T&T Supermarkets’ Cindy and Tina Lee receive RCC’s 2018 Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award

TORONTO, May 1, 2018: Retail Council of Canada (RCC) is excited to announce T&T Supermarkets’ founder Cindy Lee and CEO Tina Lee as the winners of the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award.

RCC’s Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals or families who have demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the Canadian retail and grocery industry. Recipients reflect the industry’s spirit of community and trust. They demonstrate a strong commitment to innovation – both in their company’s products and the leadership they provide within their organization.

Cindy Lee’s vision and tireless work with her team to create an unrivaled authentic Asian food experience continues 25 years after opening her first stores in 1993. When Cindy retired in 2014, the legacy cemented by the mother was furthered by her eldest daughter. Tina, who took over as CEO, is leading with a people-oriented, purpose-driven management style that anticipates consumers’ increasing demands for the highest quality goods. Today, T&T Supermarkets is the largest Asian grocer in Canada, and by the end of 2018, will have 27 locations nationwide. T&T is widely regarded as one of the best Asian grocery chains the world.

“RCC is honoured to recognize this amazing mother-and-daughter team, Cindy and Tina Lee, with this Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award in conjunction with T&T Supermarkets’ 25th anniversary,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. “Cindy and Tina have shown an exceptional, relentless passion to serve their customers with the highest-quality grocery products in a retail environment that is culturally aligned with the unique food needs of Asian families. T&T Supermarkets has inspired all grocery retailers to make their stores increasingly relevant to more immigrant families in Canada.”

Cindy and Tina Lee join a distinguished list of past recipients from across Canada that includes Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee CEOs Paul Higgins Jr. and Michael Higgins, and most recently, Longo’s President and CEO Anthony Longo and the Longo Family.

The Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Cindy and Tina Lee at Retail Council of Canada’s Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards Gala on May 30, 2018 at the Toronto Congress Centre, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm ET. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.rccgrandprix.ca/gala-tickets

The Canadian Grand Prix New Product Awards Gala will close the second day of Canada’s biggest retail conference, STORE 2018, which will feature more than 80 speakers and attract more than 2,500 retail leaders from across North America. Media are also invited to attend STORE 2018, from May 29 to May 30, 2018. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.storeconference.ca/tickets.

About T&T Supermarkets
In 1993 by Cindy Lee opened the first two T&T Supermarkets stores in Burnaby and Richmond, BC, to provide Vancouver’s immigrant population with a place for all their grocery needs that felt like home. With 27 stores by the end of 2018, T&T is the largest Asian grocer in Canada. As a family-owned and operated supermarket, “T&T” stands for the names of Cindy’s daughters – Tina & Tiffany. T&T joined Loblaw Companies in 2009. When Cindy retired in 2014, Tina took over as CEO. She vows to continue her mother’s work, and aspires to bring this immigrant-friendly, family-owned company to greater heights.

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About Retail Council of Canada:
Retail is Canada’s largest employer with 2.1 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates over $76 billion in wages and employee benefits. Core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) were $369 billion in 2017. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members represent more than two thirds of 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 45,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers and online merchants. RetailCouncil.org