Canadian Retail Industry Honours The Brick's Dr. William H. Comrie O.C. LLD. with Lifetime Achievement Award

Toronto, May 16, 2008 – Retail Council of Canada (RCC) announced today that Dr. William H. (Bill) Comrie, O.C. LLD., Founder of The Brick Warehouse Corporation, will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Comrie was nominated and selected by a distinguished panel of current and former retail executives, as well as representatives from the financial, academic and consulting communities.

"Dr. Comrie is a true Canadian business icon. Over the course of his distinguished career, Bill's combination of ingenuity, business acumen, work ethic and kindness have and continue to leave an indelible mark on the Canadian retail landscape," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "A promising hockey player in his youth, Bill directed that passion and drive to succeed into retail at a young age, and the entire retail industry in Canada has been the better for it."

Born in Winnipeg, MB, Dr. Comrie was raised in Edmonton, AB. After the sudden death of his father, Dr. Comrie made a critical decision to end hispromising hockey career at the age of 19 in order to take care of his mother, his two younger brothers and his father's furniture store. When he took over the furniture store, it was approximately 3,000 square feet and had only one employee. Eager to provide for his mother, Dr. Comrie took a risk by selling his father's furniture business for $20,000. Instead of taking the money to put into a new venture, Dr. Comrie gave all of the money to his mother and started out on his own. By borrowing $8,000 against a car that he had bought while playing hockey, Dr. Comrie started Bill Comrie's Furniture, now known as The Brick. Today, The Brick is the largest retailer of furniture, appliances, mattresses and electronics in Canada, employing over 7,000 people, with sales of $1.6 billion in 2007.

After many years in business, Dr. Comrie took The Brick public in July 2004. Prior to the public offering, he personally distributed bonus cheques totalling $43 million to his 6,000 employees. This was Dr. Comrie's way of showing his gratitude and appreciation to all those who helped him along for their hard work, dedication and commitment. Also prior to the public offering, Dr. Comrie stepped down as Chairman and CEO of The Brick. The Brick now has 200 locations with eight buying offices in Asia and buys from 20 countries around the world.

During his long career, Dr. Comrie has received numerous accolades for his success. In 1993, Dr. Comrie was inducted into the Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta & Northwest Territories Business Hall of Fame. In 1994, he was awarded the 1994 Henry Singer Award for excellence in retailing in Canada.

In 1995, the Board of Governors of Grant McEwan College presented Dr. Comrie with the Distinguished Citizen's Honorary Diploma in Business Administration. In 2002, The Brick was listed as one of "Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies." The Consumers' Choice Institute awarded Dr. Comrie with the 2002/03 Businessman of the Year. In 2004, the magazine Alberta Venture named Dr. Comrie its Businessman of the Year, and he was also named the Retailer of the Year by the Canadian Furniture Manufacturing Alliance.

In 2007, The Governor General of Canada presented Dr. Comrie with one of the highest awards a civilian can receive, an Officer of the Order of Canada.

This award recognizes outstanding achievement and service in various fields of endeavour. Dr. Comrie also holds an Honourary Degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta.

Dr. Comrie is also deeply involved in charity work. In 1997, he agreed to chair the capital campaign for the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation to build a state-of-the-art facility in Edmonton. The foundation committed itself to raise $6 million, but Dr. Comrie and his campaign cabinet raised more than $14 million to ensure the very best health care resources were available for children in Western Canada. Dr. Comrie accepted an invitation to chair the capital campaign for a world-class heart institute located in Edmonton and serving patients from across the province and Western Canada. The Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute campaign goal was to raise $17 million and the campaign raised more than $45 million and climbing.

Dr. Comrie will receive his Lifetime Achievement Award at a gala dinner on Monday, June 2, 2008. The dinner, part of STORE 2008 - Canada's Retail Conference will take place at the Toronto Congress Centre from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes retailers who dedicate their lives to the betterment of retail in Canada. Nominees have no less than 25 years of consecutive service at an executive position in the retail sector. Dr. Comrie joins a notable list of past winners, including Walter Hachborn, Home Hardware Stores Ltd. (2007); Herschel Segal, Le Château Inc. (2006); Richard J. Currie, Loblaw Companies. Ltd. (2005); Thomas J. Bata and Sonja I. Bata of Bata Shoe Organization (2003); and Harry Rosen of Harry Rosen Inc. (2001).

For more information about STORE 2008 - Canada's Retail Conference, log on to www.storeconference.ca.

About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants.

Media are invited to attend STORE 2008. For more information and to RSVP, contact Meredith Roberts, Account Manager, Pipeline Communications, (416) 694-2777, ext. 223; e-mail: meredith@pipelinecommunications.ca.