Knix founder Joanna Griffiths plans to step away from the company, four years after selling a majority stake that valued the underwear and apparel maker at more than $500-million. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Knix founder Joanna Griffiths exits company

Griffiths will step down Aug. 1 after building one of Canada’s most recognizable e-commerce startups

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Limited construction of new retail space in Canada gives landlords an edge, RioCan CEO says www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Limited construction of new retail space in Canada is giving landlord RioCan an edge

The market dynamic adds to RioCan’s ability to drive up rents for retailers, CEO Jonathan Gitlin says

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Sitting in the host chair for a few episodes of The Globe's daily podcast, The Decibel. Always so great to work with this team! Today: why Canadian small and medium-sized businesses have so much trouble securing the funding they need to grow. pod.link/thedecibel/e... w/ @jamesonberkow.bsky.social

The ‘valley of death’ for Canadian businesses

Listen to The ‘valley of death’ for Canadian businesses from The Decibel wherever you get your podcasts!

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Tim Hortons is firing back at Quebec franchisees who sued over their declining profitability – saying the restaurant owners are responsible for their business struggles. The court document also sheds light on how the coffee chain sets prices for customers: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Tim Hortons blames franchisees for lower profits in lawsuit defence

Quebec franchise owners claim profits squeezed by company decisions they had no control over

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Tens of thousands of payments totalling $3.7-million in the recent class-action settlement over bread price-fixing in Canada have been flagged by banks as possible fraud, according to court documents. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Payments totalling $3.7-million flagged as possible fraud in bread price-fixing settlement

Tens of thousands of payments sent to potentially fraudulent class-action claimants

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Cost increases throughout the grocery supply chain are putting pressure on food prices. And they're also stoking concern among small independent retailers, who worry they're disproportionately bearing the burden of added fees from suppliers. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Small grocers raise concerns about industry imbalance amid fuel-related price hikes

Independent grocers say they lack the leverage of major chains, which have been rejecting some supplier price increases

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For years, if you were shopping for something online, you'd Google it. Now, more and more people are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI agents for help finding the products they want. Our story on how retailers are coping with this new world: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

As AI upends shopping, retailers tailor their pitches for chatbots

Marketers are shifting from search engines to chatbots, aiming to get brands recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude

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Unilever is applying a 9% increase in the price it charges retailers for Hellmann’s mayonnaise – another signal of soaring fuel costs putting pressure on grocery prices. It's among a number of suppliers that recently imposed price hikes to grocers. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Unilever hikes price of Hellmann’s mayonnaise as suppliers try to offset rising fuel costs

Major retailers say they are pushing back on fuel surcharge requests

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The pressure on consumer prices resulting from the Middle East conflict has been multiplied for communities in Canada’s North www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Middle East conflict creates disproportionate inflationary pressures in Canada’s North

Fuel surcharges are affecting already steep grocery prices in northern communities

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Food suppliers are beginning to charge retailers across Canada extra fees to offset the soaring cost of fuel, a move that will put pressure on grocery prices. “There is no excess margin we can absorb," one independent grocer told me. www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/pe... #retail

Canada’s billionaire Weston family is funding the launch of a national digital-media startup, according to sources familiar with the venture. The online publication, being developed under the working title Be Giant, is preparing to launch this spring. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Weston family funding launch of a national digital-media startup, sources say

The non-profit online publication, being developed under the working title Be Giant, is preparing to debut this spring

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Vancouver e-commerce company Article plans store expansion, at a tough time for furniture retailers www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

From clicks to bricks, furniture retailer Article banks on store expansion

Having opened its first physical shop in Vancouver in 2024, it’s launching in Toronto this year and eyeing the U.S. in 2027

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Since the Trump administration eliminated the "de minimis" exemption last year, small Canadian businesses have been scrambling to understand complex trade rules they never had to worry about before. For some, the uncertainty is too much. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Six months after a tariff exemption expired, small businesses scramble to cope with a labyrinth of rules

Navigating the system to avoid tariffs on smaller orders is just too time-consuming or difficult for many entrepreneurs

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Online pharmacy services have boomed, and advertisements for quick access to in-demand drugs are all over social media. But many of these promotions are violating Canadian regulations on prescription-drug advertising, a Globe and Mail analysis has found. www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Dozens of online-pharmacy ads, including for weight-loss drugs, appear to violate federal rules

By making certain promises to customers, some companies are running afoul of Canadian drug advertising laws

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From a small Toronto liquidator left holding a bill for $200,000, to major toy brands like Mattel, Lego, Spin Master and Hasbro that are owed millions -- the financial collapse of Toys "R" Us Canada has reverberations across the industry. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Toys “R” Us filing leaves a slew of creditors in its wake

Small businesses and major toymakers left with sizable unpaid bills

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Ontario’s pharmacy regulator has dismissed a complaint about a specialty-drug pharmacy created for the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan that takes away teachers’ choice of where they fill prescriptions if they want to keep their drug coverage. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Ontario pharmacy regulator dismisses complaint about restrictions on teachers’ drug plan

Ruling goes against regulator’s zero-tolerance policy on preferred pharmacy networks, advocates say

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Signs of financial distress are mounting at Toys “R” Us Canada, with multiple locations closing in recent weeks and landlords saying they are owed unpaid rent. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Multiple Toys “R” Us locations closing, landlords say they are owed unpaid rent

Shuttering of stores across Canada add to a contraction that has shrunk the chain by more than half in less than five years

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I went inside the vault housing the Hudson's Bay archives, to talk to conservationists about what it will take to care for the oldest item in the collection – the 1670 royal charter. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Two of Canada’s most prominent families, the Thomsons and the Westons, are set to prevail in their $18-million bid to buy the 1670 Hudson’s Bay charter, and will donate it to four cultural institutions to keep it in Canada and accessible to the public. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Thomson and Weston families’ $18-million bid for Hudson’s Bay charter set to succeed, source says

Families’ plan to donate historical document to four cultural institutions to move forward pending court approval

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Brewing giant Molson Coors Canada has uncovered an alleged embezzlement scheme that led to losses totalling at least $9-million. The details were revealed in a lawsuit naming former Molson employees, the president of Firkin Hospitality Group, and others. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Molson Coors accuses former Canadian staff of ‘complex’ embezzlement scheme

Lawsuit alleges ex-employees and Firkin Hospitality Group president orchestrated plan that led to at least $9-million in losses

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Hudson's Bay auctioned off the highlights of its art collection yesterday. Here's what it was like inside the sale room: www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

At Hudson’s Bay art auction, prospective buyers vie for a piece of history

Some items sold for hundreds of thousands dollars more than estimates because of high interest

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I spent months following Ruby Liu's contentious bid for 25 former Hudson's Bay stores. This is the story of how the deal fell apart. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

How Ruby Liu’s contentious play for Hudson’s Bay stores fell apart

The B.C. billionaire’s team has portrayed her as a rags-to-riches business savant who would ‘save Canadian retail.’ But her opponents tell a story of an ill-conceived plan that was bound to fail

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Since its founding in 2013, Knix has built its brand by focusing squarely on women. Now, the retailer is branching out with men’s products for the first time. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Knix, pioneering maker of women’s underwear, branches out with new men’s line

MNTD is a line of products for guys from the company known for leak-proof undergarments

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The Ontario government will introduce a bill to ban closed preferred pharmacy networks, a kind of exclusivity deal between insurers and pharmacies that restricts where patients can buy medication. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco... @hannay.bsky.social

Ontario to ban exclusivity deals between insurers, pharmacies

Move follows Globe reporting on closed preferred pharmacy networks that restrict where patients can buy medication

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After its $30M deal to acquire the Hudson's Bay intellectual property, Canadian Tire is launching a collection decorated with the HBC stripes for the holidays. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Canadian Tire to launch limited Hudson’s Bay holiday collection next month

Launching Dec. 5, the collection will be sold in stores only, under signs featuring the Hudson’s Bay brand name

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Two of the country’s largest real estate owners are in a showdown over the future of the former Hudson's Bay store in Toronto's Yorkdale mall, the latest in a series of disputes triggered by the retailer's bankruptcy. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art... #retail

Oxford Properties, RioCan in showdown over future of Bay store at Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall

If Oxford refuses buyout offer, RioCan threatens renting space to downmarket fashion store Les Ailes de la Mode

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A Popeyes franchisee whose restaurants were shut down last month over unpaid wages is also a major defendant in a lawsuit against the fast-food chain and its restaurant owners, which alleges some franchisees bought "unsafe" meat from an unauthorized supplier. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Popeyes franchises shut down over unpaid wages placed into receivership

Franchisee Irfan Memon is a defendant in lawsuit against Popeyes for allegedly buying ‘unsafe’ chicken from an unauthorized source

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Canadian Tire will soon begin selling the distinctive Hudson’s Bay point blanket. It will direct all proceeds – at a minimum of $1M/year – to Indigenous-led initiatives, ensuring a program HBC launched with the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund will continue. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Canadian Tire to bring back the Hudson’s Bay blanket

Retailer will direct all profits from sale of blankets to Downie-Wenjack Foundation, continuing Hudson’s Bay initiative

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A surprise late-night bid that emerged Sunday for the 355-year-old royal charter that launched the Hudson’s Bay Co. has further delayed a legal process governing the auction of the historic document. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Auction for Hudson’s Bay charter further delayed after late offer from unknown bidder

A Monday court hearing to approve the charter’s auction was adjourned after the failed retailer received a late bid for the document

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The son of the late DavidsTea founder Herschel Segal is calling for an overhaul of the retailer’s leadership, accusing the company of “abysmal corporate governance and management,” and saying his half-sister is not fit to continue as chief executive officer. www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Son of DavidsTea founder calls for leadership overhaul, accusing company of poor governance

The company has lost money since seeking creditor protection, but forecasts a return to profitability this year

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