Food Basics maintains low selling prices through free plastic bags, warehouse-style stores, and minimal staff hiring. In addition, it has an advantage over other companies in price competition through large packaging and limited product development. Currently, it operates over 100 stores, including 36 franchise stores, in Ontario, Canada.
Food Basics' parent company, A&P Canada, was acquired by A&P Metro in 2005.
Food Basics owns three of its own brands.
Master Choice represents a brand for gourmets.
Equality is a daily necessities brand.
Basics is a large packaged goods and low-priced goods brand.
Food Basics recently launched a low-cost health and beauty product brand called Simply 1-2-3.
The Great Basics Finds Great brand sells everything from prefabricated furniture, clothing, housewares and seasonal items to low prices. Its characteristic feature is that the quantity, type, and sales time of the product are limited.
In the fall of 2006, Metro began revamping Food Basics. Metro is revamping the interior and structure of Food Basics to make it more luxurious, like Super C, a supermarket operated in Quebec. The new sign is beige with yellow accents, and Drug Basics Pharmacy has been replaced with a sign that simply says "pharmacy" and has a blue background. In the spring of 2007, Metro introduced a new inventory management system, called BDMS, to all of its warehouse stores.
Source: Wikipedia