The Voice of Independent Retail For most independent retailers, finding the right information and support you need to run a successful business can be challenging — and that's all the more true when you don't even know what to look for. This June, Retail Council of Canada officially launches Independent Retail: A Changing Landscape, a yearlong initiative that will aim to discover — and recommend solutions for — the challenges affecting Canada's independent retailers.
Retailer task force seeks your input Are you an independent retailer? If so, thank you. Thank you for forming the backbone of the retail industry in Canada. According to Business Development Canada, small businesses (defined as any business with fewer than 100 employees) make up 97.5 per cent of the estimated one million employer businesses in Canada, with 58 per cent of Canadian companies employing one to four people. With the retail industry employing the second-largest workforce in the country, you can be sure many of those businesses are retail operations; indeed, a 2004 study of Canadian business found that 72 per cent of all retail stores in Canada employed fewer than 10 people.
RCC: Standing up for you With the Canadian dollar surging and an increase in cross-border shopping, few times have been as challenging for retailers of all sizes in Canada, especially in light of the fact that the industry is moving into one of the busiest and most important shopping seasons of the year. That is why RCC is aggressively representing you, the independent retailer, and ensuring that the facts about the industry are known and widely reported in all regions of the country. RCC is the only association that has spoken out on your behalf with force and conviction.

2007, Retail Council of Canada — The Voice of Retail