Canada’s largest grocer saw year-over-year revenue grow 6.9 per cent to nearly $15.7 billion in its third quarter, as the pandemic continued to boost food retail sales. The company said it will raise its quarterly dividend for common shares 6.3 per cent to almost $0.34. (The Logic)

Talking point: Grocers have been among the business winners of the pandemic. Customers initially stockpiled food, and then continued to shop more and cook at home rather than eat out with social-distancing measures in place. The businesses, though, needed to spend more to enforce in-store safety procedures, such as enhanced cleaning. Loblaw said it spent about $85 million in the quarter on COVID-related costs. It continued to experience a bump in online sales, with e-commerce growing 175 per cent. That’s down from the previous quarter’s 280 per cent growth, but the company had expected that to moderate. Loblaw recently angered suppliers after sending a letter to its larger ones informing them it would soon cost more to stock their products in stores, saying it didn’t want to raise prices for customers amid “pressures” it faced. It followed a similar move by Walmart Canada and prompted a public rebuke from competitor Empire.