first quite popular, the program was finally concluded in 1967 as customers increasingly saw trading stamps as an expensive promotion that translated into higher prices at the checkout counter. Stagnation During the 1960s, while Loblaw set record sales, corporate profits declined. An era of aggressive expansion had paid off in terms of revenue growth but apparently at the expense of profitability. As shareholders complained about a lack of information from the company, frustrated analysts, unsure as to the corporate structure or holdings, became increasingly reluctant to recommend the stock. Loblaw annual meetings were better known for their distribution of cookies, cake and groceries than information on operating performance. While George Metcalf remained head of Loblaw Companies Limited, chairman W. Garfield Weston began making changes to senior executive ranks, including the appointment of Leon Weinstein, former head and son of the founders of Power Supermarkets, as president of Loblaw Groceterias Co. Limited from 1968 to 1970. Weinstein soon indicated his intent to "stop giving away baskets of groceries at annual shareholder meetings and try to raise dividends." To find out what Loblaws shoppers thought about the chain, Weinstein introduced a questionnaire on his personal letterhead, "asking customers to check-off their complaints," and received 65,000 replies, or three times the number expected. In spite of attempts to get a handle on operational issues, Loblaws was still perceived as an "ailing supermarket chain." Meanwhile, pre-tax profits for Loblaw Companies Limited declined from million in 1966 to $18.6 million in 1971, "and then vanished altogether." By the late 1960s, the company had begun selling assets. Between 1968 and 1974, Loblaw sold $164 million in holdings to corporate parent George Weston Limited in an apparent extension of "financial assistance." Yet Loblaw continued to make acquisitions. In 1969, it bought a controlling interest in Sayvette, a money-losing Toronto-based discount department store chain and went on to spend $8.7 million to acquire 100 percent ownership. But as competition heated up, losses mounted and stores were closed. The last Sayvette shut its doors in late 1977. Reinventing Loblaws By the early 70s, Loblaw was struggling under the weight of too much debt with millions of dollars of financial obligations coming due over the next few years. At the same time, its stores were badly in need of refurbishing and sales were in virtual free fall. Within a year, the company's share of the crucial Ontario market had been