Canada

Loblaw Companies reported $13.58 billion in first-quarter revenue — a 4.5 per cent increase from a year earlier — on Wednesday morning, the same day that a group of frustrated shoppers said they would begin a month-long boycott of the grocery retailer.

The company said that its retail segment sales rose 4.4 per cent to $13.29 billion. Food retail sales were up by 3.4 per cent, while its drug retail sales under the Shoppers Drug Mart banner increased by four per cent.

A group of shoppers who say they are fed up with the company's grocery prices said that as of Wednesday they would start boycotting the retailer's flagship Loblaws stores and its offshoot brands, including No Frills, Provigo and City Market.