Yes.
There are different levels, of course. If there weren't room for the majors—the Superstores, the Wal-Marts, and the Costcos—they wouldn't be there. There's a group of consumers who are going to buy price all day long.
But you bring up an interesting point. I actually do a seminar on this. You don't want to hear it; however, consumers are coming up currently in four key areas. I think this is really important, and we're just seeing it happen. One is consumers after value, whatever that means—it's not necessarily price. For example, we have a company that took most of the salt out of their soup. Despite the fact that the company's soups are priced a little higher than some of the others, those soups are selling very well.
That's the second point. Consumers are after health and wellness. They read labels. They appreciate the “front of pack” symbols that give nutritional facts. They read them, they know them, they ask great questions, despite the recession.
The number three thing is that consumers are changing their habits in terms of discretionary buying. A year ago, 50% of consumers bought their lunch at the grocery store. Today, it's 80% who buy their lunch at the grocery store. Now there is a pre-planned purchase. I know that's hurt a lot of restaurants; that's the effect of a recession.
But here comes the nub of your question, sir. The consumer has not walked away from local purchasing or sustainability; in fact, the sales of independent grocers across Canada who specialize in it—and I can go by name across the country—are up since the recession started. As I said earlier in my opening remarks, a lot of what the consumer is doing is cutting back on quantity and sticking with value and “better for you” products.