The parent company of the Sobeys and Safeway grocery chains said it would accelerate plans for the two centres it has left to build, including one in Calgary, from where it is expected to start delivering to customers in 2023. The company’s online delivery service Voilà has an operational centre in Vaughan, Ont. and another under construction in Montreal. (The Logic)

Talking point: Sobeys partnered with Ocado Group, a U.K.-based firm that builds automated warehouses for grocers’ online orders, in early 2018. Its first warehouse opened in June to serve the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton, and has recently expanded to include Barrie and Guelph. The company said the business is operating to its expectations, with sales “consistently increasing” weekly since the launch. Canada’s major grocers experienced an unexpected e-commerce boom during the early days of the pandemic that prompted them to boost their online offerings. Empire’s online sales for the quarter ended October 31 grew 241 per cent, the company said.