CEO Tina Lee’s success formula at T&T Supermarket will come under greater scrutiny among food retailers across North America as Lee kicks off the 32-year-old chain’s U.S. expansion.
T&T is Canada’s largest chain of Asia-Pacific grocery stores. T&T has grown to 36 supermarkets in Canada, including nine stores in the GTA.
The sophisticated T&T formula evolved from the chain’s first two stores. They were opened by Lee’s mother, Cindy Lee, a Taiwanese immigrant, with the help of her husband, Jack, in 1993 in the Greater Vancouver communities of Burnaby and Richmond.
The couple named the chain after their daughters, Tina and Tiffany. Tina took over as CEO from her mother in 2014.
U.S. retailers H Mart and 99 Ranch Market cater to the demand for Asia-Pacific groceries.
But judging from the hour-long line up to enter T&T’s first U.S. store in Bellevue, Wash., on opening day last December, it will take time for rivals to match the success of the T&T formula.
The steady patronage of U.S. customers at T&T’s stores in B.C.’s Lower Mainland helped convince Lee that U.S. expansion will work.
The T&T formula starts with stores that can be as much as 70 per cent bigger than the average supermarket. As such, they are “destination” stores that attract customers from a large region.
At Cindy Lee’s initiative, T&T was one of the first grocers to offer ready-to-eat meals, a boon to working women that later became commonplace in grocery retailing.
T&T’s shelves are lined with a careful mix of familiar North American brands like Coca-Cola and Ziploc alongside specialty food and other items from China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, and T&T’s own private-label offerings.
So, Lee’s determination that T&T be the “go-to” source for Asia-Pacific groceries is actually a bid to be a one-stop-shop for almost everything.
As you would expect, the stores carry a wide range of staples of Asia-Pacific cuisine including seafood delicacies to prepare at home.
But T&T also sells made-to-order street food such as Taiwanese-style rice rolls and Chinese crepes.
Its in-store bakery prepares more than 150 types of bread and 50-plus desserts and pastries, including favourites like Lava Mochi Puffs, Mango Pomelo Swiss Rolls and Napoleon Portuguese Egg Tarts.
And T&T’s private-label line has expanded to more than 200 items.
T&T has made favourites of its private-label Korean kalbi marinade, pork soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) and green onion pancakes.
Lee also stocks one of the biggest selections of Asia-Pacific liquor of any Canadian store, with scores of imported wines, beers and spirits, beyond the standbys of Japanese sake and Korean soju.
And T&T offers a large assortment of Asia-Pacific cosmetics and health-care products.
T&T’s fast-selling private-label goods are found elsewhere only at certain other chains in the Loblaw empire, which includes No Frills, Fortinos, Provigo, Zehrs and Real Canadian Superstore.
Loblaw bought T&T in 2009 for $225 million and wisely kept its founding Lee management in place.
Loblaw has helped finance T&T’s store expansion and lent its expertise with its President’s Choice line to help T&T build up its private-label offerings.
Canadian enterprises tend to expand into the U.S. when they have saturated their home market.
For T&T, however, there’s still plenty of room to grow in Canada due partly to the recent immigration surge. Canada’s top source of immigrants is India, but the Philippines and China rank second and third, respectively.
T&T opened three new stores in Ontario and Quebec last year. That’s ahead of its plan for seven stores on the U.S. West Coast, starting with two outlets this year in the Seattle region and one in San Jose, Calif.
In Loblaw’s most recent quarter, T&T stores “continue to outperform” Loblaw’s other chains, Loblaw CEO Per Bank reported in an earnings call.
In recent years, T&T’s clientele has extended beyond customers of Asia-Pacific heritage. Grocery market analysts say that generation Z is keen to experiment with international food and beverages.
Growing in tandem with T&T is Adonis Market, which taps Canada’s growing Mediterranean and Middle Eastern communities.
The 49-year-old chain, based in Montreal, has grown to 15 stores in Quebec and Ontario. Adonis Market also was absorbed by a Big Three grocer, acquired by Metro in 2017.
Cultural pride, unique products and lots of sampling stations (no longer a feature at most grocery chains) build customer loyalty at T&T.
That helps account for the viral TikTok videos by customers of their “great finds” at T&T.
“Canadian culture is just having the best of all the different cultural backgrounds,” Lee told The Canadian Press in December, ahead of the first U.S. T&T store opening.
Now, in the U.S., “What we are exporting is exactly that food mosaic concept,” said Lee.
Judging from T&T’s positive reception in the U.S., the world does need more of Canada, served with this country’s international sensibilities.
