In memoriam: Gordon Reid

Giant Tiger founder Gordon Reid died last week at 89, following a brief illness. Born in Vancouver, he moved as a child to Montreal and got his start in retail at 13 doing giftwrapping at Simpsons. In 1961 he opened the first Giant Tiger in Ottawa’s Byward Market. His budget was so crunched that he had to build his own display tables. He stepped down in 2020 as CEO of the chain, which now numbers more than 150 stores.