Loblaw Companies Limited (TSX: L) (LCL) is the largest retailer in Canada, with over 1,690 supermarkets operating under a variety of regional banners, including the namesake Loblaws. LCL is headquartered in a new, 37,000 m2 office tower located in Brampton, Ontario. Loblaw encompasses 1,100 corporate and franchised stores, 800 associate stores and 9,000 independent stores.It is Canada's largest retailer with sales of more than C$28 billion in 2006. The company is also one of the largest employers in Canada with more than 130,000 full-time and part-time employees. Employees at Loblaw, with the exception of management and employees at The Real Canadian Wholesale Club in Alberta (who are members of the Christian Labour Association of Canada), are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers labour union.Loblaws also has a chain of cooking schools, known as "Upstairs at Loblaws" or "Upstairs at Superstore" (depending on whether they are in a Loblaws or a "Real Canadian Superstore"). The cooking schools offer kids, adults and teen cooking classes, community room space available for rent, and completely organized cooking birthday parties for children ages 5-16.Loblaws has an in-house brand of clothing and accessories called Joe Fresh Style.Loblaw provides banking services under the President's Choice Financial name.Loblaw's regional divisions include Westfair Foods Ltd. (western Canada and northern Ontario), National Grocers (southern Ontario), Provigo Inc. (Quebec) and Atlantic Wholesalers Ltd. (Atlantic Canada).