ROOTS BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN REGGAE

Latest release in Roots CD series pays tribute to Jamaican music

Given the huge success earlier this year of the first CD in the exclusive “Roots of…” music series of recordings, it’s little surprise that the follow-up to The Roots of Motown was much anticipated. This week, The Roots of Reggae hit the stores and is already enjoying strong sales.

Produced by Roots Co-Founder Michael Budman, in conjunction with Universal Music, the album was inspired by his great affinity for Jamaica, the birthplace of reggae. Jamaica and its culture have long been associated with Roots as it was one of the inspirations behind Roots when Michael and Co-Founder Don Green started the company in 1973. Since the late 1960s, both Michael and Don have visited the Caribbean island on countless occasions and have lots of friends there including many of the most celebrated reggae artists featured on the new CD.

"It would be impossible to exaggerate the influence that Jamaican culture, Jamaican people and Jamaican music have had on both Michael and Don as individuals and on the direction of Roots as a corporate entity," writes Grammy Award-winning ethnomusicologist Rob Bowman in the CD's liner notes.

This is evident in, among other things, the Roots Rock Reggae clothing line and the company's sponsorship of Bob Marley Day in Canada over the years. Roots is also one of the original sponsors of the annual Goldeneye Film Festival in Jamaica.

The 18-track CD showcases the biggest names in reggae including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots and the Maytals, Third World, Peter Tosh, and Greogory Isaacs. Their music is as alluring as the beauty of Jamaica. Many of the greatest reggae anthems of all time are on this CD, such as Sun is shining; Wonderful world, beautiful people; The harder they come; You can get it if you really want and Many rivers to cross.

Roots Senior Art Director Ilich Mejia designed the cover jacket and inside booklet for the CD which is selling for $12.99. – Sarah Foster

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:

· Montreal (Centreville) – A steady stream of celebrities have dropped in to the Roots Centreville store during the ongoing Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. Alex Borstein from Mad TV (Ms. Swan) and the Family Guy and Robert ‘Bob’ Marley, a team member from her show, shopped at the store. Alex bought three leather bags including the Emily Bag. She also invited the sales associates who helped her to attend her show that night. Robert "Bob" Marley shopped for men’s and kids clothing.

Jamie Elman from American Dreams and the Canadian sitcom Student Bodies visited the store to check out the Roots hats. French-Canadian actor Marc Messier purchased a men’s leather jacket. Actor/comedian Drew Carey visited with his 3-year-old son and shopped for baby clothes.

· Toronto (100 Bloor St.) – Last Saturday, Eric McCormick from Will and Grace was at the flagship store followed by Jay Harrington (Dr. Ron from Desperate Housewives) and Sarah Chalke (Elliot Reid from Scrubs). Both Jay and Sarah are in town shooting a movie together. Shortly thereafter, Bob Saget (Full House and America’s Funniest Videos) stopped by.

Among other celebrities who came to the Roots store were Eric Idle, the creator of Monty Python’s Spamalot and actor Robert Downey Jr. who shopped for his crew of the recently completed movie Charlie Bartlett. He left the store with items from all the departments including the just-released Roots of Reggae CD and a Camo bag for himself.

· Vancouver (Robson St.) - Actor Jason Priestley shopped for some T-shirts and cowboy hats with his wife Naomi Lowde-Priestley. Johny V, hairstylist for actor Mark Wahlberg, purchased a Village Bag and some Roots accessories.

FINE DESIGN, GOOD CAUSE

Roots leather jacket in honour of Wayne Gretzky raises thousands for CNIB

Earlier this month, Roots donated a one-of-a- kind leather jacket to be auctioned at the Walter Gretzky Charity Golf Tournament just outside Toronto. By the time bidding ended, the jacket reached the price of $5,000, all of which will go to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Roots Co-Founders Michael Budman and Don Green, along with Senior Designer, Special Projects, David Young, first presented the jacket to Walter’s son, Wayne, at Lobby, a restaurant in downtown Toronto. He loved its distinct look, as it was different from the usual designs of NHL apparel and paraphernalia. Wayne signed the jacket just before it was put on auction.

Designed by David along with Director of Leather, Karl Kowalewski, the custom-made jacket was inspired by "Wayne’s roots" - his days as a youth in the minor hockey system in his hometown of Brantford, Ontario where he played for the Nadrofsky Steelers. The jacket sleeve features a large ‘9’, the number The Great One first wore (in honour of his childhood idol Gordie Howe) and the letter ‘B’ for Brantford.

David, who also hails from Brantford, says: “It was an extremely rewarding experience designing a jacket for Wayne, to be given to his father Waltera and used for a good cause.”

Made from black vintage leather with red knit fabric used for details, the jacket features chenille direct embroidery, felt appliqués and a double lining of vintage white silk.

IN THE RIGHT PLACE

Roots lends its support to annual festival as an official supplier

Roots is set to make waves at the 5th Annual Irie Music Festival next week in Toronto. The popular reggae music event, a three-day cultural extravaganza, will take place August 4 - 6 at two of the city’s high-profile public venues, the Nathan Philips Square and Ontario Place.

Roots is the official supplier of the festival T-shirts. Coordinated by David Jackson of the Business-to-Business Department, the T-shirts will be sold in select Roots stores. Roots will also be setting up a booth at the event to sell the Irie T-shirts, the just-released Roots of Reggae CD (see Page 2) and a selection of Jamaica-related Roots products. Staff from Roots Central will man the booth.

Irie (pronounced eye-re) is a Jamaican word meaning goodness, well-being and joy. Encompassing this and created as a unifying symbol of Toronto's diversity, the Irie Festival will feature the Grammy Award-winning UK reggae band Steel Pulse on Irie Day at Ontario Place on August 6. Other Irie Day performers include dancehall innovator Sugar Minott and legendary jazz reggae guitarist Ernest Ranglin.

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

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

A guide to just-launched Roots products



JASPER PERFECT FOR EARLY FALL
Men have a lot to gain with new collection for the coming months

Inspired by the Canadian outdoors, the Jasper collection, is part of the early fall line for men at Roots. Made from fabrics such as lightweight cotton jersey and cotton fleece, these comfortable but stylish T-shirts, hoodies and sweat pants come with suede elbow patches and back seam detailing. Additional features include details like suede neck tapes for comfort. The hoodies and pants are over-dyed to further enhance the rugged vintage outdoor look. The sweat pants also come with two-sided cargo pockets for storage. Drawstrings at the hems allow converting the pants into shorts when required.

Another outdoor style, the Nick Zip Hoody comes with a large print of the Roots story printed on the inside inspired from the history of Roots, with the aim of creating an outerwear design with a detailed interior. The hoody also features a special-edition embroidery on the pocket and comes with a waffle fabric-lined hood. The two front zip pockets allow for a lot of storage making this comfortable sweatshirt great for traveling.

Created by the menswear design team consisting of Senior Designer Rita Shulman, and Associate Designer Dylan Anderson, the styles featured here are available in stores now.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY

A guide to just-launched Roots products



SNOOZING IN COMFORT
Roots and Scanty create PJs with a difference

They hit stores last week, and all those who buy them swear by them. These are the new women’s pajamas made for Roots by Scanty and sold in Roots stores. Roots teamed up with the street-smart California company to create lifestyle pajama packages designed exclusively for Roots.

With a reputation for comfort, Scanty pajamas come in extremely soft 100% cotton with a washed finish. The stylish low curved back design combined with interior drawstrings and interesting cuff details on the bottom hems and nightshirts make the pyjamas attractive and cozy. Additional details like over lock stitching adds smoothness and comfort to the garment.

The pyjamas come in two exclusive patterns: the Beaver Camo and the Mountain Camo. Designed by the Roots Art Department, both prints come in two colour combinations: mountain camo and pink.

Available in sizes: XS-L. Retail price range: Cami: $48 - Henley: $78

FRESH INK

A selection of recent coverage of Roots in the media

The Toronto Sun, July 21: Photo of Spamalot creator Eric Idle at Roots flagship store on Bloor St in Toronto.

Montreal Gazette, July 19: Article entitled “Marketing Canadian spirit never goes out of date” include quote from Domenico Ciarallo of Proudly Canadian Co. saying he’s flattered his company being compared to Roots.

Seaway News (Cornwall, ON), July 14: Mentions Crocs available at Roots stores.

Northern Ontario Business (Sudbury, ON), July 1: Article entitled “Women of Northern Ontario Awards 2006”, mentioning Roots as one of the businesses donating prizes for the luncheon draw.

Flare magazine, July issue: Spotlight on Roots Linen bag featured in the “Our votes are in for summer’s best carryalls” section.

Strut magazine, summer issue: The Roots Saddle Bag in black leather is featured in the magazine.

Wish magazine, September issue: Great shot of the new Fall Melinda (red) leather bag.

THE ROOTS TOP 10

A guide to the sounds of Roots for the month of August

1. Sun Is Shining, Bob Marley and The Wailers
2. Where Are We Going, Marvin Gaye
3. Dancing In The Moonlight, Van Morrison
4. Roots Woman, Jimmy Cliff
5. Spongii Reggae, Black Uhuru
6. Wonderful World, Sam Cooke
7. If I Had A Rocket Launcher, Bruce Cockburn
8. Dirty Laundry, Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions
9. Wonderful World, Beautiful People, Jimmy Cliff
10. War, Bob Marley and The Wailers

- Compiled by Davin Bujalski

GREEN TIP # 15

The latest in our series of easy ways to help the environment

Rechargeable Batteries: Once they're all used up, recycle your rechargeable batteries. When they no longer hold a charge and are thrown away, they can cause serious harm to human health and the environment. About 75 percent of municipal solid waste is either sent to a landfill or incinerated. Neither of these methods is suited for the disposal of rechargeable batteries.

You can drop off your rechargeable batteries from (laptop computers, cell phones, PDAs, cordless power tools, camcorders and remote control toys) at retailers like: Best Buy, RadioShack, Sears, and Walmart, where they will be properly disposed of. 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 # 12

The latest in our series of easy ways to stay healthy

Eat healthy fats. Fish oil, extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut oil, avocadoes, raw nuts and seeds are all sources of healthy fats which, when consumed in amounts appropriate for your metabolic type, will give you energy, health and vitality. Most vegetable and seed oils (such as those found in many store-bought salad dressings and marinades should be minimized as they are quite often rancid, not to mention destroyed by their processing. Margarine (organic butter is better), fried foods and hydrogenated fats are also best avoided.

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