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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]
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 T&T Supermarket in Markham, Ontario | |||||||
| Company type | Subsidiary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Retail | ||||||
| Founded | 1993 | ||||||
| Founder | Cindy Lee | ||||||
| Headquarters | Richmond, British Columbia | ||||||
Number of locations | 36 stores[1] | ||||||
Key people | Tina Lee (CEO) | ||||||
| Products | Grocery | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大統華超市 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 大统华超市 | ||||||
| Literal meaning | Big United China[a] Supermarket | ||||||
| |||||||
| Website | tntsupermarket | ||||||
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]
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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]
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]
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]
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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]
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- 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).
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