Thursday 1 March 2012

The Canadian Tire Family

The following are links to various companies owned by or partnered with Canadian Tire:

Mark's Work Warehouse

PartSource

Canadian Tire Gas+

Canadian Tire Financial Services

Forzani Group Ltd.

Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance


Many of these stores are individually owned franchises and this has helped the Canadian Tire family achieve the success that they have today. For information on these organizations and how they work with Canadian Tire visit the Business Profile section of the Canadian Tire website.

A Little Gas Goes a Long Way

Canadian Tire Petroleum was introduced in 1958. They were the first large corporation to introduce gas bars at  store locations and has now become one of the powerhouses of Canada's gasoline retailers. There are now over 270 CTP gas bar locations as well as over 70 Simoniz car washes. The gas bars of Canadian Tire are responsible for the the successful Canadian Tire Money reward program that is still in place today. One can receive up to 10 times the usual amount of rewards coupons by using Canadian Tire gas bars alone. Many other companies such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot have mimicked the idea, but have not seen the same rate of success. To gain the competitive edge, Canadian Tire has introduced several pit stops that check oil, rust, fluids, and provide various other services.


Keeping It Canadian

Canadaian Tire recently teamed up with the National Hockey League and Canadian professional hockey player, Jonathan Teows, to create the Canadian Tire Hockey School. It was designed to help teach the youth of Canada about the country's national sport, to help youth increase their hockey skills, and find new young talent to participate in the Canadian Tire Hockey School Camp as well as the Canadian Tire Junior Skills competition. This has been a very successful marketing campaign for Canadian tire as it has shown them coming back to their Canadian roots.

Welcome To The Canadian Tire Hockey School


I feel that this has brought much more appreciation to the Canadian Tire corporation because it shows that Canadian Tire still cares about where they came from and it is a program that benefits everyone involved in it. For more information about the program and how to get involved visit the Canadian Tire Hockey School website.

SWOT Analysis - Opportunities and Threats

Opportunities:

  • Canadaian Tire can easily expand in a cultural aspects to attract a more diverse clientele.
  • The opportunity of increased franchising is available.
  • Increasing the rewards from Canadian Tire gas bars will attract the frustrated consumers of the petroleum market.
  • Canadian Tire can capitalize on being the only store of it's kind built in Canada for Canada.
Threats:
  • Companies like Home Depot offer the same type of products and services that Canadian Tire offers.
  • Other companies show better customer service and quality of goods.
  • TV advertisements are showing to be a worse marketing strategy then word of mouth.
  • Currently viewed as a company with poor service.
In my opinion, Canadain Tire needs to get back to it's high quality of customer service roots that gave them the success they had in the first place. This will help them develop off of the idea that they are a company made for people who live in Canada as it seems extremely unlikely that they could ever expand outside of Canada without changing their name and outlook on business. This is simply my view though. Share any opinions or ideas you may have to help increase the market percentage that Canadian Tire owns.

SWOT Analysis - Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

  • Offers automotive parts and supplies a service station.
  • Offers various goods and services to aid the everyday needs of Canadians.
  • Much of the clientele of Canadian tire is extremely loyal.
  • Canadian Tire Bank provides rewards when their credit card is used.
  • Offers online shopping through the Canadian Tire website.


Weaknesses:
  • They can not expand out of Canada.
  • Prices for much of their goods and services have gone up.
  • Customer service has seemingly become a thing of the past.
  • They have failed to establish new grounds with the now Culturally diverse country that Canada is.
  • Lack of advertisement for Canadian Tire Gas Stations. 
I personally think that Canadian Tire has lost much of the customer service and respect with much of their product and the reduction of their loyalty programs' rewards. Canada is now considered the melting pot of the world's cultures. The Canadian "gimmick" seems to be attracting less customers as of recently. What is your opinion of Canadian Tire's strengths and weaknesses? Do you think there is much room for improvement?

Don't Spend it, Honey!

Corin Raymond, a Canadian musician who was low on funds for his upcoming album, had a slightly unusual idea when thinking of ways he could save up enough to produce a professional album. The idea cam from a song he had written called "Don't Spend it, Honey". The song is about Canadian Tire Money and whenever he would perform it fans would present him with just that. Now Corin is on the road performing various gigs in hopes of saving up enough Canadian Tire Money to produce his dream album and it looks as if his dream is coming true.

CBC Report on the "Don't Spend it, Honey" Campaign


The "Don't Spend it, Honey" campaign has received media coverage from organizations such as CBC and is quickly on the rise. With almost $3,000 worth of Canadian Tire Money, Raymond is well on his way to producing his record and then some. I think that this plan is truly genius. Almost anyone who has shopped at Canadian Tire has received Canadian Tire Money that they had no intention on saving or using. This unused money ends up in various glove compartments, closets, or even the garbage. Donating the coupons helps Corin Raymond get his career off of the ground and helps you dispose of unwanted Canadian Tire Money.

You can learn more and donate to the cause by visiting the Dont Spend It, Honey website.