The chief executive of Empire Co. Ltd.'s Sobeys Inc. grocery-store chain will retire in the spring because of a health problem, the Canadian company said Wednesday.

Sobeys has started looking for a successor for Bill McEwan, who has served as chief executive of Canada's No. 2 grocer and the parent company of Victoria-based Thrifty Foods since 2000.

McEwan will stay until that process is complete, likely early in the company's next fiscal year, which begins in May.

"We will consider all suitable candidates and are fortunate to have very strong internal candidates," Empire chairman Rob Dexter said in a statement.

Canadian grocers, including Canadian leader Loblaws, are facing tough competition from Walmart Stores Inc., which is expanding its grocery offerings in Canada.

The market will heat up further when Target Corp. enters Canada in the spring of 2013, but the impact on Sobeys may be less than on its rivals due to its agreement to supply U.S. discount retailer Target with groceries.

McEwan orchestrated the $260-million deal to acquire Thrifty Foods from co-founder Alex Campbell in 2007.