Do you know what a VW Squareback is? Would you expect it to be … electric?
Payne's a partner in Beachman, with Ben Taylor, a Toronto company that builds café racer e-bikes and offers electrified conversions of motorcycles and cars. His interest in vintage cars and motorcycles started long before the company's inception and his interest in electrifying them.
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National Post
6 days ago
- National Post
Faire Appoints Former DoorDash COO Christopher Payne to Board of Directors
Article content SAN FRANCISCO — Faire, the leading global wholesale platform powering independent retail, today announced the appointment of Christopher Payne, former President and Chief Operating Officer of DoorDash, to its Board of Directors as Independent Director and Chair of the Compensation Committee. A veteran technology leader with more than three decades of experience scaling some of the world's most innovative platforms, Payne joins Faire at a period of rapid global expansion. Article content During his tenure at DoorDash, Payne was instrumental in scaling operations, driving growth, and leading the company through its successful IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in 2020. Earlier in his career, he served as CEO of Tinder, and as Senior Vice President of eBay North America following the acquisition of his startup Positronic. He also previously held senior leadership roles at Amazon and Microsoft. He currently serves on the boards of Hims & Hers and Robinhood. Article content Article content 'Christopher brings a rare combination of operational excellence and visionary leadership,' said Max Rhodes, co-founder and CEO of Faire. 'He has played a key role in building some of the world's most innovative platforms that empower entrepreneurs and reshape industries. His expertise will be critical as Faire enters its next phase of innovation and scale.' Article content Payne's appointment follows a period of sustained business momentum and expansion for Faire. The company grew Q2 revenue nearly 30% year-over-year, tracking towards even faster growth over the last two months. Additionally, Q2 marked eight consecutive quarters of accelerating platform GMV. This year Faire also doubled its international footprint, launching in 15 new markets across Europe and New Zealand. Today, the platform connects 100,000 brands across 120 countries with hundreds of thousands of retailers in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Article content 'With a data-driven approach, expanding global reach, and a mission rooted in entrepreneurship, Faire is redefining how independent brands and retailers scale,' said Christopher Payne. 'Max and the team are building one of the most exciting platforms in commerce today, and I'm proud to support them in this next phase of growth.' Article content Payne follows the recent board appointment of Lauren Cooks Levitan, former CFO and President of Faire – further strengthening Faire's leadership as it scales to meet the growing needs of its global community. Article content About Faire Article content Faire is an online wholesale platform used by independent retailers to discover, source, and sell unique products from around the corner and around the world. Faire's data-driven approach levels the playing field for independent retailers by offering net 60 payment terms and free returns on opening orders, eliminating inventory risk and providing access to capital—key offerings previously only available to the largest retail chains. For brands, the platform provides powerful sales, marketing, and analytics tools, so sellers can simplify their wholesale business and focus on making great products. To date, Faire has facilitated over 10M new connections between brands and retailers on the platform. For more information, visit Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
Winnipeg Free Press
07-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Labour groups, lawyers hope fall of Hudson's Bay will spur change for workers
TORONTO – When Hudson's Bay employees rallied in front of two of the iconic retailer's properties in late May, days before the retailer closed its doors for good, they knew there was no hope of saving their jobs. Their goal instead was to encourage lawmakers to make the fall of the 355-year-old retailer — and all the failed companies that follow it — a little less painful for employees. They argued that could be done if the government adopted their wish list of ideas ranging from boosting federal support programs to prioritizing workers rather than lenders when companies in creditor protection are repaying what they owe. Such ideas were previously bandied around in labour circles when the Canadian divisions of Sears, Target and Nordstrom collapsed. This time, they're hoping the momentum lasts. 'When you're looking for these kinds of improvements, you will have ebbs and flows, but right now, we have an opportunity because the Bay situation is fresh in people's minds' said Lana Payne, president of Unifor. Her union orchestrated the rallies at one of the retailer's distribution centres in Toronto's Scarborough and another in front of a Windsor, Ont. store because Unifor represents about 595 of the 9,364 employees that worked at Canada's oldest company before it filed for creditor protection in March. The workers were told they will not get termination or severance pay and lost health, dental and life insurance benefits. A law firm representing them has warned that 'given HBC's significant amount of secured debt, it is not clear that employees will be able to recover any amounts owing to them directly from HBC.' The company has blamed its troubles on the COVID-19 pandemic, depressed store traffic and tariffs. After it failed to attract investors that would keep the company alive, it started to sell off its remaining assets in hopes of recouping as much as possible for the thousands of creditors. Back of the line When Canadian companies file for creditor protection, the various groups owed money are often left to jockey for what little cash remains, knowing there usually won't be enough to go around. Secured lenders are typically first in line because they have collateral backing the money they lent, often well before a company sought a reprieve from the courts. In the Bay's case there are 26 pages' worth of creditors, including secured senior lenders Restore Capital, Pathlight Capital and Bank of America. They alone are owed hundreds of thousands of dollars and have started to recoup some of their losses because the Bay has been paying them with cash from its liquidation sales. Employees are on the list of creditors, but they are not listed as secured and the amount owing is marked 'TBD.' 'I think it's pretty clear that workers are not the priority in these kinds of cases,' Payne said. 'The legislation doesn't make them the priority and workers right now are feeling the results of that.' In the future, Unifor would like to see legislation changed so workers' termination and severance claims are paid first, Payne said. Susan Ursel, a lawyer representing Bay employees, agrees with the idea because 'employees are affected in a personal way by their employer's insolvency — losing their income and throwing their futures into uncertainty. 'Unlike sophisticated lenders, they are not able to negotiate security for the contractual promises of their employers and therefore fall behind those secured lenders in recovering money owed to them,' she wrote in an email. 'A legislative priority for employees would provide more certain and effective protection for employees, which we would welcome.' But Sunira Chaudhri, founding lawyer at Workly Law in Toronto, worries that change would scare away lenders long before creditor protection is on the horizon and when companies still have a shot at recovery. 'If employees were to be first in line … any employer that hired a lot of employees would be a bad bet for the banks,' she said. 'You'd want to lend money to them the least, because you'd never be able to recoup on a loan.' Jared Ong, an organizer with the Workers' Action Centre, has heard that argument before. He doesn't agree with it. 'Year on year, the major banks keep making billions more, but compare that to a worker who might be one or two paycheques away from losing a roof over their head,' he said. Existing supports Workers left without a job when their company goes under are typically able to lean on two federal government programs, but Ong said they need to be more generous. The first is employment insurance, which pays employees out of work a portion of their salary while they look for a new job. To qualify, applicants must have gone without work and pay for at least seven consecutive days in the last 52 weeks. The second is the Wage Earner Protection Program, which helps workers whose employees filed for creditor protection recoup owed wages, vacation, termination or severance pay. Bay employees have until Oct. 26 to apply for WEPP, after an extension to their deadline was granted by Service Canada. People who qualify under the program can earn up to $8,844.22 this year — a cap Unifor wants raised. Nadia Zaman, an employment lawyer at Rudner Law, thinks a higher ceiling makes sense, especially for workers who have been with a company for a long time. They generally wind up entitled to a lot more than WEPP's cap, so the program puts them 'essentially at a loss,' she said. While many people don't realize the program exists or understand some of the idiosyncrasies workers face when their company goes out of business, Zaman said the Bay is putting a spotlight on labour relations. 'A lot of people who haven't personally been through the situation, they are becoming more aware of it,' she said, 'And they are also looking for changes even if they haven't been personally affected.' The likelihood of turning that desire for change into actual change may seem 'grim,' acknowledged Ong at the Workers' Action Centre. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Labour activists have seen momentum turn into disappointment before. For example, a 2014 Ontario bill pushing businesses to insure long-term disability benefits, so they'd be paid out even if an employer folded, passed, but was seemingly never enacted. Change, said Ong, is 'always a back-and-forth fight.' 'You win some things, you lose some things, government changes, but we need to keep pushing regardless of what happens.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 7, 2025.
Vancouver Sun
29-06-2025
- Vancouver Sun
Three-week DHL Express Canada lockout and strike end with new four-year contact ratified
Canada's largest private sector union says a three-week lockout and strike at DHL Express Canada is ending after workers ratified a new agreement. Unifor says the four-year agreement reached with the delivery company was ratified with 72 per cent support from members. The agreement impacts more than 2,100 DHL Express Canada employees who work as truck drivers, couriers and in warehouse and clerical roles. 'I am so proud of all the members of the national bargaining committee for standing strong and fighting for the respect they deserved,' Unifor National President Lana Payne said in a news release Saturday that announced the results of the ratification vote. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. DHL Express said in a statement that it has restored all services in Canada and that all of its operations will be reinstated effective June 30. 'We are excited to resume our operations and welcome back all our team members. Together, we'll prioritize delivering the highest quality service to our customers,' the company's statement said. The workers were locked out after midnight on June 8 and went on strike hours later. The company and the union, who had been negotiating for close to a year, sparred over the use of replacement workers as federal legislation banning the practice took effect during the work stoppage. The German-owned courier, whose 50,000 customers in Canada include Lululemon, Shein and Siemens, continued operations for the first dozen days of the work stoppage and then shut down operations early on the morning of June 20, the same day the legislation took effect. The company tied the shutdown to stalled negotiations as well as the revised rules, which bar new hires from filling the role of federally regulated employees who are on strike or locked out. Payne had accused the company of bringing in replacement workers — a claim DHL hadn't denied. She said the move was legal at the time, but was undermining fair wages. 'This is a historic dispute in our union's books because we were the test case for the new anti-scab legislation and our union and members stood tall, held strong, and the end result is we got a fair collective agreement,' Payne said in Saturday's news release. Unifor said the ratified contract includes a 15.75 per cent wage hike, pension increases for hourly workers and a new pension for owner-operators. It said the agreement also features increases to short- and long-term disability payments, new mental-health benefits, a rise in severance and updated language around artificial intelligence, robotics and work-from-home policies. The union said the DHL workers will return to work after the ratification, but offered no definite timeline. It thanked the public for its patience as workers resolve the backlog of packages and deliveries. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
