2 northwest Calgary Co-op grocery stores closing in March

Two Calgary Co-op locations in the city’s northwest are closing in March, a move the retailer calls a “difficult decision … due to evolving economic and market conditions.” 

A spokesperson said in a statement the food stores in Sage Hill at 111 Sage Valley Common N.W. and Hamptons at 1000 Hamptons Dr. N.W. will both close March 28. The Calgary Co-op liquor store and cannabis store in Hamptons will also close. 

“While we never want to close a food store location, we do need to meet our members where they are at, and where Calgary Co-op’s unique suite of products and services will be most meaningful and profitable,” the statement said. 

The statement says shuttering these locations will allow the company to focus on other, more sustainable stores, including the North Hill location set to open early this year and one planned for Marda Loop next year. 

The Sage Hill location opened in 2021, as Calgary Co-op marked its 65th anniversary.

Customers disappointed

For some customers, the news came as a disappointment. 

“It's a staple of coming over here to grab lunches and groceries on the way home,” said Gord Courage, who works near the Hamptons location.

Leslie Jilkes often walks to the Hamptons store, where she loves the staff. She plans to continue to shop at Co-op but will now have to travel a bit farther to get to one of their other stores, like in Creekside. 

That location is about a 10-minute drive from both of the soon-to-be-closed stores. Shopper Ellen Coria says that might have contributed to their downfall. 

“The problem that I find myself with Co-op is they build too many stores in too close of proximity to one another,” she said. “And, consequently, they kind of overlap each other.”

There are also a number of competitors in the vicinity of both locations, including Costco, T&T Supermarket, Sobeys, Real Canadian Superstore and Walmart. 

"The grocery sector is, at the best of times, a very, very low margin industry," said retail analyst Bruce Winder.

Winder says players like Walmart and Costco have taken a bigger market share of the grocery sector over the last decade or so.

And with the high cost of living front of mind for many Canadians, Winder says many big name grocers are turning their focus to discount options, like No Frills or FreshCo.

"These are grocers that don't have the amenities, they don't have a butcher, they don't have a bakery. Everything's really basic," he said.

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The Co-op model

Calgary Co-op is one of North America's largest retail co-operatives, with more than 400,000 members, according to its website.

Its latest financial reports show a $10-million loss in 2024, compared to $16.7 million in net earnings in 2023 and $38.7 million in 2022.

Patronage payments — the amount approved by the board to be paid out to members as part of the Co-op model — were $17 million in 2024, compared to $21 million in 2023, and $26 million in 2022.

Marc-André Pigeon, who has been tracking Calgary Co-op's finances, describes the past few years as "pretty bleak."

"I hope they come back to profitability, but if I see this year [has a] loss looking comparable to last year ... then that starts to worry me a little bit," said Pigeon, director of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives at the University of Saskatchewan.

Calgary Co-op closed two grocery locations in 2023, in Beddington Heights and Village Square.

It has also expanded its footprint in recent years, including buying Willow Park Wines & Spirits in 2023, and acquiring a majority stake in Ontario-based Care Pharmacies the year after that.

Pigeon worries those types of expansion signal the Co-op could be straying from its roots.

"Normally, when a co-operative starts a business, it's to serve their members, not to create investment opportunities for them by investing in Ontario pharmacy chains, for example," he said.

In recent years, the retailer split from Saskatoon-based supplier Federated Co-operatives and now uses Save-On-Foods as a grocery supplier.

Calgary Co-op said in its statement it is working closely with the union and team members to support affected employees at the Sage Hill and Hamptons locations.