Earls Giving Alberta a big F-U

[ercchry]

Surprised this hasn't been posted yet...

Yup, the province that made them who they are, the province that is already in a recession.... Will no long be supplying their restaurants with their beef... Pretty ridiculous on a few levels...

http://calgaryherald.com/business/lo...earls-decision

[roopi]

Not ridiculous IMO. I'd prefer the beef without the extras from the U .S. Canadian producers can't meet the requirements so what's the problem.

If you can't provide a customer with what they are asking for you have two choices. Convince them that's not what they want or give them what they want.

[ercchry]

It's not a superior product if that's the illusion you have about this move. I've never been a supporter of this business for numerous reasons, but this is a marketing disaster... It's not that Alberta cows are treated worse than these ones... Plenty of organic options (which is basically what this label is... Minus the whole some jackass approving the killing method and getting paid to put his stamp on it)

[roopi]

I based my response on the article. To me it seems earls is looking for a product that has been certified in a particular way and it's not available in Alberta/Canada.

Is it because this certification/method isn't done in Canada? There are definately organic options but can they meet the required demand?

[ercchry]

The producer from the Edmonton area they were using that has the certificate couldn't meet the demand... But to me it sounds like our industry was willing to work with a realistic timeline to retain this business, but that wasn't good enough for Earls... You know... The chain that started here, prospered during our good times, then killed off 2mm lbs of beef business for us

[M.alex]

more like they found a better deal in the US and used this as an excuse.

[ZenOps]

Local beef price has gone ludicrous in the last few years.

Went to safeway yesterday and looked at ground beef prices, was thinking per kilogram - but nope, per pound.

Which is strange considering wheat is at a near all time low of $170 per ton.

[dirtsniffer]

I wish we were this passionate about alberta oil.

[speedog]

Some perspective on this, Earls annual beef purchases represents less than 0.09% of Canada's annual beef production. I wonder how many of the saints in here purchase more than that percentage annually in their beef purchases that is non-Albertan beef never mind everything else they purchase and this includes beef you might have eaten at any restaurant.

[tirebob]

Just curious how many people here that are pissed off about this buy online stuff out of the US and cross border shoppers to save money? I personally am all for keeping it local, but I can't help but see the hypocrisy in people complaining about a Canadian company doing the same thing the people often do themselves.

What's good for the goose ..

[V6-BoI]

Originally posted by tirebob
Just curious how many people here that are pissed off about this buy online stuff out of the US and cross border shoppers to save money? I personally am all for keeping it local, but I can't help but see the hypocrisy in people complaining about a Canadian company doing the same thing the people often do themselves.

What's good for the goose ..

Hmm.. guess you can argue that the people who hop across the boarder to the states to save money are buying the exact same piece of merchandise for a reduced price. Using clothing as an example, going to the outlet malls in the states and the price of a pair of jeans is quite a bit cheaper than the exact pair in Calgary. Whereas in this situation it's not the exact same product (even though still beef) because it's from a different manufacturer.

Guess at the end of the day, it's all business and they are probably saving a lot of money doing this. Same idea as people outsourcing manufacturing to China instead of keeping it local.

[firebane]

Why is this becoming a big thing for? I didn't even know and I'm sure plenty of others didn't know they served Alberta beef. Its not like people were thinking "Mmm lets go to Earls and have me some Alberta beef".

Like someone said in this thread prices of meat right now is completely stupid and outrageous.

[killramos]

This is the same company who banned a beer because it might offend albino people.

/thread

Honestly though, despite the rationale behind their decision to use a different certification of beef, there wasn't a single Canadian manufacturer that could provide both the certification and the amount of beef they required. That's our fault, not Earls's. Maybe next time they negotiate their contract a Canadian supplier will be able to meet their demand and specifications.

This is like getting mad at a Canadian luxury limo company for having a fleet of American made Lincoln town cars when not a single company manufactures cars of a similar level in Canada. Then saying they should have filled their fleet with Chevy impalas because they are "similar enough anyways" and made in Canada.

[lilmira]

This isn't the beef you are looking for, carry on.

If anything, Earls should hire a better PR consultant. First there was the dress code issue now it's beef. I doubt this will drive away a lot of customers.

[jwslam]

Originally posted by ercchry
killed off 2mm lbs of beef business for us

Does that mean there's 2mm lbs more of beef supply and prices of my steak at the grocery store will go down?!?! =)

[jwslam]

Originally posted by V6-BoI
Hmm.. guess you can argue that the people who hop across the boarder to the states to save money are buying the exact same piece of merchandise for a reduced price. Using clothing as an example, going to the outlet malls in the states and the price of a pair of jeans is quite a bit cheaper than the exact pair in Calgary. Whereas in this situation it's not the exact same product (even though still beef) because it's from a different manufacturer.

Guess at the end of the day, it's all business and they are probably saving a lot of money doing this. Same idea as people outsourcing manufacturing to China instead of keeping it local.

Gonna give another good plug to this thread which I'm taking credit for:

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?threadid=388173

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by tirebob
Just curious how many people here that are pissed off about this buy online stuff out of the US and cross border shoppers to save money? I personally am all for keeping it local, but I can't help but see the hypocrisy in people complaining about a Canadian company doing the same thing the people often do themselves.

What's good for the goose ..

[colinxx235]

Originally posted by tirebob
Just curious how many people here that are pissed off about this buy online stuff out of the US and cross border shoppers to save money? I personally am all for keeping it local, but I can't help but see the hypocrisy in people complaining about a Canadian company doing the same thing the people often do themselves.

What's good for the goose ..

It is a bit different than just going to the states for a commodity.

For example you are a locally started tire shop. Lets pretend since opening an Alberta company supplied you tires or rims or w/e and lots of your customers happily bought them. Works well for everyone, you get local business and support our Alberta economy. Couple stores and much success later you go hmm I can save xx% if I buy from the states, now I need to find a way to spin this so that me dropping a local supplier doesn't look bad. Hey as of bla bla date we will no longer use this tire as a this US company complies with environmental regulations that we could not source locally.

This earls move comes at a particularly bad time economically and as Eric noted twice, Earls started in Calgary and blossomed into what it is today from local support. So it does feel like a backhand excuse to switch away from our beef especially considering the quality of Alberta industry

[swak]

I saw this in the news this morning.... First thing i thought, "how is this news??"...

Honestly, vote with your wallet if you don't like it.

It's their business, they can buy whatever they want, do whatever they want etc... Whatever.

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by tirebob
Just curious how many people here that are pissed off about this buy online stuff out of the US and cross border shoppers to save money? I personally am all for keeping it local, but I can't help but see the hypocrisy in people complaining about a Canadian company doing the same thing the people often do themselves.

What's good for the goose ..

Sure, but Canadian businesses gouge the shit out of consumers. I've made it my mission with my company to come in and get large market share due to the fisting locals get. The profit margins Canadian companies earn on goods they are simply reselling is utterly ridiculous, and the data is well hidden so that many don't realize it.

Kal-tire is a great example, their tires are so f'ing overpriced compared to their wholesale purchase price, I have no idea how they are still in business because nobody should buy from them. They are hands-down the most expensive tire shop.

When I can buy something for 10% cheaper out of the USA compared to Canada, that means a company up here is gouging me, as there is zero reason their pricing should not match how much I pay a retailer down there after exchange. The fact that I save money even after doing an individual personal order further reinforces this.

As for earls? I've given them thousands of dollars of my business over the past couple years, I will make sure to go elsewhere when possible