August 3, 2006

A week in the world of

Issue 50 – August 3, 2006

NOTHING LIKE A GREAT SWEAT DOING THE RIGHT THING

Latest initiatives by Roots people in helping less fortunate members of society

Roots early fall collection puts the accent on best fleece line ever and the layered look

ON THE FRONTLINES

Heather Lambert-Hillen helps retail staff make a difference in Roots stores

ISSUE 50

THE MAIL BAGS BURST

Customers and staff communicate with The Source like never before 1

NOTHING LIKE A GREAT SWEAT New initiative showcases the most advanced Roots fleece collection ever SEEING THE LIGHT

Helping visually impaired children reach for the stars

DOING THE RIGHT THING

The latest in our series on Roots employees who help the community

MVP OF THE MONTH

Newest member of the exclusive Roots MVP Hall of Fame announced this week

GREAT MOMENTS IN RETAIL Spotlighting the topperforming stores in July

TRIBE IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT Latest addition to the family of Roots watches includes Tribe leather

Departments FRESH INK NEW AND NOTEWORTHY GUESS WHO JUST DROPPED IN…

SPREADING THE WORD UP FRONT GREEN TIPS HEALTH TIPS STAYING POWER DEPT. OF CLARIFICATION

Publishers Michael Budman, Don Green Editor Robert Sarner Editorial Assistant Paulomi Patel The Source is published every week by Roots Canada Ltd. We welcome letters from readers for publication. Please address all correspondence to The Source, Letters to the Editor, Roots Canada, 1400 Castlefield Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M6B 4CR or by email to rsarner@roots.com Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Each issue of The Source is also available, in an abridged version, on the Roots website at www.roots.com

The look of the new season is all about layering and making sweats an important part of it. To herald the onset of the early fall fashion craze, Roots is putting the spotlight on one of its main cornerstones, fleece, with the aim of making sweats the most sought-after clothing for the new season.

“Fleece is to Roots like denim is to Levis,” says Product Development Coordinator Syd Beder. “The new Roots Back-to-School sweats are set to make fleece the ultimate preferred alternative to denim.” Syd has assisted the combined forces of the Design Team and the Art Department in developing the new sweat-focused campaign.

Roots has long produced sweats but this time it’s different. On the style side, the men’s and women’s design teams have gone farther than ever in studying details, re-examining the making of sweats and observing customer preferences. In the process, they’ve created a softer-feeling product and have introduced value-added features to the fall styles never before seen at Roots. With each detail given close scrutiny, this is the most well thought-out collection and offers customers more depth and greater selection than in previous years.

It’s all happening at a time when sweats in general are enjoying a renaissance of sorts. The Globe and Mail Style section recently declared that “tight is out” in terms of the latest fashion trends and praised the sweat look as “schlump chic.”

“Roots is the definitive leader in this area,” says Syd. “We also give the best value in fleece but we’re not content to rest on our laurels and that’s why we’re taking our sweat program to a new level.”

New fashion colours have been introduced to Roots sweats like the currently available Bella (a shade of purple), port (dark red), forest green and Tofino (teal) colours for August.

These new colours, introduced every month, complement the basic colour range like heather grey and black, which will be available throughout the fall and holiday seasons.

Special emphasis has been put on sweatpants in terms of quality and

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styling. (See box to the left Among the sweat styles in the early for details fall collection is the Roots Cooper about the Basic men’s sweat pant. Based on changes made feedback from customers and after in the popular observing buyer preferences, the Men’s Cooper men’s product development team Basic sweat pant.) Though traditionally added seam pockets to the new sweat a men’s sweat, this pant is also a big hit among women, especially in pants. This is done with the younger age groups. Many women value pockets and find this introduction of side seams to the comfortable style featuring pants (not incorporated previously).

FOR HER the non-bulky additions an The pockets lie flat without adding Among sweats for women, there is a ideal option to achieve the any extra bulk and are reinforced choice of many low-waist pants cut to much sought-after laissezwith Roots-branded twill tapes at the ladies sizes. faire look. edges.

Other women’s styles include Emphasizing the Other new additions include premium hoodys and sweat tops with back-to-school style, the Roots-branded twill drawstrings at details such as faux-fur lining, fall sweats come with some the waist and an outside back label Sherpa-lined hoods and bodies and characteristic collegiate attachment. The pants are garmentenzyme and garment washes. More washed and boast very low shrinkage. branding with campusdetails include woven plaid linings, inspired appliqués and sweater knit inserts, printed hoods, print details giving the collection an athletic feel. printed bodies such as lumberjack, To support the fleece initiative, a new ad campaign will kick plaid and camouflage prints and the off late next week. It will include large store-window posters featuring introduction of a new cozy suede headlines such as “Nothing like a great sweat” and “Anatomy of a fleece fabrication on the classic great sweat ”. The latter slogan is based on the first-ever Roots ads in fleece hoody available in a zip and 1974 that appeared shortly after the business began. Its headline was non-zip option (see image above). the “Anatomy of a Root” and explained the various features of the Upcoming sweats also include then little-known Roots negative heel shoe. organic styles inspired from the Beginning this month, the Roots sweat campaign will also current organic tees available in include various related planned initiatives. In the next few weeks, stores.

Roots stores will promote literacy - and offer discount cards and great prizes - with a cross promotional campaign with Indigo bookstores. Stay tuned to The Source for more details in the next week’s issue.

FOR HIM

SEEING THE LIGHT Helping visually impaired children reach for the stars For the sixth consecutive year, Roots is the official outfitter of the Canadian delegation of blind and visually impaired students attending SciVis, a weeklong camp at the US Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama next month.

Coordinated by Vancouver-based Lyn Frankel, Roots Corporate Sponsorship and Sales Manager in Western Canada, Roots has supplied Clothed in Roots, campers and staff from several countries come together at SciVis in Alabama merchandise for the national blind and visually impaired group taking part in the space camp since 2000 after being first approached by a Roots customer, Lyn Schwartz, the program’s Canadian coordinator who lives in Kelowna, BC and works with the blind and visually impaired.

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This year, the custom-made Roots collection consists of hoodies, T-shirts and baseball caps. Made in Canada, the hoodies and tees come in black with screen prints and gold embroidery. Coordinated by Mary Jane Saliba of the Business-To-Business Department, more than 150 units THE HOT LIST were shipped earlier this week to the west coast. (From 2000 until 2005, A fast look at what’s flying off the Roots Iron Man Ed Cox looked after the production.) shelves at Roots stores The camp is coordinated by teachers of the visually impaired and attracts 200 students each year from the United States, Canada and many Based on the latest sales figures other countries. It is equipped with computers adapted for speech and from all Roots stores in Canada and large print output. Materials and equipment used during space missions the United States, here are the 20 are available in Braille and large print. The camp’s guiding principle for top-selling products: participants is: “Just because I can' t see the stars doesn' t mean I can' t reach 1. Men’s Elk Island Polo for them.”

2. Men’s Cape Swim Shorts DOING THE RIGHT THING The latest in our series on employees who help the community Kudos to another member of the Roots family for contributing to their community. Recently, Vancouver Outlet Store Manager Daniela Bosa was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by the Polaris Employment Society for her store’s participation in a special job skills program.

Polaris provides job-seeking assistance to people with a mental disability who live in

3. Women’s Paige PD Polo 4. Women’s V Neck Henley Tank 5. Men’s Gnarr Sleeveless T-shirt 6. Men’s Logan Mélange Ringer 7. Women’s Natural Graphic Tee 8. Women’s Pima Ringer Tee with Canada logo 9. Women’s Beaded Long Tank 10. Girls Flared Sweat Pants 11. Girls Glorious Crew T-shirt 12. Boys Crocs 13. Boys Warm Up Hoody 14. Babies Canada Short Sleeves Ringer T-shirt 15. Roots Bottle Water 355 ml 16. Beaver Canvas Tote 17. Havaiana Flip Flops 18. Steffy BB Cap 19. Crocs Beach Clogs 20. Village Pack Tribe Leather Bag

Vancouver and surrounding areas. This includes career counseling; job matching; on-the-job support and retraining. There are no fees for either the job candidate or employer as the provincial and federal governments provide the funding.

This year, Polaris approached Daniela to see if Roots would employ one of their candidates for a 6-month term, the length of the program. She agreed to the proposal, and is happy she did.

“It is an amazing experience,” says Daniela, who recently took on a second employee from Polaris. “Every community should have this program and participate in it.”

Daniela also says the outlet stores are a great environment for this job training program because they are less stressful than company stores, and that makes it beneficial to everyone involved. – Sarah Foster Daniela Bosa with Don Green at Outlet Managers meeting

GUESS WHO JUST DROPPED IN… Taking attendance of special guests at Roots stores Celebrities have long made a point of shopping at Roots. Here are the latest sightings of prominent figures from the world of entertainment who visited Roots stores recently: Vancouver (Robson St.) –Jamal of Mark Wahlberg’s entourage was at the store with Alex Budman.

Victoria, BC – Lorne Michaels, Creator/Producer of Saturday Night Live, who Alex Budman with Jamal was in town working on his new movie Hot Rod visited the Roots store. Lorne was accompanied by his co-producer of the movie, John Goldwyn, and SNL cast members Seth Meyers and Andy Samberg and actor Sissy Spacek who are starring in Hot Rod. Lorne was there with son Henry, while Sissy was

4 Sissy Spacek

Andy Samberg

Seth Meyers

Lorne Michaels

Joel Quenneville

Tom Webster

Daniel Alfredsson

Zac Efron

Elija Kelly

there with her daughters Skylar and Madison.

Henry picked up a classic Roots cooper kanga hoody for back to school. Other cast members were enticed by the Jasper hoody, our premium sling tote and the quirky iPod sock. Ms. Spacek loved the Roots leather bag collection and chose one for herself.

Toronto (100 Bloor St.) – Zac Efron and Elija Kelly from the upcoming movie Hairspray shopped at the flagship store. Zac bought Roots apparel to be used for his photo shoot for Teen Vogue to be held a few days later.

Windsor, ON – Former NHL player and current Head Coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Joel Quenneville, and former NHL Head Coach Tom Webster shopped at the Windsor store.

Nepean, ON (Bayshore) – Ottawa Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson shopped with his wife and family in the store while Senators fans got a glimpse of their favourite team player.

MVP OF THE MONTH Newest member of the exclusive Roots MVP Hall of Fame announced this week Like with any business, numbers play a key role at Roots. All kinds of numbers. It' s no secret that to succeed in business, you' ve got to make sure certain numbers are big, and others small. At Roots, some of the most important numbers relate to the retail side of the business. Every day of the week, the 130 Roots stores in Canada and the US generate a plethora of numbers. Gross sales numbers, net sales numbers, gift card numbers, shrink numbers.

Fortunately, for Roots, Anna DiNella is on the case. This week, she was selected as the MVP of the Month for July for her superlative work and attitude in the Finance Department. As the Retail Accounting Supervisor, Anna is responsible for all the financial accounts of the stores. That includes sales audit functions, store balances, petty cash, credit cards and inventory control. Anna also sets up the banking requirements for each store, does the month-end closing and reporting as well as oversee the Roots gift card operation.

It' s a tall order but Anna seems to take it in her stride. She joined Roots in 2000 as an Inventory Controller, after working at Dylex in a similar position. Born and raised in Toronto, she now lives in the suburb of Mississauga. Her parents are from Portugal and moved to Canada in 1964.

"The Finance Department often does not get the recognition it deserves despite its vital role is in the everyday running of the business," says Roots Co-Founder Don Green. "We' re fortunate to have people of the caliber of Anna who is a master of the financial side of Roots stores. She has shown us repeatedly that we can rely on her for the kind of accurate information that is critical to our success.

Anna is an exemplary team player and the kind of person we love having at Roots."

- For a full article on Anna, and all former Roots MVPs dating back to April 2005, click on roots.com. Go to About Us, Behind the Scenes, Team Roots in the Media Information section.

ON THE FRONTLINES Our ongoing series for retail staff on making a difference in Roots stores Each week, Heather Lambert-Hillen, CoManager of Roots Central in Toronto’s Eaton Centre, offers a new take on what makes customers enjoy shopping at Roots stores. It’s based on her many years working on the retail side of Roots.

Transferring your Roots skills

By Heather Lambert-Hillen

Every day spent in a retail environment is like going to school. Roots is that higher learning school thanks to the wide variety of dedicated people who work there. We all learn something new every shift through training, emails, meetings, manuals, teamwork, special events, Head Office visits, Field Business Manager visits, store audits, and customer interactions. I could add so many more “learning” experiences but then my column would be “maxed” out.

With these lessons, what happens next is up to you. You are building your skill set and experience. I challenge everyone to think of what you learnt yesterday and figure out what skill you have developed and what situations in the future you can use this skill for.

Example: A customer is inquiring about a Special Order leather handbag. Do you: A) Pass the customer off to your Manager. B) Pull out the Leather Product Knowledge training binder or C) Use this as a learning experience and do all of the above.

Depending on the customer’s urgency, the choice should be easy. Let the customer know you want to provide the best customer service and get help from an associate who is experienced with special orders. Wow! Did we ever learn a lot from just this one situation!

So, how is this skill now transferable to another setting? Say you are trying to order online for an upcoming course. Think about it. You could use any of the above options (A, B, or C) to learn how to do the ordering. You have now just transferred a Roots skill into an everyday skill.

This week, sit down and list five skills that you want to develop and talk to the appropriate person to get that skill built. You will be amazed at what you already know, what you need to develop and how many team members come to you to learn a skill. As for me, I think I want to develop the skill of planning a store event. I better get going and talk to…

P.S. A special thanks goes to the team at Roots Central in Toronto for their response to my column and for giving me great ideas through the questions they ask and the experiences they create every day. Also, to Peter Paquette who enjoyed this past Tuesday’s morning meeting and inspired me to make it the basis for next week’s column.

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A guide to just-launched Roots products TRIBE IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT Latest addition to the family of Roots watches includes Tribe leather Roots launched the latest styles in timepieces as the new Tribe leather and Antique Gold collection of watches hit stores last week.

The collection is made up of four different styles. The Roots Chelsea and the Roots C’est La Vie watches come with distinctive solid, stainless steel bracelets with brown ‘degrade’ (light to dark shade gradation) dials. The bracelets are offered

in the trendy, new antique gold finish making these watches perfect to complete a stylishly casual look.

The Roots Nouveau and the Roots Santa Fe watches are leather band styles inspired from the highly popular Roots Tribe leather collection of products available in stores now. They feature brown ' degrade'style dials and come with dynamic details like raw cut edges, detailed topstitching, rich embossed Roots logos and antique gold hardware. The watches also carry an authentic Tribe leather hangtag that informs customers about the product.

Coordinated by Rebecca Fernando, Merchandise Manager and Planner, Accessories, the watches are available for: Nouveau: $110; Santa Fe: $95; Chelsea: $110; C’est La Vie: $125 Roots Nouveau;

INSPIRED BY CAMO New men’s collection reflects current trend Following on the success of the highly popular Camo styles currently available in stores, a new men' s collection on the same lines hit stores last week. The stylish collection highlights the trend with the use of minimalist camouflage-inspired details.

Developed by Dylan Anderson, Associate Designer, Menswear, with Matthew Budman, the collection is made up of track jackets, hoodies, track pants and shorts and includes camo accents in the form of printed pipings, neck taping and binding. It' s also incorporated in graphics of laser cut logos incorporated on the Kanga hoodies and track jackets giving each garment a unique look.

Other details include secure zippered pockets. The full zip hoody comes with an interesting feature where it can be entirely zippered closed. The camo collection is made in Canada from high quality French terry fabric and is available for: Pullover Hoody -$78; Full Zip Hoody - $88; Track Jacket - $88; Sweat pant - $68; Short - $44

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GREAT MOMENTS IN RETAIL Spotlighting the top-performing stores in July The sales figures for the past month have now been tabulated and we’re delighted to announce – drum roll, please – that the Roots store in Vancouver’s Pacific Centre has earned the highly coveted title of ‘Store of the Month’ among company stores in July for scoring the highest over its sales budget.

For its part, the ‘Roots 73’ store in Niagara Falls, Ontario captured top honours for outlet locations in July.

Congratulations to Store Managers Aimee Guido (Pacific Centre) and Jamie Quinn (Niagara Falls) and their respective teams for their great achievements.

FRESH INK A selection of coverage of Roots in the media Here are some recent sightings of Roots in the pages of newspapers and magazines: Vancouver Sun, Victoria Times-Colonist, Canadian Press, Aug. 3: In coverage of Olympic Gold Medalist Ross Rebagliati' s just-announced lawsuit against CTV for defamation of character, his work representing Roots is cited.

Clin D’Oeil magazine (Outremont, QC), Aug 1: Spotlight on Roots watch featured in the “Les Accessories a la Folie” section.

The Westerly News (Ucluelet, BC), July 12: Mentions Roots stores as one of the main places to purchase Crocs.

House & Home Media magazine, July issue: Mention of the Roots patio furniture line and striped beach towel available at Sears. Also, spotlights Roots organic bamboo plates and utensils featured in the “Guilt-Free Dining” section.

SPREADING THE WORD Guide to new ads appearing this week and next Thurs., August 3 – Now magazine (Toronto) ran a full-page colour ad on the outside back cover featuring The Roots Village Pack and the just-released Roots of Reggae CD. Sat., August 5 – National Post will run a full-page colour ad on the back cover of the Toronto section featuring The Roots Village Pack and justreleased Roots of Reggae CD. Sat., August 12 – National Post will run a full-page colour ad on the outside back cover of the Toronto supplement featuring current Roots Products.

BIG GAIN FOR LOSS PREVENTION New director of LP takes command of important retail responsibility This week, Julie McCahon was appointed Director of Loss Prevention at Roots. In her new position based in the Head Office in Toronto, Julie will be responsible for resource protection at all Roots stores in Canada and the United States. As such, she will be working closely with Retail Operations, Finance and Human Resources.

Julie has worked in the asset protection field for more than 10 years, most recently in Walmart' s Loss Prevention Department.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Our weekly spotlight on new positions at various stores

Here is a list of current job openings at Roots stores along with the appropriate contact person. For more information, please refer to the separate email notices sent out recently about each position: Assistant Store Manager, Colossus Outlet, Woodbridge, ON (Platinum level store). E-mail your resume to the attention of Rosemary Eisenhut at reisenhut@roots.com Deadline: Saturday, August 12.

Assistant Store Manager, Sault Ste. Marie, ON (Silver level store). E-mail your resume to the attention of Sanjiv Khanna at skhanna@roots.com Deadline: Saturday August, 5.

Full Time Keyholder, Colossus Outlet, Woodbridge, ON (Platinum level store). E-mail your resume to the attention of Rosemary Eisenhut at reisenhut@roots.com Deadline: Saturday, August 12.

Full Time Keyholders & Full Time/Part Time Associates, new Brossard Outlet, QC. E-mail your resume to the attention of Rosemary Eisenhut at reisenhut@roots.com Deadline: Monday, August 21.

Jr. Field Visual Merchant, four positions in Ontario, two positions in Western Canada.

Email your resume to hr@roots.com quoting File # IP922-Aug/06.

Deadline: Thursday, August 17.

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STAYING POWER Saluting those who go the distance This month, various Roots employees marked major anniversaries of their time at the company. By ‘major’, we mean benchmark achievements as in 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years spent at Roots. We invite anyone celebrating such an anniversary at Roots to send the relevant information to The Source.

Congratulations to Mirjana Vujovic, Assistant Manager, Robson St. store, Vancouver, BC on completing five years at Roots.

UP FRONT What’s in the window displays in the coming days The natural leather handbag posters continue to form the primary windows in the Roots stores. The posters feature the new camo, natural, green and flat bag collection, available in stores now, as part of the ongoing bag promotions.

GREEN TIP # 16 The latest in our series of easy ways to help the environment

ON THE MOVE New appointments and promotions at Roots (in alphabetical order)

Trevor Cresswell promoted to full-time Keyholder, Waterloo, Ontario Victoria Currie appointed full-time Keyholder, Square One, Mississauga, Ontario Katie Ellacott promoted to part-time Keyholder, Masonville, London, Ontario Vanjie Fajardo promoted to Wholesale Coordinator at the Head Office, Toronto Mark Grzenda appointed part-time Keyholder, Square One, Mississauga, Ontario Kammu Singh Kushwaha appointed Technician, Baby Department, Head Office, Toronto Neli Mahran appointed Merchandise and Design Assistant, Head Office, Toronto Don Nesbitt promoted to full-time Keyholder, Bayshore, Nepean, Ontario Irina Oprescu appointed full-time Keyholder, Kitchener, Ontario Paulomi Patel appointed Communications and Public Affairs Assistant, Head Office, Toronto Selina Terra appointed Merchandise Flow Analyst, Accessories, Head Office, Toronto Laura Thompson promoted to part-time Keyholder, Masonville, London, Ontario Pierre Truong appointed Technician, Outlet, Head Office, Toronto Sunny Yang appointed Sourcing Coordinator, Head Office, Toronto

Paper Trail: Did you know that if every household in North America replaced just one roll of 180-sheet virgin-fiber paper towels with 100percent recycled paper towels, we could save nearly 1.5 million trees, 3.7 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 526 million gallons of water, and prevent 89,400 pounds of pollution?

Companies like Seventh Generation make paper towels from 100-percent recycled paper, with a minimum of 90-percent post-consumer materials. You can find Seventh Generation products at Safeway, Whole Foods, and most other grocery stores. Better yet, make do without paper towels. Use dishtowels instead. For more good environmental information, visit www.zerofootprint.net

- Provided by Zerofootprint, an innovative Toronto-based organization that helps companies and organizations reduce their environmental impact. See www.zerofootprint.net

HEALTH TIP # 13 The latest in our series of easy ways to stay healthy The bitter truth: Avoid artificial sweeteners. If it’s sweet and sugar free, then it’s artificially sweetened (unless it’s sweetened with stevia that is unlikely. Read the label to be sure). Besides the fact that most artificial sweeteners are linked to various cancers and brain abnormalities, they actually make you gain weight by reducing your ability to burn fat and increasing your appetite.

Not very sweet, indeed.

- Provided by Jeff Hirst, a professional trainer, co-owner of Training Zone, and a former Olympic diver. Jeff is an acclaimed sports instructor (who was the captain of the University of Toronto swim team) and is highly knowledgeable about health and fitness. He can be reached at trainingzone@hotmail.com

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DEPT. OF CLARIFICATION Setting the record straight In Issue 49 of The Source, in the New and Noteworthy section, the item entitled “Snoozing in comfort” that focused on the Roots/Scanty pajamas for women, should have included the following colour details: Both Mt. Camo and Beaver prints are available in either green or pink colourways.

In the same issue, the item entitled “Camo a big hit” that focused on the success of the Roots camouflage look, the staff featured in the photo along with Buddy The Beaver were from the Roots Kids store on Vancouver’s Robson Street.

- Please address any corrections, relevant updates and revisions to rsarner@roots.com

SPECIAL DELIVERY Recent letters from the world of Roots GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT

As today is my last day working for Roots, I felt like sharing a few things with you. Next month would have been my five-year anniversary with the company but I am leaving to study abroad in England for one year. It breaks my heart to leave as Roots has become a second home to me.

I would not be the person I am today if it had not been for Roots. I have learned so many valuable lessons and have gained a confidence that has found its way into all aspects of my life, thanks to the wonderful people I have been fortunate enough to work with and for.

I would like to give credit to Kristi Lee (Manager of the St. Catharines store) for giving me the opportunity to grow. She has always believed in me, even when I had once lost confidence in myself. I' d also like to thank Manager Lindsay Russell (currently on maternity leave), who is a ray of sunshine, irreplaceable both at Roots and in my life.

I know that I can do anything I set my mind to and with the encouragement of my friends at Roots, nothing can stop me. I just wanted to let you know how much I truly love and appreciate Roots and all that it has done for me. I am hoping to return to the company after my studies abroad. I will wear my Roots proudly. Lord knows I have my fair share of sweats.

You can take a girl out of Roots, but you can' t take Roots out of the girl.

Thank you again.

Jolene Andrews St. Catharines, Ontario THE VALUE OF CONTACT

Just following up on your coverage in Issue 49 of the oneday conference in Toronto of Outlet Managers from across Canada. I really appreciated that the event brought us all together. It was a fantastic opportunity to put faces to the names of people we deal with on a daily basis but never usually meet in person.

We have such a dynamic team of Outlet Managers and I learned a lot from them.

I am sure we will now be contacting each other more frequently.

Daniela Bosa Manager, Vancouver Outlet Store TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

Roots Outlet Managers at recent one-day conference at head office in Toronto

I had an outstanding experience with your store in Victoria, BC today and would like to express my sincere thanks to [Senior Store Manager] Lea Weir for her help.

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I had been phoning around other stores in the Vancouver area looking for a particular polo shirt but upon speaking with Lea in Victoria, she offered to take over, found me all the shirts I was looking for and had them shipped to my nearest Roots store.

Thanks again for such a positive experience.

Nick Holland Burnaby, BC WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT

I am writing to you to let you know that your Roots store on Spring Garden Road in Halifax is the best store that I have ever shopped at. I work nearby and frequent this store often. It is always tidy, neat and clean. The staff are awesome. They are always friendly and willing to help me. For example, if I see something advertised that they do not have, they will get it for me. They go above and beyond the call of customer service of any store that I know of.

You should be very proud to have this store. The staff and store manager represent your company and name very well.

People are always quick to write a note and complain about bad service. I just want you to know of the great service I have always received, and I know will continue to receive, because of the staff and Management there.

Crystal Delorey Halifax, NS LESS PACKAGING, MORE ECO-FRIENDLY

The recently launched Roots reusable Eco-Bag is clearly a terrific initiative that Roots has taken in keeping with the environmentally friendly lifestyle that we are proud to promote. It’s high time that many more retailers start doing the same thing, and that each of us as consumers take it upon ourselves to be far more conscious of our every day choices and the effects on the world around us that they have.

It’s as both a consumer and a Retail Manager that I would like to share a concern I feel when I receive my shipment(s) of Eco-bags. A great product shipped to stores individually wrapped in plastic waste! The mere delivery to stores of each "environmentally friendly bag" creates a wasted plastic bag.

Since its introduction, we' ve seen praise about the Eco-bag in The Source and various emails, and it has all been well deserved. My team and I have been very enthusiastic about promoting the bag, and we' re finding that our customers share our excitement about it. In fact, we just received another shipment of these bags today, and I' m sure they' ll be sold out in no time. This, however, is where I must raise an important point about the Eco-Bag, and certain other stock that we receive at store level, for that matter.

I find it troublesome to open a box of "Eco-Bags" to find EACH bag individually wrapped in plastic! The amount of waste created in my store each day from receiving stock is alarming when you consider that every store is doing the same thing. I' ve always assumed that the decision to wrap each product in plastic has to do with protecting the product during shipping and/or storage. Has Roots considered rejecting this practice and opting for less packaging on its products during shipping? Could we not demand from manufacturers that instead of wrapping each shirt (or Eco-Bag, for example) in plastic and then the entire pre-pack of shirts in more plastic, that only the pre-pack is wrapped before being put in the cardboard box? This is done with many products I see coming into the store -- a pile of shirts nicely folded simply into one larger bag, not a dozen plus one.

I find it unsettling to sell my customer an Eco-Bag and publicize it proudly as an environmentally-friendly decision by an environmentally-responsible retailer, when I know that later, we' ll be toting out a couple of garbage bags full of plastic wrap.

I look forward to your response, as I trust you will be able to put my mind at ease.

Marilyn Fertile Manager, Roots Outlet store, Pickering, Ontario 10

Editor’s note: The following is the reply sent to Marilyn Fertile this week: Dear Marilyn, Thank you for your recent email. We appreciate you taking the time to share with us your environmental concerns.

First, we' re delighted to hear about the positive feedback and popularity of the Roots Eco-Bag. The initiative to introduce the bag to our stores is very much consistent with the core values of Roots.

Turning to the matter you raised about the wrapping of certain products (including the Eco-Bag) when they are shipped to our stores. You are right. At times, it' s excessive and wasteful. We are keenly aware of this issue and (despite appearances sometimes to the contrary) we have actually instituted directives to our suppliers about minimizing the amount of packaging of products unless there are mitigating circumstances.

Over the past year, we have sent a specific request and an amendment to all vendors but some seem to ignore it despite the fact that it costs them more in labour and raw materials. We are now in the process of addressing more emphatic communication to our vendors. To ensure full compliance, we are also considering punitive measures against suppliers who do not respect our environmental specifications.

I can assure you that we attach the utmost importance to this issue. As such, I have shared your letter with several senior management people at Roots with whom I' ve discussed this matter previously. We all agree on the need to demand greater cooperation from our suppliers.

Thanks again for contributing to the effort of making Roots as environmentally friendly as possible.

Kind regards, Robert Sarner Director of Communication and Public Affairs The Source wants to hear from you. In addition to reporting on new developments at Roots, The Source also serves as a forum for ideas and commentary from readers. Please send your letters to Robert Sarner at rsarner@roots.com Letters may be edited for length and clarity. _______________________

THE SOURCE A week in the world of Roots Editor: Robert Sarner (rsarner@roots.com)

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