The entrepreneur, designer, and co-founder of The Jilly Box being recognized for building a purpose-driven retail platform that champions Canadian small businesses

TORONTO, April 2, 2026 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) today announced that Jillian Harris, entrepreneur, designer, and co-founder of The Jilly Box, will receive the Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award at the annual Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala. The award recognizes an independent retailer whose vision, community commitment, and entrepreneurial spirit exemplify the best of Canadian retail.

Jillian Harris has spent her career turning influence into impact. With over 1.5 million followers and a career rooted in design, lifestyle, and storytelling, she is the founder of two B Corp certified businesses, Jillian Harris Design and The Jilly Box. The Jilly Box operates both a quarterly subscription service of lifestyle, wellness, beauty, and home products and a year-round online marketplace, The Market by The Jilly Box. Together, they have grown into one of Canada's most recognizable independent retail platforms. Each season, The Jilly Box intentionally spotlights Canadian-owned, women-owned, BIPOC-owned, and 2SLGBTQIA+-owned brands to provide purpose-driven founders with a direct channel to a loyal, values-aligned customer base eager to discover and support them.

What sets Harris apart as an entrepreneur is what she has done with her platform. In a retail environment where small and independent businesses face mounting pressure to find customers, cut through noise, and compete for shelf space, Harris has created an alternative.

"Jillian Harris has built something genuinely distinctive in retail," said Kim Furlong, President and CEO of Retail Council of Canada. "At a time when independent entrepreneurs are navigating one of the most challenging market environments in recent memory, she has used her platform and her business to actively open doors for them. That kind of leadership is exactly what this award was created to recognize."

Giving back is central to the success of The Jilly Box. The company donates $40,000 each quarter from boxes sold and has reinvested nearly $1 million into local community organizations to date. This approach reflects Jillian Harris's commitment to a business model that demonstrates what independent retail can achieve at its best: commercially viable, community-rooted, and unapologetically values-driven.

The Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala will cap off the first day of RCCSTORE26, Canada's premier retail conference. Taking place June 2-3, 2026, RCCSTORE26 will feature 75+ expert speakers and draw retail leaders from across North America and beyond.

Media are invited to attend this prestigious event celebrating Jillian Harris and other esteemed award recipients.

About the Excellence in Retailing Awards

The Excellence in Retailing Awards are presented annually by Retail Council of Canada to honour outstanding performance and innovation across the Canadian retail industry. The Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a local independent retailer to their community. Past Independent Retail Ambassador recipients include Jenn Harper of Cheekbone Beauty, Jennifer Grimm of LUX Beauty, and Sharon Hayles of Diane's Lingerie. For more information, visit retailawards.ca.

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail is Canada's largest private-sector employer with over 2.3 million Canadians working in our industry. This sector is a major economic contributor, generating more than $101 billion annually in wages and employee benefits. In 2025, core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) exceeded $532 billion. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members account for more than two thirds of these core retail sales and 95 per cent of the grocery market. Our membership extends across the country, embracing over 65,000 storefronts in diverse formats such as department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers, online merchants, and quick service restaurants. As the Voice of Retail™ in Canada, RCC, a not-for-profit, industry-funded association, proudly represents retail businesses of all sizes, from small independents to large national chains, in communities nationwide. retailcouncil.org.

SOURCE Retail Council of Canada