ownership took place with the purchase of 100,000 Class B shares of Loblaw Groceterias Co. Limited by Canadian industrialist W. Garfield Weston. Weston, president of George Weston Limited, whose interests included baking, grocery wholesaling, and paper manufacturing, acquired the block of voting stock from Loblaw co-founder J. Milton Cork. Although the share purchase did not represent majority control of Loblaw, Weston was able to have his old friend and colleague George C. Metcalf appointed to the board of directors, as well as named vice president and general manager. By 1953, though, Garfield Weston had secured majority control through parent company George Weston Limited and Metcalf was appointed president of Loblaw Groceterias. With Weston in control, a program of rapid expansion, particularly through acquisition, followed as the company extended its holdings beyond Ontario into other regions of Canada and into the United States. Loblaw Companies Limited In 1953, Loblaw Groceterias acquired majority control of Loblaw Inc., the former American branch of the company with stores in New York State, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, through a purchase of stock from George Weston Limited. That same year, Loblaw also bought the Power Supermarkets chain of Toronto. More noteworthy, though, was its decision to take a 25 per cent stake in Chicago-based National Tea Co., a major supermarket chain with some 750 stores in twelve states, three years later. With an ever-increasing array of retail assets, Loblaw Companies Limited was incorporated in 1956 as holding company for Loblaw Groceterias and the recently acquired holdings south of the border. That same year, Loblaw also announced a major new thrust into Western Canada with 32 supermarkets slated for construction. Other acquisitions followed, including Atlantic Wholesalers in the Maritimes with its associated retail outlets. At its height, Loblaw Companies Limited would represent the third largest grocery retailer in North America. As large as Loblaw had grown, food retailing remained highly competitive and special promotions and customer loyalty programs were introduced as a way of attracting and retaining consumers. During the 1950s, car giveaways were a popular highlight of many grand openings of new Loblaws supermarkets. In 1959, the company entered the trading stamp wars with its own Lucky Green Stamps. Loblaw president George Metcalf brought store managers together for an early morning meeting in Toronto to make the surprise announcement, informing them that the stamps, redeemable for household gifts, had already been delivered to their stores. While at