Canadian Tire

[Skeezix]

I quite like the one at Danforth and Gough. A surprisingly large selection given the space. How is it performing?

 

[DTowner]

Yes I've been there....very pleased with the layout and product assortment. It certainly follows the European model of urban retail stores that provide a unique collection of merchandise. People that live along the Danforth definitely walk to many stores in their neighbourhood, and why not a Canadian Tire as well. I'd like to see more retailers explore urban concepts like CTC Express.

I'm all for express shoppes. Smaller versions of big department or retail stores. When you think of it, most people only go to a small section of a dept store anyway, so having everything (well, not EVERYTHING) more compact and accessible and within walking distance (depending on where you live, etc.) is awesome.

 

[Tuscani01]

I quite like the one at Danforth and Gough. A surprisingly large selection given the space. How is it performing?

Started off strong, weakened quite a bit, now doing a bit better. Took a while to get the right product assortment for the neighbourhood.

 

[taal]

How's the new store at Eglinton / Laird doing ?

 

[Tuscani01]

How's the new store at Eglinton / Laird doing ?

Apparently exceeding all expectations. Because it is a showroom, and a customer doesn't have to bring any merchandise to the cashier, a lot of customers have pointed at a display and simply said "I want this exact look for my backyard". Not only did they go home with patio furniture, but also with all the accessories, which is where a good chunk of margin comes from.

The showroom has now been set up as a Christmas wonderland. It's pretty much a Christmas store now. Haven't been in it yet, but apparently it looks amazing.

It doesn't sound like any more of these will be built. It was a unique opportunity with Future Shop closing down next to that CT. It only works because it has removed large bulky items from the main store, giving the store more space for smaller items and a larger product selection. It also allows the store to set up good displays for every product, whereas they couldn't display everything without losing floor space in the main store.

 

[taal]

Apparently exceeding all expectations. Because it is a showroom, and a customer doesn't have to bring any merchandise to the cashier, a lot of customers have pointed at a display and simply said "I want this exact look for my backyard". Not only did they go home with patio furniture, but also with all the accessories, which is where a good chunk of margin comes from.

The showroom has now been set up as a Christmas wonderland. It's pretty much a Christmas store now. Haven't been in it yet, but apparently it looks amazing.

It doesn't sound like any more of these will be built. It was a unique opportunity with Future Shop closing down next to that CT. It only works because it has removed large bulky items from the main store, giving the store more space for smaller items and a larger product selection. It also allows the store to set up good displays for every product, whereas they couldn't display everything without losing floor space in the main store.

Why wouldn't other locations work if t was successful ? Not following that part. Is it because they'd want it to be located beside a regular CT as well ?

 

[Tuscani01]

Why wouldn't other locations work if t was successful ? Not following that part. Is it because they'd want it to be located beside a regular CT as well ?

Correct. It is not meant to be a stand-alone store, as that would cannibalize the sales of another nearby store. This is just an extension of a store. (They are actually hoping to eventually have it connected to the main store)

Finding a store with an opportunity to take over a large amount of space next door is next to impossible. If the opportunity does arise, and the owner of the store is willing to put money into opening a show room, there may be another one... but there are just way too many variables that need to line up for that to happen.

Same thing with the express store concept. It is just an extension of an existing store. The Danforth Express location is owned by the dealer at Leslie/Lakeshore. All of the product and staff comes directly from there.

 

[taal]

Correct. It is not meant to be a stand-alone store, as that would cannibalize the sales of another nearby store. This is just an extension of a store. (They are actually hoping to eventually have it connected to the main store)

Finding a store with an opportunity to take over a large amount of space next door is next to impossible. If the opportunity does arise, and the owner of the store is willing to put money into opening a show room, there may be another one... but there are just way too many variables that need to line up for that to happen.

Same thing with the express store concept. It is just an extension of an existing store. The Danforth Express location is owned by the dealer at Leslie/Lakeshore. All of the product and staff comes directly from there.

Thanks !

Ah gotcha, the concept makes sense; btw any plans for CT to spin of a REIT ? They have a couple good locations that would be ideal for redevelopment one would think ? Though I'm not sure if they really own a lot of the land.

Oh and as I believe I ask you this every year or so, any news on the head office location @ Y&E, no plans to move anytime soon still ?

 

[Tuscani01]

Thanks !

Ah gotcha, the concept makes sense; btw any plans for CT to spin of a REIT ? They have a couple good locations that would be ideal for redevelopment one would think ? Though I'm not sure if they really own a lot of the land.

Oh and as I believe I ask you this every year or so, any news on the head office location @ Y&E, no plans to move anytime soon still ?

Already spun off a REIT last year.

http://www.ctreit.com/en/

No moving plans at all for head office. Currently renovating every floor.

 

[taal]

Already spun off a REIT last year.

http://www.ctreit.com/en/

No moving plans at all for head office. Currently renovating every floor.

Glad to hear that ! The odd part being that company who recently purchased Canada Square with some potential long term plans to rebuild, I hope the office component stays if not increased.

 

[Tuscani01]

Glad to hear that ! The odd part being that company who recently purchased Canada Square with some potential long term plans to rebuild, I hope the office component stays if not increased.

As far as I know, the building is still owned by Northam. Haven't heard anything about a sale, or seen any different contacts.

 

[donoreo]

Again Canadian Tire's poor inventory management has annoyed me. I looked it up, says in stock. I go to store. As I am waiting at the auto parts counter to ask someone as I can only find an empty space on the shelf, I notice a sign they have up. I cannot remember the exact wording but it was something like this: Employees should be treated with respect and no physical or verbal abuse will be tolerated and the police will be called. Once I got someone to look up the product and them to tell me that they did not actually have any, I told them that they would not need that sign if they just improved customer service.

So I called another store that said "in stock". No answer (this was on Friday Jan 2, not busy anywhere I went). I called another. No answer. I called several times and chose several options and could not get any answer at the stores.

I took a gamble and drove to the largest one which did have my item in stock. I would not have purchased from them except I needed that day.

 

[James]

Inventory management is always an issue with these big box stores and not an exclusive problem with Canadian Tire. A friend of mine at Canadian Tire HQ advised me to never trust the system, especially if it says there are only 1 or 2 items in stock. Unfortunately, this is all fairly common with many other retailers too.

 

[Tuscani01]

Inventory management is always an issue with these big box stores and not an exclusive problem with Canadian Tire. A friend of mine at Canadian Tire HQ advised me to never trust the system, especially if it says there are only 1 or 2 items in stock. Unfortunately, this is all fairly common with many other retailers too.

Correct. It's not an easy thing to fix, as no retailer on the planet has been able to solve this problem. The system will always rely on humans, and humans are prone to errors. Some of the stores are using a new inventory management system that reduces this occurrence, but it still doesn't eliminate it.

I believe the website has been changed over the years to no longer show "In stock" when the quantities remaining at a store are 1 or 2 items. It should now say "call store to confirm availability". Mind you, that is also useless, since no one ever picks up a phone at Canadian Tire. It's even harder after the holidays, as many stores close their customer service desks.

I still remember working at Bay/Dundas back in the day and trying to call in to say I was going to be late or sick. Most of the times, I couldn't even get through myself and couldn't report my absence.

 

[prosperegal]

Correct. It's not an easy thing to fix, as no retailer on the planet has been able to solve this problem. The system will always rely on humans, and humans are prone to errors. Some of the stores are using a new inventory management system that reduces this occurrence, but it still doesn't eliminate it.

I believe the website has been changed over the years to no longer show "In stock" when the quantities remaining at a store are 1 or 2 items. It should now say "call store to confirm availability". Mind you, that is also useless, since no one ever picks up a phone at Canadian Tire. It's even harder after the holidays, as many stores close their customer service desks.

I still remember working at Bay/Dundas back in the day and trying to call in to say I was going to be late or sick. Most of the times, I couldn't even get through myself and couldn't report my absence.

Hey, it's impossible to flag anyone down at CT and if you CAN, they'll tell you that they don't work at that department.