| The history of Retail Council of Canada finds its roots in the Canadian Retail Federation (CRF), a little-known body formed during the Second World War to help the federal government implement wage
and price controls.
The federation's membership of traditional department stores and specialized retail trade associations often operated at cross purposes. After the war, a dispute over evening shopping hours divided the CRF's membership, and retailers representing traditional department stores left the federation.
Despite their differences, the experience helped retailers understand the need for an association that took an unapologetic retail-first position. In 1963, a number of retailers representing the nation's larger department stores formed Retail Council of Canada, an organization that has since grown to encompass all retail formats, including thousands of independent merchants.
Political Advocacy for Retailers
The retail landscape that spawned RCC looked very different than it does today. Back then, customers paid by cash or cheque, department stores and Main Street shops were the preferred shopping destinations, and shoppers paid no sales tax.
1960s: introduction of
credit cards |
|
RCC faced its first test as a united voice for retail when it was called upon to represent retailers' interests in the 1960s, when credit cards were first introduced into retail operations.That early success led to other policy challenges, including the introduction of UPC codes and bilingual packaging requirements in the 1970s; negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1980s; the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, debit cards and e-commerce in the 1990s; and gift card, environmental and consumer privacy legislation in the 2000s. In all these policy discussions and more, retailers relied on RCC to voice their concerns.
1982: Alasdair McKichan,
RCC's founding president |
Alasdair McKichan, RCC's founding president, says the success of the association in the early days related directly to the people involved.
"We had very strong support from major companies who ensured the committees were fi lled with good people who brought good ideas to the table," recalls McKichan, adding the association developed a "participative environment" that enabled ideas to develop into action. "The members were here to be involved." |
