaitea Though the Kidd family remained involved with Overwaitea until 1968, the company continued to be operated under the general managers’ supervision.

R.C. Kidd’s son, Desmond, followed in his father’s footsteps in his sincere belief that “Overwaitea is its people.” The younger Kidd considered his director position as mostly hands-off, primarily responsible for overseeing policy matters and confirming measures created and adopted by the Overwaitea managers.

He famously credited the company’s buoyancy and resiliency to its managers, emphasizing it was they who came up with the creative ideas to keep the business afloat. “It is their business,” he once claimed. “The board just stays in the background to help things along.”

Rolling with the Times Under the purview of the general managers – and with the board’s approval – many of the existing 4,000-square-foot stores were renovated to 12,000 square feet over the next several years.

Despite these improvements, the company experienced only minimal growth for a number of years. Though new stores were still being built and opened, Overwaitea was considered a small player in the grocery industry and was often overlooked for the more desirable locations.

“Even though we were still building, our size precluded us from getting the capital we needed to get the larger, more premium retail spaces,” explains Clarence Heppell, president of Overwaitea from 1971 to 1989. “In other words, we were stuck and had to find creative ways to expand our business and serve our customers.”

Overwaitea warehouse staff, 1965. Pictured: Al Morton, Ron Scott, Doug Zetner, Doug Coy, Bill Kroeker, Fred Powell, Frank Lees, Ben Hartman, Ron Stevenson, Ron Cook, Pete Smith, Doug Parkins, Ward Palcek and Russ Labelle.

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With this in mind, under the leadership of General Manager Stuart Mitton, the management sized up the market and decided it was time to take another risk and plan for the future. This time, the company aimed to diversify, which meant creating an entirely different retail model.

And so, in 1967, Overwaitea reinforced its reputation as an innovator by introducing a whole new retail concept: Prairie Market.

Prairie Markets With Prairie Market stores, the concept of a truly discount food store was presented to BC consumers.

These stores were different from traditional Overwaitea stores, offering a low-key, deep discount “no-frills” shopping experience with their cement floors and walls and basic warehouse-like appearance.

Prairie Markets were not advertised, and the products were simply left in packing boxes on wooden plank shelves; customers marked prices on the products themselves with grease pencils.

Of course, the objective of all this was to offer consumers the best value possible. And by lowering overhead, labour and signage/ advertising costs, the company was able to pass the savings – anywhere from 7 per cent to 10 per cent – onto their shoppers.

Prairie Markets were also ahead of their time in offering $1.00 memberships to help reinforce the idea of savings – emphasizing

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the intrinsic value of membership with access to special benefits and pricing on everyday items.

A forerunner to current shopping trends, the first Prairie Market opened in Port Moody in 1967 – bringing this unconventional “warehouse” shopping concept to British Columbians. In doing so, Overwaitea once again took the lead in anticipating consumers’ demands and needs.

Fair Market Share The year 1967 also saw transformative shifts in the company’s financial structure. After R.C. Kidd encouraged his managers to buy shares in the company back in 1929, the operation subsequently became employeeowned.

As such, any capital needed for growing the company was generated internally.

And as the company forged ahead, it became increasingly difficult to realize the full fair market value of the shares as they could only be bought and sold within the company – severely limiting the market for them.

Another challenge was the fact that these shares were valued at a much higher actual value than their trading value. For example, when Desmond Kidd passed away in 1967, his shares were probated at their actual value of $15 per share, while – in reality – they could only be sold for $6.

This presented a problem as Overwaitea needed more financial resources to modernize its stores and keep up with retail trends.

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Stuart (C.S.) Mitton President of Overwaitea 1968-1971

A

s the first Overwaitea president

outside of the Kidd family, Stuart Mitton got his start with the company in its early days, becoming general manager in 1953.

By this time, the Second World War had C.S. Mitton

ended and business had become uncharacteristically slow. One of Mitton’s core initiatives was to improve business and customer service by overhauling the appearance of Overwaitea’s individual stores.

At this time, the grocery business was evolving rapidly and new technology, which had been introduced during the war, had to be adopted for the company to remain competitive in this expanding market.

Main Photo: 100 Mile House, BC. Inset Right: George Dumont, one of Overwaitea’s first meat supervisors, pictured far right (forward).

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Over the course of several years, Mitton – along with his close head office staff – created and implemented forward-looking programs to upgrade Overwaitea’s stores, resulting in improved efficiencies and value for customers.

As a man and as a manager, Mitton was considered to be fair-minded and reasonable – with his door always open to every team member.

During his tenure as general manager and then president, Mitton operated the business under the same principles as R.C. Kidd, managing the company as efficiently as possible. When money was tight, the company innovated to ensure Overwaitea customers would always be rewarded with superior customer service, quality and savings.

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A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1962

Diet-Rite Cola (Royal Crown Cola), Taco Bell restaurant

1963

Yakisoba noodles (Nissin Foods), Tab diet cola soft drink

1964

Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Ruffles potato chips, General Mills' Lucky Charms cereal, Arby’s restaurant

1965

Cool Whip, Shake’n Bake, Kellogg’s Apple Jacks cereal, SpaghettiOs (Franco-American/Campbell Soup Company), Ocean Spray's Cranapple Fruit Juice, Gatorade, Diet Pepsi and Yoplait yogurt

1966

Nestle's $100,000 chocolate bars, Taster’s Choice (freeze dried coffee), Doritos, instant oatmeal

1967

Lawry’s Taco Seasoning Mix, Pringles potato chips, first McDonald’s opens in Canada

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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New kitchen technology: 1963

General Electric (GE) introduces the first self-cleaning oven, creating a new trend for how ovens would be made and cleaned for decades to come.

1964

Switzerland promotes its national dish, Fondue, to North America and the world at the New York World’s Fair.

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66

67

The Phone Call that Changed It All

6

1968-1978

“One of the reasons the Overwaitea Food Group has grown and prospered is because they truly care about their customers and each other.”

– Jimmy Pattison

A

s the 1960s came to a close, some radical shifts were taking place throughout North America and around the world.

The ’60s was undoubtedly a defining decade that brought us

some major historical events and milestones, among them: the Apollo 11 space mission, which made Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin the first humans to land on the Moon; the apex of the hippie/ counter-culture and civil rights movements; and the building of the Berlin Wall. In the mid-’60s, the United States sent troops into Vietnam and, in 1968, both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.

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Back home in British Columbia, the province had three premiers in the decade from 1968 to 1978: W.A.C. Bennett, Dave Barrett and Bill Bennett, respectively. And in other milestones, the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) opened the doors to its Burnaby campus in 1964, followed by Capilano University in North Vancouver in 1968.

And it was that same year – 1968 – that another major shift took place at the Overwaitea Food Group. But first, there was a phone call.

Jim Pattison & Neon Products Limited By the mid-1960s, Jim Pattison was already an established, wellrespected businessman with strong connections and an even stronger reputation for solid business practices. It’s no wonder, then, that he was approached about this small, stagnating yet resilient BC grocery chain.

The acquisition of Overwaitea came about, most incredibly, as the result of a single phone call to Pattison from a stranger – someone he didn’t know, hadn’t ever met and hasn’t heard from since.

But, it was the phone call that changed everything – resulting in a new trajectory for this humble, home-grown BC company.

With its limited capital and drive for change, Overwaitea – in turn – welcomed this iconic and self-made businessman for his leadership and support.

And so on May 16, 1968, Overwaitea employees sold their common shares, with the controlling interest passed on to Pattison’s Neon Products Limited.

In this exchange, a total of 501,910 Overwaitea shares were traded for the equivalent in Neon Product shares – resulting in a transaction valued at $7.5 to $8 million dollars. At the same

Campbell River, BC in 1973.

Article in The Province newspaper from Feb. 22, 1968.

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time, Neon Products also acquired the preferred shareholdings of Dr. Honor Molly Kidd, who passed away in 1977 at the age of 70.

The remaining preferred shareholdings, which were originally bequeathed to Desmond Kidd, were acquired separately from his daughter Ruth Buzzard.

After the shares were listed on the stock exchange, their value initially increased to $45 per share and later stabilized to $6 per share.

Neon Products Limited’s acquisition of Overwaitea would come to signify the single most important development for the company since R.C. Kidd opened the very first store in 1915.

Now, more than 50 years later, this acquisition represented a new beginning and direction for the company.

Under Pattison’s sharp business acumen, guidance and leadership, Overwaitea’s total square footage increased by more than 140 per cent over the next decade, while the company’s market share more than doubled.

In integrating Overwaitea Limited into his group, Jim Pattison fortuitously subscribed to similar business principles as the company’s founder, R.C. Kidd, announcing no immediate changes to the company’s corporate structure. The business was to run autonomously, as it had, for the foreseeable future. It was, by and large, business as usual.

Three Years Post-Acquisition When C.S. (Stuart) Mitton retired in 1971 – nearly 20 years after holding the senior positions of general manager and then president – he was succeeded by Clarence Heppell, an important and prominent company leader who would charge Overwaitea into future growth and success.

By the time he was appointed as president, Heppell had already worked with the company for more than 25 years – starting as a parttime junior clerk at the Cloverdale Overwaitea store in the early 1940s.

Summerland, BC in 1970.

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Over the next several decades, Heppell moved up in the ranks and moved around the province – opening new branches along the way – supporting Overwaitea’s expansion throughout British Columbia.

Heppell had worked under Mitton as general manager until 1971, when he finally took over as president. By then, Heppell’s extensive history with Overwaitea provided him with invaluable experience and insight for navigating the company’s looming challenges, demands and needs.

“The early 1970s was an exciting time for us, not the least of which was because of Jimmy Pattison’s positive influence and outlook for the company,” says Heppell. “Though we only had a small market share back then, there was lots of room for growth and opportunity. We worked hard to learn what our customers wanted and how best to serve them.”

Unprecedented Growth With new ideas and new stores on the way, the company experienced remarkable progress with Heppell at the helm over the next several years.

Indeed, these would prove to be significant years in the company’s overall history, as the capital provided by Pattison enabled the organization to transition from a small-scale entity to a corporation.

“We knew what we wanted and knew what we needed to get there, and it was because of Jimmy that we could get out of the gate, so to speak,” Heppell explains. “Jimmy backed us completely.

Through his support, we were finally considered a major player in the industry and – because of this – we could gain some traction and seize new opportunities.”

Spruceland store in Prince George, BC; circa 1964. At the time, this was the largest store in the Overwaitea Food Group chain at around 14,000 square feet.

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Another key growth factor was the economic climate of the 1970s, and with this came dramatic store expansion. BC’s natural resources were opening up. People were moving into smaller towns, which provided Overwaitea with a larger market and an opportunity to open bigger stores.

With considerably more square footage, these shops fulfilled the expanding needs of their customers. General merchandise had come a long way, and stores were no longer limited to only carrying food items. The stores could now stock a variety of products – such as magazines, household supplies, greeting cards, and health and beauty aids – offering a convenient one-stop shopping experience.

Structural Shifts The acquisition of Overwaitea eventually and inevitably led to some dramatic changes in how the company was managed – at the head office and retail levels.

Jobs became more specialized at head office resulting in a more traditional organizational structure with specific departments that included advertising and promotions, store design, labour relations and computer technology.

In previous years, many of these functions had been contracted out to private organizations. While this change helped to consolidate and streamline operational efficiencies, it also led to different types of job opportunities within the corporation.

“These shifts were important to help grow the company, making sure that the people who helped us with our advertising, store design, technology and so on really understood the company’s values and were part of the Overwaitea family,” adds Heppell. “We also wanted to streamline our costs, so we could pass on these efficiencies to our customers.”

Summerland, BC in 1970.

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Under Heppell’s management, head office also took control over buying and distributing food products, determining new store locations, promotions policies and the new retail pricing program – which meant that all Overwaitea stores throughout the province now had set prices. (Prior to this, store managers were responsible for setting their own prices based on head office guidelines, and according to comparable products sold by competitors in their specific areas.)

The Evolution of Prairie Market The company’s changes and growth were not just limited to Overwaitea stores. In fact, a year after the first successful Prairie Market store opened in Port Moody in 1967, a second 20,000-square-foot structure was created in Burnaby.

A full decade later, the company experienced another major shift. In response to changing consumer demands, the Prairie Market no-frills experience was revitalized and renamed Your Mark-It Foods in 1978.

Just as the name implies, the promising warehouse store concept was continued and re-captured – this time with some small luxuries to make the shopping experience more comfortable.

Though Your Mark-It Foods was still a discount store, it had the added benefits of painted walls, tiled floors and bright warehouse racking.

The move to re-brand was a prescient one – ahead of its time and edging an important trend towards modern-day warehouse shopping.

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Clarence Heppell President of Overwaitea 1971-1989

W

ith a history of service that spans almost a half-century,

Surprisingly, his trajectory from part-time junior store clerk

Clarence Heppell’s journey with Overwaitea dates back

to president is not unusual for this company, and Heppell says it

to the early 1940s – when grocery stores were still full-service

speaks volumes on how Overwaitea acknowledges and empowers

and television was black-and-white. And it was at that time that

its people.

Heppell started his very first job as a part-time junior clerk at the Cloverdale Overwaitea as a high school student.

In 1971, Heppell took over as president and guided Overwaitea through some important shifts and innovations – including

Heppell began with Overwaitea so long ago, in fact, that

in-store pharmacies and bulk foods departments, among

there aren’t even records of when he actually started working.

others. Most significantly, it was under Heppell’s leadership that

No paystubs exist to record his employment back then; he was

Overwaitea made its move from the “other” column in BC grocery

simply paid in cash straight from the till.

retail to becoming a market leader.

His official employment record doesn’t start until 1946, the

“Jimmy (Pattison) gave us the capital and support we needed

year he graduated from high school and was invited to join the

to build new stores, and trusted us completely to lead Overwaitea

Cloverdale store as a full-time employee. Heppell jumped at the

into the next generation of service and become a leader in grocery

chance – seeing room for growth, opportunity and possibility.

retail. And that’s what we did.”

That opportunity came a mere four years later. By then, he

After more than four decades of service with the company,

was 21-years-old and managing his first store in Qualicum Beach.

Heppell retired in 1989 at the age of 60. His advice for future

Over the next four decades, Heppell held many responsibilities and five major portfolios: store manager and buyer, district manger, general manager and president.

“At some point, I did just about everything at the company, except advertising,” he says.

managers?

“Listen to your staff. Ask them, ‘How can we run this company better?’ Tap in to what they’re hearing from customers, and what they’re telling you – and then do something about it.

It’s that simple. It’s the Overwaitea way.”

A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1968

Red Lobster

1969

Celestial Seasonings herbal teas, Campbell’s Chunky Soups, Pringles potato chips, Wendy’s restaurant, Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn

1971

Starbucks, Hamburger Helper

1972

Snapple, Quaker Oats granola

1973

Cup O’Noodles, Stove Top Stuffing Mix

1974

Miller Lite beer, Mrs. Field’s Cookies, Pop Rocks candy

1975

Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, Country Time lemonade, Hills Brothers instant European-style coffees

1976

Perrier sparkling water (introduced to US markets)

1977

Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast, plastic bags at grocery stores, recyclable soda bottles

1978

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Reese’s Pieces and Whatchamacallit chocolate bars

Campbell River, BC in 1973.

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New kitchen technology: 1971

The Rival Company introduces the Crock-Pot brand, inspiring a slow-cooking trend in the 1970s when many women began to work outside the home (preparing the meal in the morning before leaving for work).

1972

First self-contained refrigerator invented

by Alfred Mellowes. (Home refrigerators originally invented in 1913 by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana in which the refrigeration unit was mounted atop an ice box.)

1973

French inventor Gilberte Fouineteau files a patent for what is now considered the modern salad spinner.

1975

Microwave ovens became more affordable due to technological advancements; and sales of microwaves begin to exceed that of gas ranges for the first time in history.

1975

Blendtec company founded by Tom Dickson, who helped to revolutionize the concept of blending with his “Will it Blend?� campaign.

1976

Australian racing designer John Joyce of Bowin Cars creates the first commercial deep fat fryer, called the Set-n-Forget Cooker.

1978

Presto introduces its Popcorn Pumper, a hot-air style popcorn maker for domestic use.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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Out of the “Other” Column 1979-1988

7

“Be different, think different and pay attention. The key to any successful enterprise is not necessarily to find opportunities, but to create them.”

– Clarence Heppell, President of Overwaitea, 1971 – 1989

U

nder Clarence Heppell’s guidance, the late 1970s and early ’80s continued to prove fortuitous for the company – marking an

evolution for the Overwaitea Food Group that transformed it from a standard grocery retailer to a new kind of convenient one-stop shopping experience for customers.

To meet customers’ growing demands and needs, Overwaitea set up a combination bakery-delicatessen and full- and self-serve deli in 1979. Along with freshly-baked bread, rolls and cakes, the stores now also offered barbecued chickens, fresh pasta, homemade pizzas, local and imported cheese, as well as a range of cold salads, fresh fish and deli meats.

83 Nanaimo, BC in 1970.

The year 1980, in particular, was also a major one for the company for other reasons. It was the year that the company took over its own wholesale produce operation, setting a permanent course for the company’s future.

In 1980 (as in now), fresh fruit and vegetables arrived from countries around the world, though special emphasis is always placed on ordering from local farmers and growers, which serves two purposes – guaranteeing the freshest items possible for consumers and supporting local farmers and businesses.

And with the passage of time, as Overwaitea has grown, so have many of the local farmers and businesses they work with.

Just a Half-Cup of Raisins?

Help Yourself!

Two years later, in 1982, the company identified another niche in the market – and Overwaitea once again had its pulse on consumer demand with the innovative concept of bulk foods.

In fact, Overwaitea’s bulk foods department was a notable first for the Western Canadian grocery industry. The concept of bulk foods quickly gained popularity as customers became increasingly interested in going “back to basics.”

“For us, the decision to offer bulk foods was an easy one,” Heppell says. “We initially tested this concept in just one store, believing it’s what our customers would want – more choice and value. Customers could buy just what they needed and save money along the way.”

Demonstrating uncanny foresight, Overwaitea’s bulk foods easily met the needs of future customers who wanted to be greener and more sustainable.

By eliminating unnecessary packaging and purchasing the exact amount needed, grocery shopping had become even more convenient and economical.

Rutherford Mall in Nanaimo, BC was home to Overwaitea's first bulk foods department in the early 1980s.

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Nanaimo’s Rutherford Village store was home to the company’s very first bulk foods department, and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

“After the great response we received for the bulk foods department at Rutherford, we knew the concept would be a winner everywhere,” Heppell adds. “And we were right. That’s why we immediately began rolling out this concept – almost overnight – to our other stores, where it’s grown and exceeded our own expectations.”

Over the next 25 years or so, bulk foods sections have remained a permanent and prominent fixture of many stores among the Overwaitea Food Group – featuring literally hundreds of options, from candy and snacks to spices, pantry staples and more.

“It was through Jimmy’s support that we were truly able to start making a dent in grocery retail with these kinds of initiatives. At the time, there was a fire burning in me – I wanted our company to be number one,” Heppell explains. “And in less than 15 years since the acquisition, Overwaitea had finally moved from the ‘other’ column – where we weren’t even mentioned by name – to becoming a market leader. And it felt great when we got there.”

Evolution of Your Mark-It Foods Several years after the Prairie Markets became Your Mark-It Foods, another more enduring shift was on the way.

In 1982, the company yet again revitalized the stores to meet consumers’ changing demands … this time to the very aptlynamed Save-On-Foods. Several Your Mark-It Foods stores in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley were converted, including Burnaby, Chilliwack, Delta, Langley, Port Moody and Richmond.

By taking care of customers’ needs with the basic premise of price, price, price, Save-On-Foods soon quickly became the preferred grocer for many British Columbians.

Overwaitea's brand new store in Hope, BC in the early 1980s.

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differed from their competitors in another way: It marked the first

20,000 Items and Counting

time a Western Canadian retailer offered exclusive meat programs,

So successful was the Save-On-Foods concept that in 1985 – a mere

wholesale sections, in-store cosmetic departments, in-store banking

three years after the stores were converted – the company opened

facilities and full-service bookstores all under one roof.

its very first megastore in Richmond, offering more than 20,000

Along with exceptional value and customer service, these stores

“With Save-On-Foods, we wanted to create something different, something new that consumers hadn’t really seen before,” Heppell reveals. “We also thought about how we could, as a whole,

different items to customers.

Before this venture, the company had also experimented with opening a semi-megastore in North Vancouver.

improve grocery shopping for our customers by providing more

The additional effects of these two stores could not have been

locally-sourced items and making the experience more pleasant

predicted: traffic jams (in North Vancouver), price adjustments by

and convenient.”

competitors, and lasting changes in the way consumers would shop

Taking its cues from the vibrant Granville Island Market, these

for groceries and other items.

refreshed stores featured the same kind of contemporary styling and

Case in point: At the Save-On-Foods first megastore in

signage along with charming canopies for each specialty department.

Richmond, the store added a pharmacy and cut-rate prescription

The colourful signs and banners also helped to further emphasize

fee, once again becoming an industry trendsetter.

the store’s community spirit and warm, friendly atmosphere.

The result? Another successful transition for the Overwaitea Food Group.

Heppell was the first to admit that the pharmacy was not his idea.

Staying true to the company’s maxim that “Overwaitea is its people,” Heppell listened to his customers and staff, holding meetings with the entire team – from frontline employees to management – to “find out what they think is wrong and needs fixing.”

That’s when the idea of creating an in-store pharmacy popped up. And it was just what the doctor ordered, as Save-On-Foods became the frontrunner of yet another enduring trend.

By that same year – 1985 – the Overwaitea Food Group also became the first Western Canadian retailer to keep its doors open until midnight, seven days a week.

Overwaitea’s farsighted ideas were not going unnoticed – by locals and by a few others around the world. In fact, at a global retail food conference held in Paris in the late-1980s, Overwaitea was named one of the three most exciting grocery chains in the world.

Save-On-Foods on Ackroyd Road in Richmond, BC.

“That was an exhilarating time for us,” states Heppell. “We had succeeded in moving from the ‘other’ column to officially being named as one of the world’s three most exciting grocery chains.

It was an incredibly proud moment for our team.”

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The company's first pharmacy opened in Richmond, BC in 1985 – a first for Western Canada.

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On the Move… Again Back home in British Columbia, the company had once again outgrown its warehouse space. It was time to move, and relocate all of the operations under a single roof.

In January 1980, Overwaitea uprooted its distribution centre from Burnaby’s Lake City area to a massive space in Langley.

At that time, the warehouse in Langley was situated on a 27-acre site, occupying 248,000 square feet. To put this in perspective, it’s the rough equivalent of an astounding 2.5 football fields.

The head office at the time covered about 21,000 square feet and accommodated more than 100 staff members. The storage space, on the other hand, exceeded six million cubic feet or enough capacity to store more than half a million cases – enough food to feed a city of half a million for an entire week.

As with all the previous distribution centres, Overwaitea was certain the Langley space would meet the company’s needs for the next 10 years or so. Once again, the company was happily mistaken.

Four years later, the warehouse facilities were expanded once more to meet the company’s growing needs. By 1993, Overwaitea had decided to shift its business model to focus increasingly on the retail side of its operations. As a result, the company sold its warehouse business to Loman's, who took over the ownership and operations of the warehouse that same year.

The Day the Roof Caved In In April 1988, a year before Heppell’s retirement, one of the company’s most iconic stores was built – and promptly fell apart.

On April 23, some five minutes after the opening ceremonies for Station Square Metrotown’s new Save-On-Foods, the rooftop parking lot collapsed into this 9,000-square-foot supermarket.

Clearbrook, BC in the late 1970s.

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The opening ceremonies were officiated by Burnaby Mayor Bill Copeland, a former firefighter who acted fast in personally guiding scores of customers out of the store in a speedy evacuation just before the roof caved in – bringing 21 cars that were parked on the rooftop parking lot down with it into the store.

More than a dozen people were briefly hospitalized. There were no fatalities.

“We were as horrified and devastated as anyone by this tragic event,” says Heppell. “Thanks to Mayor Copeland’s swift thinking and action, fortunately – and this is the most important thing – no one was fatally injured. Quite a few people were hurt and taken to the hospital, and that is most upsetting. We never want to hear about anything like this happening ever again, anywhere.”

The Station Square development owners immediately suspended all construction after the roof collapsed, and the Government of British Columbia created a Commissioner Inquiry to identify the causes and make recommendations to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

According to the resulting Commissioner’s report, a number of technical and procedural errors had led to the roof structure collapse, with the principal cause being an undersized steel beam and other numerous miscalculations by the contractor and design engineer.

Over the next several months, the Metrotown Save-On-Foods – and its rooftop parking structure – was carefully and diligently rebuilt to exacting standards.

On October 21, 1988, the new Metrotown Save-On-Foods store was reopened amid much flourish and fanfare.

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Doug Townsend (1933 - 2013) President of Overwaitea 1989-1991

A

s the Overwaitea president who led the company over

help of his good friend and colleague, Gary Heppell – who became

and into the Rockies, Doug Townsend’s history with the

Townsend’s right-hand man – Townsend moved the company

company is long and storied.

forward and eastward.

Townsend’s first experience with Overwaitea came in Williams

And within one year of his new role as president, Save-On-

Lake. During his weekly visits to the store, two things caught his

Foods had opened its first store in Edmonton – an ambitious

eye: the pleasant work environment and a pretty young cashier

and forward-looking move that has seen the company grow and

named Mildred. Within the year, Townsend got a job as a junior

expand within this market.

clerk and was happily married.

Those two experiences would shape the two most significant pillars of Townsend’s life: family and work.

Townsend's early career at Overwaitea led him and his family

Today, Save-On-Foods has 31 locations throughout Alberta, employing more than 2,800 team members in that province alone.

Townsend retired from Overwaitea in 1991, but not before creating an important, long-lasting legacy.

across the province – from Williams Lake to Nanaimo, to Camp-

Upon his death in 2013, the company established a scholarship

bell River to Terrace to Kitimat to Maple Ridge and finally, to

to recognize his contributions, time and strong business ethics.

the Burnaby Head office in 1968 as district manager. With each

As a result, the Doug Townsend Memorial Scholarship is awarded

transfer came greater responsibility and seniority.

each year to an employee or the child of an employee who attends

In 1974, Townsend was promoted to vice president, becoming Clarence Heppell's right-hand man for the next 17 years.

When Heppell retired in 1989, Jimmy Pattison turned to Townsend to take over the company’s leadership. In his new role, Townsend had grand ideas and even grander plans. Enlisting the

college or university, with a focus on business.

During a career that spanned more than 35 years at Overwaitea, Townsend left behind an admirable legacy for others to follow and live by.

A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1979

Zagat restaurant guide

1981

Newman’s Own Olive Oil & Vinegar Salad Dressing, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Tofutti frozen dessert

1982

Jell-O pudding pops

1984

Pop Secret microwave popcorn

1985

Coca-Cola Company's New Coke

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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New kitchen technology: 1983

Krups releases its very first coffee machine.

1986

Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (now known as Panasonic) introduces the first breadmaker.

1988

Nonstick cookware company T-Fal introduces a new doubly-resistant coating to its pots and pans.

From left to right: Pictured here in 1991, Overwaitea's four presidents: Brian Piwek, Doug Townsend, Clarence Heppell and Stuart Mitton.

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Over the Rockies 1989-1997

8

“It was time to reach across the border and join the Albertans’ way of getting things done.”

– Brian Piwek, President of the Overwaitea Food Group, 1991 – 1997

T

he year 1989 brought about a new wave of significant cultural and historical moments across North America and around

the world.

It was the year that the Berlin Wall came down, lifting a nearly 30-year-old symbolic Iron Curtain that now allowed freedom of movement between what had become two distinctly different parts of Germany.

In other parts of the world, 1990 was the start of the Gulf War, the year that Nelson Mandela was freed and the Hubble Telescope was launched into space.

Back at home, 1989 and 1990 were also significant years for Overwaitea as the company reached eastward in a momentous move.

This flagship store was the second of its kind to open in Edmonton, Alberta in 1992, replacing the original Mayfield location.

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With the enormous success of Overwaitea and its Save-On-Foods brand, the company decided to expand again – this time, beyond the borders of British Columbia.

But first, the company needed a base east of the Rockies to act as a launching pad into this new and exciting market.

And so, just a year into Doug Townsend’s two-year tenure as Overwaitea president from 1989 to 1991, the company bought Alberta’s Associated Grocers – a wholesale company with a strong list of independent customers across Alberta and Eastern British Columbia. With this acquisition, Overwaitea also inherited some smaller grocery chains.

Within that very same year, Overwaitea introduced the first Save-On-Foods in West Edmonton.

“Back then, we were entirely new to the Alberta grocery marketplace. I’m not sure if anyone had even heard of us, as Safeway had the predominant market share and Superstore had already made huge advancements into Alberta and the Prairies. IGA was also well known in and around Edmonton,” said Doug Townsend. “We literally started with a zero customer base and had to build up from there.”

So how did the Overwaitea Food Group build up from zero?

Lethbridge, Alberta’s first store in its early days. Pictured left to right: Bryan Barrett, Gary Heppell and Gene Maranduk.

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The first Alberta Save-On-Foods store opened in West Edmonton (Mayfield Common) in December 1989.

Mayfield store in Edmonton, AB in 1992.99

The Alberta Way As it turns out, an unknowing symbiotic connection already existed between the Alberta way of getting things done and the Overwaitea Food Group. Even some 75 years after opening its very first store, the company’s commitment to community remained unshakable.

In fact, as far back as the 1930s, one store manager’s wife said that her husband was involved in every single community organization, except the Ladies Aid and local baseball team.

Following in this tradition of community involvement, Overwaitea’s managers did like the Albertans are known to do: They rolled up their sleeves, got into the spirit and volunteered to make their community a better place to live.

By engaging and embracing this community spirit, Save-On-Foods gained a foothold in this extremely competitive grocery marketplace.

And as Overwaitea immersed itself into Alberta’s grocery marketplace, another meaningful relationship was also being developed.

It was around this same time that the company forged a new lasting relationship with Alberta’s Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC) union.

“Our association with CLAC goes back to the early 1990s,” says Darrell Jones, president of Overwaitea. “And we’ve enjoyed a productive working relationship ever since.”

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A New Beginning With all of these efforts – combined with a time-tested strategy of giving customers great service, innovation and value – Alberta’s SaveOn-Foods stores charted a new and promising course for the company.

“Our premise in Alberta was a simple one: to continue doing and offering what we had always done – and to put the customer first,” explains Brian Piwek, president of Overwaitea from 1991 to 1997. “For that reason, we kept things simple by focusing on providing great value, quality products and exceptional customer service.”

To gain brand recognition, the Overwaitea Food Group decided to fly only one banner in Alberta: Save-On-Foods. The company also had the daunting task of showcasing their commitment, unique culture and offerings to their customers, while also differentiating themselves from the competition.

How? As in most cases, the best answer is also the simplest one.

Overwaitea went back to the beginning, and did what it had always done: presented clean, friendly, vibrant stores offering good value and creative merchandising programs.

As an example, one forward-thinking initiative in the early ‘90s was the company’s organic product offerings, which were limited in other grocery stores at the time.

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Culture Club Another challenge in those early years was determining how best to communicate and convey the company’s culture.

In Overwaitea’s colourful and distinct history, the culture was just as tied into the company’s success as its innovative management style, good value and quality products.

As such, Alberta’s Save-On-Foods new team members didn’t have the advantage of starting with a ready-made grasp of the company’s culture and what it stood for, which might be intuitively gleaned from years of shopping at Overwaitea and Save-On-Foods.

“Though it was obviously key to set up and merchandise that first Edmonton store, we believed it was equally important to bring our new team members up to speed on how we work, our values and what we’re all about,” Piwek adds. “We wanted to ensure that Overwaitea continued to be synonymous with great service, great products, great prices.

“We also went back to the basics in offering customers the traditional butcher shop concept of a ‘chef ’s cut.’ For this, we actually custom cut steaks and other meats according to the customers’ requests because it’s what they told us they wanted.”

The customers spoke and, true to form, Overwaitea listened.

The proof? By 2005 – some 15 years after first opening its doors in West Edmonton – the Overwaitea Food Group had opened 16 more locations, employing roughly 2,300 people throughout the province.

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Community, Culture & Commitment Since Overwaitea’s early days, community involvement has long been an important cornerstone for the company.

And beyond the sales and service to their customers, one of the most significant effects of Save-On-Foods’ expansion into Alberta has been in the area of community.

The Albertans’ sense of community was obvious and ubiquitous to Overwaitea team members: Parents helping with children’s soccer and hockey teams, locals volunteering for charities, fundraising events for key projects … and the list goes on.

This strong spirit of volunteerism didn’t go unnoticed. Save-On-Foods took note, pitching in with community efforts, initiatives and projects, supporting charitable efforts and sponsoring a variety of programs.

These efforts paid off. Over the years, this mutual commitment to community helped form a strong and supportive relationship between the stores and its customers – and opened doors for Save-On-Foods all across Alberta.

Stadium store in Edmonton, AB.

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Labour On

T

he Overwaitea Food Group has always operated under the

union with “voluntary recognition” for every current and future BC

premise that if you treat your staff respectfully, pay them

store – as well as an opportunity to create separate agreements for

competitive wages and take care of your customers … then business would surely grow.

And business did steadily grow for almost 75 years, until the late 1980s.

Up to this point, virtually all major BC grocery retailers had the same collective agreement through the United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW).

This opened the door for the company to acquire Cooper’s Foods and negotiate a previously unheard-of 10-year labour deal.

Steve van der Leest, Overwaitea president from 1997 to 2012, knew that to make this acquisition a reality, the competitive nature of the Cooper’s cost model had to be maintained. And it was.

“After years of struggling with contract terms that resulted in

In 1989, things changed when an eastern-based grocery chain

the majority of our stores being uncompetitive, we found something

entered the market with a different collective agreement and a wage

that seemed to work for everyone,” explains van der Leest. “The result

model that was 40 per cent below that of Overwaitea/Save-On-Foods,

was an unprecedented 10-year deal with Cooper’s Foods, which was

Canada Safeway and other BC grocery chains.

our first truly competitive agreement in British Columbia since the

The result?

A new environment in which products were sold at substantially lower prices, due to substantially lower wages.

arrival of the Real Canadian Superstore in 1989.”

Over time, the company and the union continued to work collectively to fix their labour issues more permanently. Together,

“That was a very scary time for us. Business slowed for many

the two parties identified common interests that allowed for future

years because we just couldn’t compete with this new retailer,” says

growth and were able to sign off on various five- and 10-year collec-

Brian Piwek, president of Overwaitea from 1991 to 1997. “We didn’t

tive agreements, as a result.

know if and how we would manage to keep going.”

By the time Darrell Jones took over as Overwaitea president in

Seven years later in 1996, when Overwaitea tried to renegotiate

2012, years of work had been underway to help repair the relation-

its contract to regain its competitive status in this fierce BC

ship between the company and the union to create something more

marketplace, the company found itself in a labour dispute for the

positive, productive and mutually-beneficial.

first time in its 81-year history.

When it was time to renegotiate in 2013, Jones’ goal was to forge

This dispute lasted six weeks and involved Overwaitea/Save-

a new agreement that would be acceptable to all parties – while also

On-Foods and Safeway, with stores closed and employees behind

creating a competitive living wage model that provided team mem-

picket lines across British Columbia. With the help of the provincial

bers with a career path and a solid future. He believed that a new

government, the dispute officially ended on July 6 with the signing

kind of labour model could create labour peace. And he was right.

of a two-year roll-over agreement.

The company’s last set of bargaining for its BC Save-On-Foods

Several months after the conclusion of the labour dispute, Piwek

and Overwaitea stores took place in 2013. Working together, the

met with the union president to begin the process of understanding

company and the union used an interest-based bargaining approach

each other’s positions more clearly.

to create an effective labour relations strategy that was a win-win

Over the next year, they worked together to build a respectful

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each distinct banner.

for everyone.

relationship that allowed for the negotiation of a contract, which laid

“We all had a common interest, and wanted an agreement that

the foundation for future interest-based negotiations. The outcome

would benefit our customers, the staff and the company,” Jones

was a five-year deal, which satisfied all parties, and provided the

explains. “And together, we’ve done that.”

C h a p t e r e i g h t: 1 9 8 9 -1 9 9 7

Paying it Forward

W

hether it’s at the local grassroots level or through major contributions to help

children and their families, the company’s efforts at philanthropy have become integral to how the Overwaitea Food Group operates throughout Western Canada.

In small towns and large cities, the company has a long history of collaborating with customers, team members and suppliers to help raise funds and support local causes aimed at advancing the health and wellness of children and their families.

Through donations, volunteer efforts and by creating mechanisms to help generate contributions, the company is proud to be involved with many important causes, including: raising funds for children’s hospitals; helping to bring quality healthcare closer to the children who need it; helping to deliver healthy, locally-grown snacks to BC classrooms throughout each school year; providing food and funding to local food banks and programs; and helping with disaster relief efforts at home and abroad - all while supporting key community initiatives year after year.

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Western Family Some 40 years ago, the Overwaitea team made a decision that would prove successful beyond measure: to introduce its own line of high-quality products at bargain prices, bringing increased value to customers.

When Overwaitea’s management team identified this opportunity in the marketplace, the next step was to create a range of products that would offer value and savings, without compromising quality. For this task, the company turned to the buying group of United Grocers Inc., then known as United Grocers Wholesalers Ltd., a buying group of which Overwaitea was a founding member.

“We knew we needed a private label brand for our stores that would reflect what we stood for – quality, savings and value,” says Clarence Heppell, president of Overwaitea from 1971 to 1989. “And we wanted it to be best in class.”

With the decision made, Overwaitea collaborated closely with the president of United Grocers at that time, George Deegan, who is credited for leading the development of the first Western Family product line.

Internally, Overwaitea’s Fred Hunt worked on the project to ensure the brand fully met the company’s expectations and standards.

“We worked hard to create something that our customers would want and find value in,” explains Brian Piwek, president of Overwaitea from 1991 to 1997.

Piwek was part of the merchandising team that continued developing Overwaitea’s private label as the company began to bring product development fully in-house. “This was also a continuation of our important partnership with United Grocers,” Piwek adds.

“We’ve had an incredible working relationship with them over many, many years.”

The strong and long-lasting partnership between the Overwaitea Food Group and United Grocers has been an important factor in Overwaitea’s success – not only with creating and implementing the Western Family brand, but also with the buying and supplier side of operations.

As for the Western Family brand, what started out as a humble endeavour with just a few products has developed into a portfolio featuring thousands of items, many of which are produced locally – a sure testament to the brand’s highly appreciated and sought-after products.

Now synonymous with Overwaitea, its banner stores (such as Save-On-Foods) and the Western Canadian lifestyle of eating and living right, the Western Family brand has become a go-to for thousands of families across British Columbia and Alberta.

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Brian Piwek President of the Overwaitea Food Group 1991-1997

B

rian Piwek’s impressive career with Overwaitea began

“Looking back, quite frankly, if Jimmy hadn’t bought the

with one basic need: gas money. As a high school senior in

company, I really don’t know if we could have survived,” Piwek

Terrace, Piwek was often short on cash for getting around town.

explains. “He injected new capital and new life into Overwaitea

His solution? To apply for a part-time job at the local Overwaitea.

that created new opportunities throughout the province.”

“At the time, it was just a job to help pay for gas,” he laughs.

From Terrace, Piwek’s path led him to Kitimat as a produce

“I started working there with Doug Townsend, who was the store

manager, followed by assistant manager positions in Cranbrook

manager, and I had no intention of staying long-term.”

and Creston. He then took on the role of store manager at Prairie

That was in April 1965, when Overwaitea was employee-owned

Market, before moving back to the Overwaitea side where he took

and operated. In no time at all, Piwek was recognized for his

on increasingly prominent roles within the company – finally

strong work ethic and pro-active qualities. Eventually, Townsend

becoming vice president and president.

convinced Piwek to join the company full time after graduation.

In addition to the role he played in developing and innovating

“Doug started telling me about Overwaitea, how it was owned

for the company prior to his presidency, three of his most notable

and operated by its employees – BC’s very own,” Piwek says. “And

achievements as president involve leading Save-On-Foods’ early

that if you worked hard, you could run your own store and be

entrance and growth in the Alberta market, creating the compa-

a business owner of sorts. And I thought … this is better than

ny’s popular loyalty program, and guiding the company through

university.”

some turbulent labour challenges in the mid-‘90s.

The decision had been made. Piwek joined the company and made it his home for the next 32 years.

“Like most companies, we’ve had some turbulent times, but as an organization – and with our people behind us – we got

While the employee-owned and operated model shifted when

through them and made it to the other side,” Piwek reflects.

Jim Pattison bought Overwaitea Foods a few years later in 1968,

“Our people have always supported us, and success wouldn’t be

Piwek’s career and commitment only grew stronger.

possible without them. It’s our people that make things happen, and that’s how it will always be.”

A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1989

Healthy Choice frozen meals

1990

Campbell’s Cream of Broccoli soup

1991

Frito-Lay's SunChips, and DiGiorno pastas and sauces

1992

Arizona Green Tea (iced tea), and Snackwell’s brand

1994

Fruitopia

1995

Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizza

1996

DiGiorno frozen pizzas

Kelowna, BC.

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New kitchen technology: 1990

Keurig coffee company founded by college roommates Peter Dragone and John Sylvan.

1992

ENERGY STAR program developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy, creating an international standard for an array of energy-efficient consumer products (including kitchen appliances).

1994

George Foreman introduces the indoor, electrically-heated George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine (also known as the George Foreman Grill).

1998

Italian ESE (Easy Serving Espresso) Consortium for Development creates the first coffee pod, fitting most traditional espresso machines.

1998

SodaStream home carbonation product re-launched to consumers.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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Taking Responsibility The concept of being green is an entirely familiar one for the Overwaitea Food Group – dating back to R.C. Kidd’s practice of reusing bottles, envelopes and sacks.

Now, of course, this seems like a matter of course: reduce, reuse, recycle – words the company has abided by in attempting to reduce its own carbon footprint.

In doing so, the company has garnered an award-winning record for social and environmental stewardship – earning its first national award more than two decades ago in 1993.

Over time, the company has been recognized as a leader among grocers for initiatives such as its Cardboard Recovery Program, smart technology designed to reduce energy consumption (e.g., high-efficiency lighting and sensors, energy-efficient freezer doors, etc.), eco-friendly products, goals for zero waste and renewable energy efforts – among others.

In fact, Overwaitea has earned no fewer than eight awards and accolades since the early 1990s for its sustainable and forwardthinking programs. The company has also been recognized nationally and internationally by organizations such as BC Hydro, Green Peace and the David Suzuki Foundation for

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its bold, industry-leading initiatives that support important areas such as sustainable seafood and ethical sourcing – to name a few examples.

“Overwaitea has always acted locally and thought globally, meaning that supporting local is the only way to go for us,” explains Darrell Jones, president of Overwaitea. “We work with more local growers, ranchers and producers than any other grocer in Western Canada – and we’re building some of the most environmentally-sensitive grocery stores in Canada with leading-edge, energy-saving technology.”

These progressive, award-winning initiatives work to complement and support the company’s time-tested cornerstones of success to help ensure a healthy planet for years to come.

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112

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New Spaces & Customer Bases 1998-2012

9

“Everything we do is through the lens of the customer, and keeping the customer in mind with every new direction we take.”

– Steve van der Leest, President of the Overwaitea Food Group, 1997 – 2012

T

wo acquisitions. Two launches. Four new company banners.

The late 1990s were full of opportunities and possibilities for

the Overwaitea Food Group.

While most everyone in 1999 was gearing up for Y2K and the new millennium, Steve van der Leest and the team at Overwaitea were preparing for other events that would continue growing the company in fresh and exciting directions.

The first Urban Fare location in Yaletown; circa 1999.

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The Idea of Yaletown Leading the trend once again, van der Leest and his team set out to create a very different kind of grocery store for its Yaletown location.

Bordered by False Creek in downtown Vancouver, Yaletown was previously a heavy industrial area overrun by stark warehouses and rail yards. Then came Expo ’86, which acted as a catalyst for the neighbourhood – transforming it into one of the city’s most densely populated areas, rife with marinas, parks, high-rise apartments and converted heritage buildings.

For this location – a former warehouse district that was being steadily beautified and gentrified – the Overwaitea team thought they needed a distinct shopping concept to meet the needs of this changing demographic.

And they were right. Back then, the area was just in the midst of transformation. Now it is easily considered one of the city’s hippest areas with a trendy warehouse look and feel.

Overwaitea wanted to create a shopping concept that would easily blend in, support and – at the same time – stand out in this quickly developing area.

And so, an innovative upmarket concept was born for this unique neighbourhood: Urban Fare.

Urban Fare – From Gourmet to Everyday Opened in 1999, Urban Fare blew away most people’s ideas of what grocery shopping could or should be.

Imagine colourful square watermelons and bread from Poilâne – one of the world’s most famous bakeries – flown in fresh from Paris, available at $100 per loaf.

And while the store did make news in its early days for the price and luxury of some items, it didn’t take long for locals to embrace the store and realize that beyond the quirky fruit and authentic Parisian bread that Urban Fare was a truly community enterprise.

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seamlessly blend into this vibrant neighbourhood,” says Steve van der

Trending

Leest, president of Overwaitea from 1997 to 2012. “The materials, the

Since first opening its doors, Urban Fare has – without a doubt –

construction process and everything else were deliberately chosen

handily become one of the area’s most popular meeting places for

to encapsulate and highlight Yaletown’s distinctive look and feel.”

locals.

“Yaletown’s Urban Fare was built with great thought and care to

In catering to these new customers, the store featured basic and

To this day, the in-house restaurant offers up specialty coffees

everyday grocery staples (think pasta, rice, eggs, milk, etc.), along

and a full menu of staples and international dishes – from the

with a variety of gourmet foods (organic sauerkraut, cake in a jar,

everyday to the exotic and gourmet.

an enviable array of cheese and the list goes on).

Something else that set this store apart? Ambiance. Boasting

providing customers with excellent service, quality and competitive

its very own licensed restaurant and cappuccino bar where guests

prices – along with some intriguing and out-of-the-ordinary items

could enjoy a glass of wine (or two) with their meals, Urban Fare was

from around the world.

more than just a place to buy your groceries. It was an experience.

(And a sensory one, at that.)

“Overwaitea definitely took a chance with Urban Fare, and the store has set some trends and forward-thinking ideas for the

Pass through the bright flower-filled entrance, and almost

industry,” adds van der Leest. “We believe this is the new face of

immediately you’re greeted by the sounds of jazz humming through

upmarket food retailing, and we’re proud to have been a leader with

the walls and the aroma of freshly-baked breads and cakes mingling

this trend.”

perfectly with freshly-ground espresso.

“More than groceries, Urban Fare is a lifestyle experience,” explains van der Leest. “We knew we had to do something interesting and special for our Yaletown customers, and the reception we received from them was unbelievably positive. The community welcomed us with open arms.”

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And like other Overwaitea stores, this one also focuses on

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And this “chance” has undoubtedly paid off. Since 1999, four more Urban Fare locations have launched in Coal Harbour, Shangri-La (downtown Vancouver), False Creek and Kelowna’s Mission Park.

Cooper’s Foods – A Food Store 1st of All That same year, in 1999, Overwaitea made another bold move: acquiring the well-established Cooper’s Foods.

Created in Revelstoke in 1957, this chain of supermarkets had quickly garnered a loyal following across British Columbia.

More than 40 years later, when the Overwaitea Food Group stepped in, the store was already steeped in a proud tradition of service.

“Our acquisition and partnership with Cooper’s Foods was a very natural one,” van der Leest states. “There was a clear synergy between Cooper’s Foods and Overwaitea that couldn’t be overlooked, and we’re extremely proud to be part of Cooper’s tradition in these important BC communities.”

For decades, Cooper’s Foods has been a part of the fabric of each community they serve – both in and out of the store.

How? It’s explained best by Steve van der Leest: “Each store is run by teams who are very invested in their communities, because they are very much part of those communities.”

It’s no wonder then that, over the years, Cooper’s Foods has earned the reputation that “Cooper People Care.” And it’s also not surprising that in its nearly 60-year history, Cooper’s Foods has grown and expanded in tandem with the communities they serve.

From Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Port Coquitlam to Kamloops, Kelowna, Vernon and beyond, Cooper’s Foods currently has more than 15 locations across the province.

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PriceSmart foods – Big on Service, Low on Prices Two years later, van der Leest and his team found another way to extend the company’s brand and create another banner: PriceSmart Foods.

If Urban Fare is the epitome of gourmet and upmarket style, then PriceSmart Foods would be its more humble and traditional cousin.

And just as Cooper’s Foods and Urban Fare cater to their markets, so does PriceSmart Foods.

Extending Overwaitea’s decades-long business practices, PriceSmart Foods was thought up as a value-centred, no-frills store where customers could find significant savings, simple offerings and helpful staff.

“PriceSmart presents straightforward shopping for customers,” says van der Leest. “It’s about going back to the basics of how Overwaitea first began, tailoring products to the community’s needs while providing quality products and friendly service.”

Similar to the Urban Fare concept, PriceSmart Foods also meets the specific needs of its customers – specifically the multicultural segments. So, alongside the fresh basil and thyme, you might also find some authentic Korean kimchi.

Another good example? The store’s Richmond location, where half of the shelves feature Asian food products.

The concept has again proven successful for Overwaitea. Since opening its first PriceSmart Foods in New Westminster in 2001, five more stores have launched throughout the Metro Vancouver area.

PriceSmart team, 2006.

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Bulkley Valley Wholesale – Serving Northwest BC for more than 50 years A few years later, the company made yet another prudent move. This time, to acquire Bulkley Valley Wholesale in Smithers, BC. By the time Bulkley Valley Wholesale had become part of the Overwaitea Food Group in 2001, this grocery wholesaler had already been in business for almost 50 years and had most recently opened its doors to the public, while still focusing on its core wholesale business.

“Community is what Overwaitea is – and has always been – about, so it just made sense for us to be involved with Bulkley Valley Wholesale,” van der Leest explains. “Whether through retail or wholesale, Bulkley Valley has always focused on serving locals and we’re fortunate to be part of this long-standing commitment.”

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Today, in continuing its proud tradition, Bulkley Valley’s wholesale business is still its foundation and is a leading provider of grocery and other products to independent grocers, mining camps, lodges and restaurants in BC’s northwest corner.

The proven formula of direct-buying from manufacturers and personalized service, along with the strength and backing of the Overwaitea Food Group, has positioned Bulkley Valley Wholesale to move forward, support the community and grow this local business that was started more than a half-century ago.

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Hitting “Refresh” for Save-On-Foods Out with the big box, in with the greenery. In a nutshell, this could very well sum up the evolution of Save-On-Foods in the new millennium.

By the late 1990s, Overwaitea’s management felt that many Save-On-Foods stores were too big and in need of a refresh.

Under the direction of President Steve van der Leest, that’s exactly what happened.

“It was becoming clear that some big box competitors were taking a large share of the no-frills, large-footprint supermarket,” van der Leest says. “And our Save-On-Foods stores were beginning to feel outdated and needed to stand out in a different way. That was our cue to step back and rethink what and who we wanted to be.”

After some soul-searching, the company arrived at a decision: to revitalize the brand by re-sizing and focusing on freshness, quality and energy-efficiency, along with making solid ethical and environmental choices around food. In short: to be fresher, greener and tread lighter with a smaller footprint.

When Save-On-Foods was first created, the trend was bigbox grocery shopping and the company was strategically building stores and megastores as large as 110,000 square feet. Today, many Save-On-Foods stores are less than half that size, covering anywhere between 36,000 to 44,000 square feet.

“We could sense that customers wanted something different from their local grocer, so we took a different approach,” van der Leest explains. “We started using innovative energy-efficient designs and tailored product offerings to suit our customers, and we created brighter layouts and re-sized the stores to make grocery shopping easier and more comfortable.”

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Steve van der Leest President of the Overwaitea Food Group 1997–2012

W

hen Steve van der Leest joined Overwaitea, he was already

communities. One key to doing this was refreshing our Save-On-

a successful entrepreneur in his own right.

Foods approach, which really helped our growth.”

Born on Vancouver Island, van der Leest and his family later

One of van der Leest’s most notable accomplishments as

moved to Calgary where he received his first introduction to the

president includes doubling the company’s store count. Showing

grocery industry at the age of 15 working part time at the local

incredible foresight and vision, van der Leest led in acquiring and

Woodward’s. By the time grade 12 rolled around, he was full time

creating a number of new banners, including PriceSmart Foods,

and looking to the future.

Cooper’s Foods, Urban Fare and Bulkley Valley Wholesale.

In his early 20s, van der Leest moved to High River, Alberta

While innovating with these new stores, van der Leest was

and bought his own grocery store. The venture proved lucrative

also doing what he was known to do best: looking ahead to the

under his leadership.

next five to 10 years.

From there, more success followed. His store became a custom-

This led to another remarkable achievement – the evolution

er of local wholesaler Associated Grocers, whose management was

of the Save-On-Foods brand, which brought the company to

so impressed by van der Leest that they offered to buy his store

an entirely new level with its offerings, organic products and

and add him to their team. At the age of 33, he became president.

environmental efficiencies, while also re-sizing stores to better

“It was a very exciting time, and – of course – I had no idea

suit higher-density markets. It wasn’t long before local developers

how well things would pan out for me or my business,” he says.

sought out Save-On-Foods for their new retail spaces centred in

“But, it did. And from there, things only got more exciting and

urban areas.

interesting.”

“Our main goal in revitalizing was to make Save-On-Foods

Five years later, Overwaitea and the Jim Pattison Group came

more sustainable and relevant for customers,” he adds. “Along

knocking with an offer to merge their businesses. As a result,

with creating a smaller footprint, especially in urban areas, we

Associated Grocers became part of the family, and so did van der

wanted to stand out among conventional big box retailers. So we

Leest – becoming Overwaitea’s vice president of supply chain.

brought our stores to a new standard – one that could work for

It was a few years later when he became an executive vice president, and then president in 1997.

our customers no matter where they lived or what they needed.”

With his quiet determination, integrity and strong leadership,

“We had started to get our feet under us in Alberta at the

van der Leest guided the company to new heights with a steady

time,” van der Leest states. “And it was time to start growing

approach that has undeniably led to enduring stability, great success

again in British Columbia, and find new ways to cater to our local

and recognition for excellence, both nationally and internationally.

Every aspect of Save-On-Foods received this “fresh, green” approach – from different product mixes and signage to lighting and beyond. All the while, the stores ensured that their balance of offerings was the very best they could provide.

“We also noticed our customers were becoming very curious and more knowledgeable about their food – they wanted to know where it came from, where it was made and so forth,” van der Leest reflects. “We considered this, and continued to focus on working with local businesses and farmers as much as possible.”

The new bright and re-sized “fresh, green” approach was so successful among new and existing customers that all Save-On-Foods locations were soon revitalized.

It seems the company had taken a contemporary grocery store formula and turned it on its head, leaning away from the conventional big box to something more personable and reminiscent of a neighbourhood grocer.

An upshot of this new concept was that it also allowed the company to better accommodate high-density urban markets, making Save-On-Foods a sought-after retailer among local developers who were confident that the store could fit into compact, urban spaces while meeting the expectations of nearby residents.

Without a doubt, van der Leest and his team have ushered this banner into a new era, leading the way for other grocers and setting a permanent course for Save-On-Foods and its goal to offer everything and so much more.

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A snapshot of some well-known brands, foods and restaurants that were introduced during this era: 1999

Yoplait Tubes, Pillsbury OneStep Brownie

2000

Heinz StarKist Tuna in a pouch and coloured ketchup in purple, pink, orange, teal and blue

2001

Heinz Lunch To-Go portable salad kits

2002

Nature Valley yogurt-flavoured granola bars

2003

McDonald’s adds three premium salads to its menu

2007

Gatorade’s G2 low-calorie drinks, Chicken of the Sea’s Lunch Solutions (ready-to-eat tuna salad and crackers)

2009

Gatorade Focus

2012

Taco Bell’s Doritos Locos Taco, Burger King’s Bacon Sundae, new gluten-free foods available (e.g., cake mixes, crackers, pastas, bread)

New kitchen technology: 2000

The LG Corporation launches the world’s first Internet refrigerator, also referred to as a Smart refrigerator.

2003

General Electric creates ovens with Trivection™ technology that combines thermal, convection and microwave energies, cooking food up to five times faster than conventional ovens.

Sources: www.foodtimeline.org, Wikipedia, The Food Chronology and The Century in Food: America's Fads and Favorites, www.fastcompany.com, About.com, Greatachievements.org, Trailend.org, www.geappliances.com

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Proudly Local Thinking and acting local are nothing new for the Overwaitea Food Group: It’s simply how the company does business, now and for the past 100 years.

Indeed, this Western Canadian company continues to be the number one supporter of local growers, producers and suppliers in communities across British Columbia and Alberta.

In fact, the company works with more than 1,200 growers, producers and ranchers to bring quality local offerings throughout the store – including natural and organic products, along with Western Canadian beef, chicken and pork. And depending on the season, more than 75 per cent of Overwaitea’s fresh produce is sourced from familyoperated farms in British Columbia and Alberta, while more than 85 per cent of bakery items are locally produced. In addition, hundreds of Western Family items are produced right here at home – including ice cream, pet food, cheese and eggs, just to name a few.

“We’re very excited to partner with as many local growers and producers as we do, and we’re always eager to do more.

We’re especially grateful to our local farmers and ranchers.

The work you do everyday is very important not only to our business but to the economic and physical health of our communities, and we commend you for your commitment and hard work.”

– Darrell Jones, President, the Overwaitea Food Group

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A Company as Good as its People

10

2013-Present

“We’re the local guys, and that’s very important to us; and we’ll continue to stay true to our roots and continue to do what’s right for our customers.”

– Darrell Jones, President of the Overwaitea Food Group, 2012 – Present

O

ver the past 100 years, the world has experienced some incredible accomplishments and transformations. Technology,

alone, has dramatically altered the way in which people live, work, play and communicate. Gone are the cumbersome typewriters of the past, replaced by sleek laptops and tablets. Bulky encyclopedias have been made virtually obsolete by the instantaneous and lightning-fast World Wide Web.

With its newest locations in Calgary, AB, Save-On-Foods continues to introduce fresh ideas and exciting ways to impress customers with 133 such as the Save-On-Foods Kitchen. innovative offerings

Back at home, Western Canada has also experienced some impressive shifts over the past century – from major economic swings and new and growing populations to exciting opportunities through innovative industries such as environmental sustainability and technology. British Columbians and Albertans have seen some phenomenal change at home and around the world.

With each passing year over the past century, the company has consistently restructured and restyled itself to better meet consumers’ changing needs. As consumers’ demands have changed and expanded, so has the company.

And while R.C. Kidd’s 12-foot-wide stores of the 1920s bear virtually no resemblance to today’s 40,000-square-feet conventional supermarkets, there are many things that have stayed the same – despite a hundred years of change.

Just as in Kidd’s era, the Save-On-Foods of the new millennium remains customer-centric with a renewed community-tailored approach of knowing customers by face and by name.

Overwaitea is still its people There is no doubt that Jim Pattison’s influence on the company has led to both unprecedented change and growth. Much of this success can be attributed to the management philosophy he applies to all of his companies and his faith in the people who work there.

And it shows. This kind of faith and trust has not been lost among the company’s people – many of whom have an exceptionally long history of service. As testament, the Overwaitea Food Group has one of the longest-serving employee bases in the industry.

Year after year, the company celebrates remarkable service milestones (anywhere from five years to 45 years) for thousands of its team members, translating to some 25,000 combined years of service each year.

Indeed, many present-day team members are part of multigenerational families whose parents and even grandparents have held decades-long careers at Overwaitea.

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“Every step of the way, we’ve always prioritized our people and made a real commitment to help develop their skills,” says Darrell Jones, president of Overwaitea. “The company is only as good as its people, and the folks here know they are part of something special – and don’t have to leave to advance their careers or gain new opportunities.”

More than half a century has passed between Pattison’s acquisition and Kidd opening his first modest Overwaitea store on Columbia Street in New Westminster, with the claim that “Overwaitea is its people.”

And though much has happened over the past 100 years – in the world around them and within the Overwaitea Food Group – one thing has certainly stayed the same: the company’s core belief in its people.

Jim Pattison continues to foster an entrepreneurial spirit among his staff, trusting them to run the business as if it were their own.

“I’ve always believed that since Overwaitea’s men and women are the most familiar with the way the company should be run, that they should be given the autonomy, respect and trust to do so,” Pattison explains. “Every team member here is part of the Overwaitea family, and we make it a point to promote from within to acknowledge and reward their efforts. Our people are empowered to think and make decisions on behalf of the company. We have faith in their decisions to do the right thing – for our customers and for our business.”

Just as Kidd realized the importance of his early managers, so does Pattison – knowing that it is only with each team member’s trusted personal and professional involvement that the company will successfully reach into the next century.

To this day, Overwaitea’s business philosophy remains secure and steadfast. Some 100 years later, Overwaitea is still its people.

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Darrell Jones President of the Overwaitea Food Group 2012–Present

M

uch like his predecessors, Darrell Jones got his start at the

grocery shopping more convenient, while others include the

company at a very young age. In fact, he was only 16-years-

creation and acquisition of new banner stores (PriceSmart Foods,

old and still in high school when he got his first job bagging

Cooper’s Foods, Urban Fare, etc.) in the 1990s when Jones was a

groceries at the Overwaitea in Cranbrook.

general manager.

“Right from the beginning, the store felt like a family to me,”

A champion of both the “east meets west” and “back to basics”

he recalls. “This was my first job, and – in a way – it turned out

philosophies, Jones has undoubtedly led the company back to its

to be my only job, with greater responsibilities along the way, of

roots by customizing products to meet emerging needs and trends,

course. Amazingly, that feeling of family is still there.”

and encouraging a sense of belonging within each community.

Indeed, walk through any Overwaitea banner store today with

Through its product offerings and efforts, every store under

Jones and one thing stands out: He knows every single employee

each company banner aims to uniquely cater to each of its com-

by name.

munities – a particular source of pride for Jones, who places great

Since Jones started with the company some 38 years ago, he has moved up through the ranks and moved around the province, working at 23 different locations in various positions.

emphasis on the needs of changing demographics.

“Our goal is and has always been to focus on our customers – whatever their needs may be – and on how best we can

“I started out bagging groceries back in 1976 and have pretty

serve them. Being and staying connected to the community is

much done everything there is to do in the stores ever since … well,

extremely important to us,” Jones smiles. “And after all, the com-

except for cutting meat,” he jokes. “I’ve grown up with the compa-

munities served by our stores also happen to be the communities

ny, and have been there through all its changes and evolutions.”

where we live, work and play – it’s just a broader extension of the

Some of those changes include new technology to help make

Overwaitea family.”

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Darrell’s Deal With changing demographics and changing needs, the company’s current president Darrell Jones champions the idea of coming full circle with how Overwaitea first started – but with a modern twist, of course.

“Since 1915, Overwaitea’s focus has always been on the customer – and that will never change,” Jones says. “But what will change is the ways that we can best serve folks – whether it’s offering multicultural products or using technology to simplify grocery shopping. It’s always about what our customers want.”

Though Overwaitea has certainly evolved with the times, the company’s laser-sharp focus on every single different customer has never been truer than it is today.

Shunning the “cookie-cutter” approach to retail, Jones recognizes the emerging needs for changing demographics and has imbued Overwaitea with his “east meets west” philosophy to bring in more multicultural items for their customers.

“We’re always focused on meeting the evolving needs of the diverse communities we serve,” Jones adds. “Our products are one way of doing that, of course, and technology has also been an incredible tool to keep advancing on what customers want.”

Today, with its industry-leading distribution system, world-class technical infrastructure and continually-enhanced business processes, Overwaitea is constantly seeking out new ways to serve its customers.

One example of this is the company's e-commerce service, where customers can shop online for the products they want and have them delivered directly to their cars (en route home), their doorsteps or right into their kitchens. The company’s goal? To give customers what they want, the way they want it.

“This is just one example of how we’re innovating for our customers,” Jones explains. “We’ve made a name for ourselves for 100 years by providing customers with great value, great products and great service. And we’re never going to stop improving for our customers and our team members.”

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Into the Next Century While Kidd’s creative spirit and unique merchandising ideas live on within the company, it is through Jones’ leadership that the company continues to develop and expand.

As proof, in February 2014 – on the company’s 99th anniversary – Overwaitea made another bold move: to acquire 15 grocery stores in British Columbia and Alberta. The landmark deal essentially doubles Overwaitea’s store count on Vancouver Island.

“In every decision we make, we are looking to build, grow and reach into the next decade and beyond,” Jones reveals. “And with everything we do, customer satisfaction is our objective – to exceed the expectations of our customers. That is our ultimate goal.”

The deal solidifies the Overwaitea Food Group as the largest Western-based food chain in Canada.

In yet another move to grow the company, the Overwaitea Food Group is currently building a 500,000-square-foot warehouse in Northern Alberta to help enable further expansion eastward.

While it was through Kidd’s insight and savvy that Overwaitea started as a BC success story, it is to the credit and entrepreneurial spirit of each Overwaitea team member that it has grown from a handful of local stores into a major grocery retailer.

“We are very lucky to have a great team of people who have worked hard for the last century to build strong relationships with

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Chapter ten: 2013-present

our customers and our communities,” states Jones. “It’s that kind of caring, honesty and integrity that enable us to earn our customers’ trust – now and into the future.”

Under the direction of each Overwaitea president, Overwaitea has blossomed – branching out and creating sister stores that perfectly suit the communities they serve: from Yaletown’s modern Urban Fare to the charming Bulkley Valley Wholesale and Cooper’s Foods to Save-On-Foods and PriceSmart Foods with its array of multicultural offerings.

And then there’s always the original, the store that started it all: Overwaitea Foods.

Overwaitea, a modest narrow store born from humble beginnings, has evolved into a solid locally-owned corporation that has forever altered the landscape of grocery retail in British Columbia and Alberta.

Along the way, the company has proudly been involved in a number of important charitable efforts and foundations, while also supporting local small businesses and farmers, and employing more than 15,000 people across two provinces.

As we move into 2015 and beyond, there is little doubt that Overwaitea’s rich history, visionary leadership and unwavering focus on customer service will lead to even greater success.

After all, Overwaitea’s colourful and storied journey over the past century has taken it from being “BC’s very own food people” to serving millions of customers across two provinces as Canada’s largest Western-based grocery retailer.

As for the next 100 years, it’ll be exciting to see what the company has in store.

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Afterword

R

emarkably, it has been left up to me to write the afterword. This is both an honour and a privilege, which also

happens to be exactly how I feel about working with the incredibly dedicated folks here under the guidance of Jim Pattison.

It takes many special people to get you to that incredible milestone.

In 1915, R.C. Kidd was a key figure in creating the company.

In 1968, Jimmy was a big catalyst in moving the company forward

As the current president, I can’t help but notice a trend in how

in a new and exciting direction. And along the way, there are the

the company has consistently operated over the past 100 years.

people – from all the past presidents to all the cashiers and everyone

The similar leadership styles of R.C. Kidd and Jimmy Pattison are

on the floor and those who work behind the scenes. They are what

astonishing. Kidd’s wife, Anne, once said that he “was as keen on

make the company such a tremendous success. At the end of the

building men as he was Overwaitea, because he knew Overwaitea

day, Overwaitea truly is its people. This, I know.

was its men.” The very same thing could be said about Jimmy.

But the story of Overwaitea is not necessarily a story of one or two or even a dozen people. It’s a story of thousands.

Everyone who has been – and continues to be – a part of the Overwaitea family has made an immeasurable contribution to the company’s success over the past century.

It’s because of these special people that the Overwaitea Food Group has such a proud, strong and unique culture – a true team environment and collective spirit that has allowed the company to flourish and break new ground in many, many ways.

As we move forward, I have no doubt it is our people who will continue to stand behind the company and solidly guide us into

After all, a company does not have a 100-year birthday without

the next 100 years of service. The great news is that our company is

thousands of people contributing in a big way to make that happen.

filled with these remarkable people – always has been and always

Frankly, it’s just not possible.

will be. This, I also know.

darrell jones, President, The Overwaitea Food Group

Copyright Š 2015 Published by The Overwaitea Food Group 19855-92A Avenue, Langley, BC, V1M 3B6 All rights reserved. This publication must not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge the permissions granted to reproduce the copyright material in this book. Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and to obtain their permission for the use of copyright material. The publisher apologizes for any errors or omissions and would be grateful if notified of any corrections that should be incorporated in future reprints or editions of this book.

ISBN 978-1-77136-344-0 Printed in Canada publication coordinator Julie Dickson Olmstead author Sheliza Mitha design and production Lisa Eng-Lodge, Electra Design Group photogr aphy Kevin Clark (cover, pages 8, 66, 112, 130) Dale and Yvonne Leniuk, Ron Sangha stylist Robin del Pino colour and prepress Ernst Vegt, Coast Imaging Arts printing Friesens Corporation on FSC-Certified Paper using vegetable based inks With thanks to the many OFG team members and alumni whose contributions made this publication possible.

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