Canadian Retail Industry Honours Home Hardware President and CEO Paul Straus
with Retail Hall of Fame Award

TORONTO, May 17 /CNW/ - Today, Retail Council of Canada (RCC) announces Paul Straus, President and CEO of Home Hardware Stores Limited, as the recipient of the 2010 Canadian Retail Hall of Fame Award. The award will be presented to Mr. Straus at RCC's Excellence in Retailing Awards dinner on May 31, as part of the association's national STORE conference in Toronto.

Mr. Straus was nominated and selected for the award by a distinguished panel of retail executives, as well as representatives from the financial, academic and consulting communities.

"Mr. Straus is passionate about the future of Canadian retail," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "He has shown a huge commitment to dealer and employee education at Home Hardware, and he also actively promotes retail as a career, which benefits the entire industry."

Mr. Straus has been with Home Hardware since its inception, where he started in the accounting department of Hollinger Hardware in 1963, prior to the creation of Home Hardware Stores Limited. In 1989, after an esteemed career at Home Hardware, he was appointed Executive Vice-President and General Manager of the $4.85 billion organization. He was named President and CEO in April 2010.

Mr. Straus joins a notable list of past winners, including Fred Singer, Henry Singer Fashion Group (2009), Stephen Bebis, Golf Town (2008), Steve Matyas, STAPLES Business Depot (2007), George Heller, Hudson's Bay Company and Harry Rosen, Harry Rosen Inc. (2006), Christine Magee and Steve Gunn, Sleep Country Canada (2005) and Mario Pilozzi, Wal-Mart Canada (2004).

For more information about STORE 2010 visit http://www.storeconference.ca.

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has been the Voice of Retail in Canada since 1963. 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 the communities we serve.

RCC is a not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than 40,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online merchants.

RCC is a strong advocate for retailing in Canada and works with all levels of government and other stakeholders to support employment growth and career opportunities in retail, to promote and sustain retail investments in communities from coast-to-coast, and to enhance consumer choice and industry competitiveness. RCC also provides its members with a full range of services and programs including education and training, benchmarking and best practices, networking, advocacy, and industry information.

Media are invited to attend STORE 2010.

For further information: Mark Beazley, Director, Communications at [email protected]