Brian Hill is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist, the founder and the former executive chair of Vancouver-based clothing company

Aritzia Aritzia LP is a Canadian clothing retail company founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, by businessman Brian Hill in 1984. Aritzia sells a variety of lifestyle apparel through various upscale retail stores across Canada, the United States, ...

. After the opening of its first location in 1984, the company has grown steadily in its forty years of operation, servicing a demographic of young Canadian women and employing more than 2,300 people. Aritzia sets its itself part by designing and producing its many in house brands including: TNA, Talula, Babaton, Wilfred, Wilfred Free, Community, Le Fou, La Notte, Sunday Best, Paradise Mine, The Castings, SIXELEVEN and Auxiliary.

Early life

Family

Brian Hill was raised in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada by his father Jim Hill, the founder of the Canadian luxury retailer Hills of Kerrisdale. Throughout his adolescence, Hill worked in his father's retail store. He learned the retail business under the mentorship of his father and his uncle, Forbes Hill.

Education

Following his graduation from high school, he attended the bachelor of commerce program at Queen's University. After poor grades caused him to flunk out of Queen's commerce program, he switched majors and graduated from Queen's faculty of economics. Upon graduation, Hill moved back home to Vancouver to launch his business career.

Business career

Aritzia

In 1984, Hill and his brother Ross opened the first Aritzia boutique store at

Oakridge Centre Oakridge Park (formerly known as Oakridge Centre) is a shopping centre in development at the Oakridge neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of West 41st Avenue and Cambie Street. It was originall ...

, a shopping mall on the West Side of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, BC. Hill claimed that he saw a niche gap in the clothing market, which he intended to fill with high quality clothing with affordable price points lying somewhere between luxury clothing retailers geared towards adolescent Canadian females and young middle-class Canadian women and the trendy retailers for young Canadian girls. Aritizia's six private in-house brands—Wilfred, TNA, Talula, Sunday Best, Community and Babaton accompanied by their two accessory brands SIXELEVEN and Auxiliary—are responsible for generating 80 percent of the company's sales. Near the end of the 1990s, Aritzia was expanded nationally across Canada, and then in 2005, it made forays into the United States. Current American cities with Aritzia boutiques include Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and New York City. Aritzia has continuously expanded to 105 locations across North America after being in business for four decades.

Philanthropy

In 2007, Hill's wife, Andrea Thomas Hill, founded the organization Cause We Care, a foundation designed to provide support to single mothers in the Vancouver area who may be struggling to provide for their children. Aritzia is a sponsor and advocate of the organization. Hill and his wife support the BC Children's Hospital Foundation and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Brian 1960s births Living people 20th-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian businesspeople 21st-century Canadian philanthropists Businesspeople from Vancouver Canadian company founders Canadian retail chief executives Queen's University at Kingston alumni Year of birth missing (living people)