Loblaw joins Sobeys in offering 24-hour supermarkets in some Canadian cities

Loblaw is following the overnight path set by its competitors by turning some of its stores into 24-hour operations.

The food retailer previously refrained from catering to customers all night long.

But with an increased number of locations of nationwide, rival Sobeys catering to nocturnal aisle-surfers, along with several other regional competitors, few in the grocery business seem to want to risk falling asleep anymore.

During the past few years, the registers never stopped ringing at some of the Loblaw-owned Real Canadian Superstores in the two or three weeks leading up to Christmas. Walmart first experimented with 24-hour holiday season openings in 2006, and has expanded the number of participating annual locations since.

While critics have charged large stores don't need to be open overnight, retailers inevitably say locations have to keep their lights on for stocking and cleaning, and the extra hours just require hiring another cashier or two.

Plus, an increased number of shift workers have appreciated the convenience of being able to fill their carts at any time of day.

Still, the move hasn't always been so simple. Loblaw negotiated with the United Food and Commercial Workers union last fall for a new deal in Ontario that included the right to operate its stores 24/7. Online postings noted the first of these in Toronto and Ottawa over the weekend.

Not every place in Canada is open to the idea of large retailers that never lock their doors, though.

Sunday shopping limitations have continued to force weekend overnight closings in some provinces. And a few cities evidently still have bylaws that indicate the earliest and latest times in which most stores can sell merchandise to the public.

Pressure to allow around the clock openings recently mounted in Hamilton, Ont. Big-box retailers, which aren't allowed to open between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., have complained business is being lost to neighbouring municipalities.

Hamilton TV station CHCH, incidentally, announced it will premiere Canada's first live TV morning news show with a 4 a.m. start time this fall.

(Reuters Photo)