Justin Schley has taken the reins at Quality Foods, following the retirement of Noel Hayward at the end of 2023.

Schley knows the company well, having grown up with it. His father Ken Schley founded Qualicum Foods with John Briuolo and Noel Hayward in 1982 when the three were in their mid-twenties. A few years later in 1986, Bruce Robertson joined the company as a partner, and the three opened ParksvilleB次元官网网址檚 first Quality Foods location.

Schley still lives in Qualicum Beach and remembers working at the Qualicum store first and then at a new Parksville store when it opened in 1996.

Before stepping into his new role, Schley was the companyB次元官网网址檚 CFO, and worked closely with his fatherB次元官网网址檚 founding partner Noel Hayward for five or six years, giving him the opportunity to continue learning from the people who started the company.

Quality Foods now has stores up and down the Island and employs hundreds of people.

B次元官网网址淚t really has been part of the fabric of the communities on Vancouver Island,B次元官网网址� said Schley.

The company acquired many of its locations from defunct stores B次元官网网址� the Qualicum and Port Alberni locations were old SuperValus, Schley pointed out, and the Campbell River store was an old IGA that went out of business.

B次元官网网址淲e really built it from that and it was based on three key principles,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚t was taking care of community, it was taking care of our customers of course and our employees, and those roots are still alive and well today.B次元官网网址�

Schley added those values factor into why the company decided to sell to the Jim Pattison Group in 2017.

B次元官网网址淸Jim Pattison] has the same sort of values and traditions, being a B.C.-bred company,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd his roots are very similar and his values are similar to us.B次元官网网址�

Community is important to a companyB次元官网网址檚 success, Schley said, especially in the grocery industry. A grocery store is a natural gathering place and he believes the company has a responsibility to take care of its community and help it thrive.

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Looking ahead to the future, Schley anticipates the grocery industry landscape will continue to change rapidly as it has done since the COVID-19 pandemic.

B次元官网网址淚nflationB次元官网网址檚 a big problem. The supply chain in Canada has many, many challenges,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 owned by very few people, where you actually buy the food from. It all comes out of the east, so it becomes a major problem for western-based grocery stores.B次元官网网址�

Schley said the idea behind integration and bringing together the Jim Pattison food companies is to become more competitive and lower costs to compete against the likes of Walmart, Costco and Loblaws.

B次元官网网址淚f weB次元官网网址檙e going to survive and thrive, we need to lower our costs,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd this was what the whole decision was based on B次元官网网址� integration was based on helping us compete as Quality Foods on the Island and off the Island as we grow.B次元官网网址�

The Quality Foods head office will remain in Errington, Schley said.

B次元官网网址淭his is where the company will continue to run from,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎lthough we have investors that are in Vancouver, weB次元官网网址檙e still a very Island-based, Island-centric company.B次元官网网址�

Schley also wanted to clarify a misconception that Quality Foods has been bought by Save-On-Foods and added that there have been no ownership changes since Pattison purchased the company in 2017.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e all come together in order to help lower our costs so we can pass it on to the customers and continue to compete,B次元官网网址� he said.

With that consolidation have come changes to the product mix, and Schley said Quality Foods is working to bring back all the products customers have been missing.

B次元官网网址淲e just need some time to get that all together, but weB次元官网网址檒l never stop listening to our customers, weB次元官网网址檒l never stop doing the right thing and weB次元官网网址檙e just excited for the future.B次元官网网址�