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T&T Supermarket
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded1993; 31 years ago (1993)
FounderCindy Lee
HeadquartersRichmond, British Columbia
Number of locations
36 stores[1]
Key people
Tina Lee (CEO)
ProductsGrocery
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese大統華超市
Simplified Chinese大统华超市
Literal meaningBig United China[a] Supermarket
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyindà tǒng huá chāoshì
Websitetntsupermarket.com

T&T Supermarket (Chinese: 大統華超市) is a Canadian Asian supermarket chain founded in Vancouver in 1993 by Jack and Cindy Lee who was the founding CEO.[3] Cindy's eldest daughter Tina Lee succeeded her mother in 2014.[4] In 2009, T&T Supermarket was acquired by Loblaw Companies Limited.[5]

T&T Supermarket has 36 locations in Canada, and one location in the United States. The stores range in size from 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) to 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m2). In addition to the many departments found in a regular supermarket, most T&T stores also feature produce, meat, seafood, baked goods, kitchenware, gifts, specialty items from various Asian cuisines,[6] hot food bar, dim sum counter, sushi counter and Hong Kong style Chinese barbecue. In 2020, they launched an online shopping platform and an app.

"T&T" is a reference to the initials of two founding investing managing corporations, Tawa Supermarket Inc. and Tung Yee Uni-President Enterprises Corp.,[7] though a popular story circulates that it refers to Cindy Lee's eldest daughters, Tina and Tiffany.[8]

History

Establishment and early history

Taiwanese-Canadian businesswoman Cindy Lee started the business with a store located in Burnaby, British Columbia in 1993.[9]

On March 5, 2007, The Tyee reported a case of a foreign temporary worker who claimed to have been exploited, and had his passport seized by T&T Supermarket. According to The Tyee's coverage, "In a notice of claim filed with the small claims division of the Provincial Court of British Columbia, Gui Qiang Zou claims he was pressured into working longer hours for lower wages than promised after the firm kept his passport and other key documents."[10][11]

Acquisition by Loblaw

T&T is part of Loblaw Companies, which purchased it in July 2009 for $225 million in consideration, consisting of $191 million in cash and $34 million in preferred shares.[5] The consideration paid above and beyond the tangible asset base of the company (i.e. the accounting goodwill) which was estimated at $180 million.[12]

Unionization history

In 2012, Huff Post Business Canada reported that workers at a T&T Supermarket warehouse in Scarborough, Ontario, would head to a secret ballot vote on Monday, July 23, 2012, for unionization. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) filed an application for certification with the Ontario Labour Relations Board on July 16, 2012. According to UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin, the workers at the T&T Supermarket Scarborough warehouse, are seeking unionization to attempt improving scheduling issues as well as tying wage more closely to seniority, instead of favouritism. Shimmin gave in the article an example that Warehouse staff at T&T Supermarket worked a 39-hour work week, spanning six days in a week. He also said that there were cases where staff working for T&T Supermarket for three years were still earning a minimum wage of $10.25 per hour. Paul Ho, marketing manager for the grocery chain in Ontario, said he did not have details about wages, but maintained that work hours "var[ied] from individual to individual, and depends on the production schedule."[13] On July 23, about 100 employees at the T&T Scarborough warehouse voted partcipated in the secret ballot unionization vote. However, the Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the ballot box for review. A dispute arose as the UFCW and T&T Supermarket argued about the eligibility of the voters in the voter list. UFCW national representative Kevin Shimmin said that the dispute caused the secret ballot vote to be reviewed, while T&T CEO Cindy Lee claimed that it was the decision of the Ontario Labour Relations Board to look into whether the union has enough support from employees to in the first place file the application.[14]

The interior of T&T Supermarket

Development of largest T&T store and e-commerce platform

In 2018, T&T opened a 70,000 sq. ft. flagship store in Richmond, British Columbia, which was the first to have a live seafood bar, an Asian street food station, and self-checkouts. Industry experts dubbed the store a "grocerant" because of its restaurant-style offering.[15][16]

In 2020, T&T launched its e-commerce platform, facilitating online orders and delivery of Asian food products across all provinces in Canada.[17][18]

The first T&T Supermarket in Saint-Laurent/Sainte Croix, Montreal, Quebec which is also the largest outlet in Canada

In 2022, an even larger store was opened in Saint-Laurent/Sainte Croix, Montreal, Quebec.[19] It was the first T&T store to open in Quebec and is currently the largest store in the supermarket chain.[20]

Expansion into United States

In 2024, T&T Supermarket opened its first American location at Marketplace at Factoria in Bellevue, Washington. The outlet, spanning 76,000 square feet (7,100 m2) square feet, claims to be the largest grocery store in the state.[21] Other locations in Lynnwood, Washington, and San Jose, California, are scheduled to open in 2025.[22]

Awards

In 2018, CEO Tina Lee received the Executive of the Year Award by Ascend Canada and, together with founder Cindy Lee, were awarded with the Retail Council of Canada Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award for having "demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the Canadian retail and grocery industry."[23][24] Cindy Lee received the lifetime achievement award at the 2019 Chinese Canadian entrepreneur awards in recognition of her contributions to the Chinese Canadian business community.[25]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ As provided in the Canadian trademark registration for 'DA TUNG HUA'.[2] The Chinese name is derived from the Chinese names of 99 Ranch Market (大華超級市場) and Uni-President Enterprises Corporation (統一企業公司).

References

  1. ^ "T&T Supermarket Store Location". T&T Supermarket.
  2. ^ "DA TUNG HUA Chinese Character Design — 1067488". Canadian Trademark Details. Government of Canada. Retrieved November 12, 2021. The English translation as provided by the applicant is BIG UNITED CHINA
  3. ^ Liu, Scarlett. "Entrepreneur's book reveals story behind Asian supermarket chain T&T". Newmarket Today. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "T&T Supermarket CEO passes the torch". Canadian Grocer. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Loblaw buying T&T Asian food chain". CBC News. July 24, 2009. Archived from the original on July 25, 2009.
  6. ^ "T & T Supermarket – T&T Supermarket". T&T Supermarket. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. ^ Eade, Ron (October 2, 2009). "T&T arrives with a bang". The Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. ^ Devlin, Megan (January 12, 2024). ""For the next generation": T&T Supermarkets CEO on store's viral origin story". Daily Hive. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  9. ^ "How the CEO of Canada's Largest Asian Supermarket Took the Lead on COVID". MONTECRISTO. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Strauss, Marina (July 23, 2012). "Loblaw locked in labour dispute at Asian supermarket chain". The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ Sandborn, Tom (March 5, 2007). "Tricked and Exploited?". The Tyee.
  12. ^ "2009 Third Quarter Report" (PDF). Loblaw Companies. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 13, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  13. ^ "T&T Union Certification: Asian Grocer's Warehouse Workers In Scarborough, Ontario Seek Certification". Huffington Post Canada. July 17, 2012. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012.
  14. ^ "Loblaw locked in labour dispute at Asian supermarket chain". The Globe and Mail. July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "T&T unveils flagship store in Richmond". Canadian Grocer. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  16. ^ "Canada's largest T&T Supermarket opens in Metro Vancouver". Straight. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "T&T launches e-grocery". Canadian Grocer. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  18. ^ "T&T Supermarket launches online ordering and home delivery across Canada". DailyHive. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "T&T - Our Story". T&T Supermarket. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  20. ^ "T&T Asian Supermarket Has Chosen Its Montreal Location & It'll be the Biggest in Canada". January 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Vinh, Tan (December 5, 2024). "T&T Supermarket is now open in Bellevue". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  22. ^ Podsada, Janice (June 5, 2024). "New Asian grocery store T&T Supermarket to open in Lynnwood". The Everett Herald. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  23. ^ "T&T Supermarket's Cindy and Tina Lee to Receive Prestigious 2018 RCC Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award". Retail Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  24. ^ "T&T Supermarkets' Cindy and Tina Lee receive RCC's 2018 Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award". Retail Council of Canada. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  25. ^ "2019 Awards Winners". ACCE. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
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