Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has announced the finalists for Canada’s most innovative merchants at the 2016 Excellence in Retailing Awards. A total of 87 finalists from 50 retail companies are in the running for the prestigious awards, which recognize the pinnacle achievements of retail organizations in 10 retail categories covering a range of in-store, online and omni-channel operations.

“Over the past 20 years, the Excellence in Retailing Awards program has become the gold standard, recognizing the very best that retailers in Canada have to offer,” said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. “Becoming a Finalist for these awards takes talent, teamwork and ingenuity, and is a testament to the creativity and leadership of an outstanding group of merchants. Together, these organizations have set a high standard for all retailers in Canada to emulate.”

The 2016 list of RCC Excellence in Retailing Awards finalists includes the following companies, in alphabetical order:

Alcool NB Liquor
Bauer (Division of Performance Sports Group)
Best Buy Canada
Bulk Barn Foods Limited
Canada Post
Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd.
Cineplex Entertainment
Costco Canada
David's Bridal
FGL Sports
Foodland
Frank & Oak
goeasy ltd
Groupe Dynamite
H&M
Holt Renfrew
Home Hardware Stores Limited
Hudson's Bay Company
IKEA Canada Limited Partnership
Indigo
La Maison Simons
LCBO
Liquor Stores, NA
Loblaw Companies Limited
M&M Food Market
Mac's Convenience Stores
Manitoba Telecom Services
Mark's
Metro
Michael Hill Jeweller
Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation
PetSmart Canada
Reitmans
RONA
Sears Canada
Sephora
Shoes.com
Shoppers Drug Mart
Sleep Country Canada
Sobeys
Sobeys Express
Sport Chek
Staples Canada
Surmesur
TELUS Retail Limited
Ten Thousand Villages
The Beer Store
The Source
Walmart Canada

The 2016 winners will be announced at the Excellence in Retailing Awards gala on May 31st. The gala is a highlight of the STORE 2016 Conference, Canada’s largest retail industry event of the year, which runs May 31st and June 1st at the Toronto Congress Centre. For further information and to buy gala tickets: www.storeconference.ca/excellence-in-retailing-awards/gala.

The gala will also honour Louise Wendling, former Country Manager of Costco Wholesale Canada, recipient of Retail Council of Canada’s 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award; Andrew Lutfy, CEO of Groupe Dynamite, named Retail Council of Canada’s 2016 Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year; and Cameron Baty and Karina Birch, co-owners of Rocky Mountain Soap Company, recipients of Retail Council of Canada’s 2016 Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year.

For more information about the Excellence in Retailing Awards and STORE 2016, visit www.storeconference.ca.

Canadian Retail News From Around The Web: May 18, 2016