Retail Council of Canada honours Brian Hill with 2012 Distinguished Retailer of the Year Award

TORONTO, May 17, 2012 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) announced today that Brian Hill, Founder & CEO of Aritzia LP, will be honoured with the 2012 Distinguished Retailer of the Year Award.

"We are thrilled to recognize and reward Brian Hill's vision and passion for the apparel business," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, RCC. "Brian has created a unique and innovative retail concept, offering an aspirational, yet accessible, shopping environment, exceptional customer service and beautiful, well-designed product.  Brian's vertically-integrated model is compelling to fashionable girls across North America and it has led to Aritzia's notable growth in the retail sector. Aritzia's evolution from homegrown success story to global brand is a testament to Brian's exceptional leadership."

The Distinguished Retailer of the Year Award recognizes a retail leader who has led his/her company to outstanding business success and innovation and who has consistently demonstrated community commitment and support. The recipient is seen as a role model because of his/her exceptional leadership within the corporation, in the retail industry in Canada and in the community at large, through personal and/or corporate philanthropic activities.

The Distinguished Retailer of the Year Award will be presented to Mr. Hill at the Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala on Monday, June 4, 2012.  The Gala, part of STORE 2012 - Canada's Retail Conference, will take place at the Toronto Congress Centre from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

About Brian Hill
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, into a family with a long history in the retail fashion business, Brian Hill spent much of his youth working at his father's department store. In 1984, he opened the first Aritzia store in Vancouver with his father, Jim Hill and brother, Ross Hill. Today, the company has grown to 52 locations across North America. With sales per square foot at four times the industry average, Aritzia is the highest performing women's retailer in Canada.

Mr. Hill has been awarded several prestigious awards, including the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award for the Pacific Region in 2008. Both he and his wife are actively involved in their community and support the Vancouver Art Gallery, the BC Children's Hospital and Cause We Care—an organization founded by his wife, Andrea Thomas Hill, that invests in supporting single mothers and children living in poverty.

About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada is the Voice of Retail in Canada. Founded in 1963, RCC is a not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than 45,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online merchants. We speak for an industry that touches the daily lives of Canadians in every corner of the country — by providing jobs, career opportunities, and by investing in communities.

For more information about STORE 2012, Canada's Retail Conference, visit www.storeconference.ca.

Media are invited to attend STORE 2012.

For more information and to RSVP contact:
Sally Ritchie
VP Communications and Marketing, RCC
416 922-9700 ext. 228
[email protected]