Empire Company Limited is a Canadian conglomerate engaged mostly in food retail and corporate investments. Founded in 1963, the company is headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia and owns the Sobeys supermarket chain. In total, the company owns, affiliates or franchises more than 1,500 stores; in addition to Sobeys, brands include Safeway, IGA, Foodland, Farm Boy, FreshCo, Thrifty Foods and Lawtons Drug. Wikipedia