Canadian Tire tests out small-format units

TORONTO Throwing its name into the small-format mix, Canadian Tire opened the doors of its first two small-market stores today with the grand opening of its store in Hearst, Ontario and the soft opening in Deep River, Ontario. The two new stores are the first of four test locations planned for 2008 and include an 18,000-square-foot Canadian Tire store, 5,300-square-foot Mark's Work Wearhouse offering, 7,000-square-foot Garden Centre, 13,000-square-foot outdoor compound and, when complete, an onsite Canadian Tire Gas Bar.

With two stores now open and another two scheduled to open in Athabasca and Cochrane this fall, the small-market store is designed to provide customers in smaller towns with a one-stop shopping experience. The locations will range from 14,000 to 18,000 square feet and are anchored by Canadian Tire's cornerstones--automotive, hardware, home, sports and seasonal.

"We have identified approximately 100 communities across Canada that we believe to be potential sites for this concept," said Mike Arnett, president of Canadian Tire Retail. "By leveraging the strengths of our interrelated businesses, we are able to bring this new concept to these markets, enabling customers in small towns to get everything they need for their car, home and leisure activities conveniently under one roof."

The new small-market stores will replace traditional Canadian Tire stores or will be incremental new stores enabling the company to serve even more of the Canadian population. The stores are each expected to generate $5 to $9 million annually.