Even as it operates a network of more than 1,300 stores stretching all the way from St. John's in Newfoundland to Fort St. John in British Columbia, Sobeys is still recognized in Canada primarily as a family-run enterprise with roots in Nova Scotia, with all the benefits and/or limitations that image might suggest.

“The fact that it's family-owned is good,” explained George Condon, a longtime observer of the Canadian grocery industry and consulting editor with Canadian Grocer magazine. “The fact that it's Eastern Canada-owned is a bit of a mystery to Central Canadians, anyway, though Central Canadians have been said to believe the world revolves around them. When they see what used to be a small, Nova Scotia-based company moving across Canada, it's a great mystery.”

What Canadians nationwide are discovering is what shoppers in the Maritimes have known now for 100 years: Sobeys is a retailer with a fanatical focus on food and a persistent determination to provide it. These attributes of Sobeys were in place long before the 1998 Oshawa Group acquisition vaulted it to national prominence and a rank as the second-largest supermarket chain in Canada. Though Sobeys celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, only the most recent chapters in company history are devoted to a nationwide presence.

Bill McEwan, who grew up in Trail, British Columbia, and worked for the B.C.-based chain Ferraro's Ltd., said he knew Sobeys only by reputation until taking a position with Coca-Cola in Toronto in 1989. Today, as chief executive officer of Sobeys, McEwan said he strives to lead a company that draws on the spirit and determination of the company's founders and carries it out at the individual store, wherever it may be located.

“Clearly the roots of the organization are here in Nova Scotia,” McEwan told SN in a recent interview. “I'm sitting in the building that was part of the original warehouse, built back in 1946. I'm a block and a half from the first Sobeys store. There's tremendous heritage here in Atlantic Canada, particularly as it regards an entrepreneurial spirit and generosity with the local community.

“At the same time, Sobeys is a culture of the store, where we try to make decisions as close to the customer as possible,” he added. “Sobeys Inc. is the aggregation of 1,300 stores in Western Canada, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada and is based in Nova Scotia; but the company is the local store. That's a reinforcement of a solid value system.”

To proudly serve local communities is among the four core values McEwan said drives Sobeys. It also endeavors to “get it done with passion and integrity,” stay focused on customer needs, and keep a long-term perspective, he said.