TORONTO -- In a move intended to take on the likes of Home Hardware, True Value and other independent retailers in at least 100 Canadian communities that are not close to big-box stores, Canadian Tire Corp. is moving ahead with its new growth path that focuses on small town, according to The Financial Post. Its small-market stores would have about 14,000 to 18,000 square feet of selling space, include an onsite Mark's Work Wearhouse, carry an assortment of seasonal products and include a gas bar (kiosk-style fuel offering) and convenience store.
The proposed communities typically have [image-nocss] a population base of 4,000 to 5,000 people and are about a 20-minute drive from big box stores. "It's not an immaterial growth opportunity," CEO Tom Gauld said after the retailer's annual meeting, as each small store would generate between $5 million and $9 million in annual sales.
Canadian Tire will open small-market stores in four communities this year as a test, said the report, with a target of opening 65 to 70 of them in the next five years. Going into more rural markets also helps mitigate the volatility in the retailer's gasoline business, Gauld said, because rural markets are less prone to wild fuel price swings.
"The bloom is off the rose with large format stores, and Home Depot has already identified that," Michael McLarney, managing director of the North American Retail Hardware Association Canada, told the newspaper.
Atlanta-based Home Depot has opened stores half the size of its traditional boxes in secondary Canadian communities and assessed opportunities for even smaller outlets, he added. "We are seeing the resurgence of a convenience factor in retailing."Toronto-based Canadian Tire operates more than 1,100 stores, gas bars and car washes in an interrelated network of businesses engaged in retail, financial services and petroleum. Canadian Tire Retail, with 457 stores operated by associate dealers, offers a mix of automotive, sports and leisure and home products, and its website offers Canadians the opportunity to shop online; PartSource is an automotive parts specialty chain with 47 stores; Canadian Tire Petroleum is a major independent retailer of gasoline, operating 253 gas bars and 58 car washes; Mark's Work Wearhouse is a major apparel retailer with 333 stores; Canadian Tire Financial Services manages more than 3.8 million Options MasterCard accounts and markets related financial products and services for retail and petroleum customers.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.