METRO’s Serge Boulanger to receive the 2023 Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award from Retail Council of Canada

TORONTO, April 20, 2023 /CNW/ – Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is proud to announce that Serge Boulanger, who held the position of Senior Vice President, National Procurement and Corporate Brands, METRO Inc. prior to his retirement in February of this year, will be recognized with a 2023 Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award. This award recognizes Mr. Boulanger’s exceptional contributions and remarkable career in the grocery industry.

The Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals or families who have demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the Canadian retail and grocery industries. Recipients reflect the industry’s spirit of community and trust. They have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to their company’s growth and innovation, to the communities they serve, and to philanthropy.

With an impressive career that began in marketing at METRO in 1996, Mr. Boulanger rose through the organization spearheading several impressive initiatives. He piloted in 2008, the rebranding in Ontario of the five conventional banners to the Metro brand. In 2009, he moved to the METRO’s pharmacy division as Vice President and General Manager and successfully launched the Brunet Plus and Brunet Clinique banners in Quebec, as well as the “Ma Santé” program, a first in the Canadian market for online access to medical prescription history.  In 2012, he was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, National Procurement and Corporate Brands. Over the years, he added more responsibilities to its portfolio, leading Première Moisson Group, Phoenicia, METRO’s Central Kitchen for ready-to-eat products and the partnership with JBS Food. Serge also received an environmental prize in 2007 from the Government of Québec, a Phénix prize, for the launch of the reusable bag, now a standard in the industry.

“We are thrilled to honour Serge Boulanger with the Canadian Grand Prix Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. “Mr. Boulanger’s outstanding leadership, innovation, and dedication to the retail industry have left an indelible mark, and his contributions have been invaluable to the growth and success of the grocery industry in Canada.”

“It has been a privilege to be a part of this industry,” said Mr. Boulanger. “I am grateful for the opportunities and experiences that have shaped my career. I am proud to have contributed to the growth and innovation in the grocery sector, and I share this recognition with my colleagues, partners, and mentors who have supported and inspired me along the way. Thank you for this honour.”

Mr. Boulanger joins a distinguished list of past recipients from across Canada that include: Burnbrae Farms’ Margaret Hudson, Save-On-Foods’ Darrell Jones, Sobeys, Chair Emeriti, Donald and David Sobey, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee Co-Chairmen, Paul Higgins Jr. and Michael Higgins, Longo’s President and CEO Anthony Longo and the Longo Family, as well as Cindy and Tina Lee of T&T Supermarkets.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Mr. Boulanger at Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Grand Prix Awards Gala on May 31, 2023, at the Toronto Congress Centre from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards Gala will close the second day of Canada’s biggest retail event, RCC STORE 23 , (May 30 to May 31, 2023), which will feature more than 75 speakers and attract more than 2,000 retail leaders from across North America and around the globe.

Media are invited to attend.

With annual sales of more than $19 billion, METRO Inc. is a food and pharmacy leader in Québec and Ontario, providing employment to more than 95,000 people. Its purpose is to Nourish the health and well-being of our communities. As a retailer, franchisor, distributor, manufacturer, and provider of eCommerce services, the company operates or services a network of 975 food stores under several banners including Metro, Metro Plus, Super C and Food Basics, and 645 drugstores primarily under the Jean Coutu, Brunet, Metro Pharmacy and Food Basics Pharmacy banners. For more details, visit corpo.metro.ca.

Retail is Canada’s largest private-sector employer with over 2 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates over $85 billion in wages and employee benefits. Core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) were over $462B in 2022. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members represent more than two-thirds of core retail sales in the country. RCC is a not-for-profit industry-funded association that represents small, medium, and large retail businesses in every community across the country. As the Voice of Retail™ in Canada, we proudly represent more than 54,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers, online merchants and quick service restaurants. dev-rcc.pantheonsite.io

For further information: Branka Stavric, Senior Director of Marketing and Communication, Retail Council of Canada, branka.stavric@retailcouncil.org