Aritzia CEO Brian Hill. Photo from Henry Singer website [Photo Link]

Later this afternoon, the 22nd annual Henry Singer Award for retail leadership and excellence will be presented to Aritzia CEO Brian Hill.

The Henry Singer Award is presented by the University of Alberta's School of Business. The School of Business also features an excellent retail-focussed component called the School of Retailing. It is considered to be a global leader in retail-related research and education.

The Henry Singer Award was started in 1992 and it honours the memory of the late Henry Singer, who founded the Edmonton-based menswear retailer of the same name. Each year the award goes to a recipient considered committed to building their community as they build their business. According to the School of Business' website, the recipient possesses the gifts of "fairness, humour, empathy, and respect for and acceptance of all people […] show[ing] a deep commitment to family, friends, associates and the community."

Artizia is a true Canadian success story. Brian Hill started the womenswear retailer in 1984. We remember when Aritzia was a shop-in-store within department store Hill's of Kerrisdale. Hill's is owned by Mr. Hill's family and it was founded in 1914. Aritzia has grown to over 50 stores in Canada and has also expanded to the United States, where it opened its largest store, a 13,000 square foot flagship in Manhattan. About a year ago, Aritzia introduced an online shopping website.

We congratulate Mr. Hill on this award. We are also giving a shout-out to the University of Alberta School of Business, which we ourselves started attending when the Henry Singer Award was but only two years old. We highly recommend that those considering post-secondary education in Business and retail studies consider University of Alberta, as it's one of the world's best universities in our opinion.

[Aritzia website]

[University of Alberta School of Business website]

[Henry Singer Award website]