T&T Supermarket

T&T Supermarket

T&T Supermarket store in Aurora, Ontario
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1993
Founder	Cindy Lee
Headquarters	Richmond, British Columbia
Number of locations	33 stores
Key people	Tina Lee (CEO)
Products	Grocery
Parent	Tawa Supermarket Inc. and Uni-President Enterprises Corporation (Joint venture, 1993-2009) Loblaw Companies (2009–present)
Website	tntsupermarket.com

Headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia, T&T Supermarkets is the largest Asian supermarket chain in Canada, operating stores in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. The stores feature an expansive variety of fresh produce, meat, seafood, Asian packaged goods, trendy kitchenware and gifts, as well as in-store kitchens and bakeries. T&T Supermarkets was founded in Vancouver in 1993 and is now led by second generation successor and CEO, Tina Lee. In 2009, T&T Supermarkets was acquired by Loblaw Companies Limited. As of 2014, T&T's CEO is Tina Lee, who succeeded her mother Cindy Lee.

The stores range in size from 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m²) to 74,000 sq ft (6,900 m²). In addition to the many departments found in a regular supermarket, most T&T stores also have an in-house bakery, an Asian deli, a sushi and Chinese barbecue department. T&T Supermarket currently has 33 stores in Canada. In 2020, they launched an online shopping platform and an app, allowing customers across Canada to easily purchase their favourite Asian foods and earn rewards points. T&T Supermarket is set to open its first store in the United States, located in Bellevue, Washington. The new store, spanning 76,000 square feet, will be the largest Asian supermarket in the state and will serve as T&T Supermarket's flagship store in the United States.

"T&T" is a reference to the names of the two joint venture investors that founded the supermarket chain in 1993, Tawa Supermarket Inc. and Uni-President Enterprises Corp. although a popular story is that it refers to Cindy Lee's two daughters, Tina and Tiffany.

History

Establishment of T&T

The chain had been created as a joint venture of Uni-President Enterprises Corporation, one of Taiwan's ten largest conglomerates; Tawa Supermarket Inc., a California-based chain of Asian supermarkets; and a group of Canadian investors. Founder Cindy Lee is a Taiwanese-Canadian who started the business with one store in 1993.

Exploitation lawsuit

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."

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. The consideration paid above and beyond the tangible asset base of the company (i.e. the accounting goodwill) which was estimated at $180 million.

Expansion

With rapid expansion, T&T is Canada's largest Asian supermarket chain. It has thirteen stores in British Columbia (all in Metro Vancouver), one in Quebec, seven in Alberta (four in Calgary and three in Edmonton), and ten stores in Ontario (eight in the Greater Toronto Area, one in Waterloo, and one in Ottawa). T&T Supermarket is set to open its first store in the United States, located in Bellevue, Washington.

Launch of T&T brand and rewards program

In 2012, T&T launched its own T&T brand, a collection of private label products such as crackers, dumplings, cakes, pastries, green tea and marinade sauce. The company also started a rewards program for its customers who can collect points and redeem them in-store for gifts.

Unionization issues

Huff Post Business Canada reported on July 17, 2012 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 staffs at T&T Supermarket are working a 39-hour work week, spanning six days in a week. He also pointed out that there are cases where staff have been working for T&T Supermarket for three years and are 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 "vary from individual to individual, and depends on the production schedule."

The Globe and Mail reported on July 23, 2012 the result of T&T Supermarket Scarborough warehouse staff unionization. About 100 employees at the T&T Scarborough warehouse voted in the secret ballot vote on Monday July, 23. However, the Ontario Labour Relations Board sealed the ballot box for review. 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 Cindy Lee, founder at T&T Supermarket 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.

Largest T&T store and development of e-commerce platform

In 2018, T&T opened a 74,000 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.

In 2020, T&T launched its e-commerce platform, facilitating online order and delivery of Asian food products across most provinces in Canada.

On May 18, 2023, T&T opened a 36,000 sq. ft. location at Fairview Mall in Toronto. In June, the company announced that they would open their first store in the United States at the Marketplace at Factoria in Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. The store, a former Walmart location, is 76,000 square feet (7,100 m²) and is scheduled to open in 2024. This would mark the return of Loblaw Companies to the United States after a 28-year absence following its sale of National Supermarkets.

Locations

British Columbia

Alberta

Ontario

Quebec

• Brossard – Quartier DIX30 (Opening Fall 2024)
• Montreal – Saint-Laurent (largest T&T store in Canada)

Former Locations

T&T had two stores in Toronto which have closed.

• The Cherry Street location closed on January 30, 2020 with the redevelopment of the Port Lands after operating for 12 years.

• The Milliken Crossings location (Middlefield and Steeles) closed in 2015 and now houses another Asian retailer.

Awards

In 2018, the Retail Council of Canada awarded the Canadian Grand Prix Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award to founder Cindy Lee and CEO Tina Lee for having "demonstrated outstanding service and dedication to the Canadian retail and grocery industry." 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.

See also

• List of supermarket chains in Canada