Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (French: Société Canadian Tire Limitée) is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations and financial services subsidiary Canadian Tire Bank), Mark's, FGL Sports (including Sport Chek and Sports Experts), PartSource, and the Canadian operations of Party City. Canadian Tire acquired the Norwegian clothing and textile company Helly Hansen from the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan in 2018.
Canadian Tire is known for its Canadian Tire money, a loyalty program first introduced in 1958 using paper coupons that resemble banknotes. The company's head office is located at the Canada Square Complex in Toronto, Ontario, and it is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a participant in the voluntary Scanner Price Accuracy Code managed by the Retail Council of Canada.[5]
Marketing[edit]
Advertisements[edit]
Historically, Canadian Tire's Christmas ads featured Santa Claus and Ebenezer Scrooge arguing about whether Canadian Tire's selection or their sales prices were the reason to do Christmas shopping there, involving the marketing slogan "Give like Santa, save like Scrooge".
A stamp was issued by Canada Post commemorating Canadian Tire's 75th anniversary based on the Canadian Tire advertisement of a boy (Bike Story) receiving his first bicycle, which was purchased by his father at a Canadian Tire retail store.
Starting in 2007, the company ran month-long advent calendar promotions which provided free CDs and discounts throughout the holiday season.
From 1997 to 2005, the company's ads featured the "Canadian Tire couple". The male role also known as the Canadian Tire guy was played by Canadian actor Ted Simonett, and Gloria Slade played the female role. They are usually showcasing a new product to one of their neighbours, who are in need of a certain tool. The "Canadian Tire Couple" were featured on Royal Canadian Air Farce as one of their targets of the year, as "Canada's most annoying couple". They also made a feature guest appearance on Royal Canadian Air Farce as actors in a skit.
In early 2006, ads featuring the couple were phased out and replaced by a new campaign featuring overhead signs found in Canadian Tire's store aisles.
In 2013, Canadian Tire produced a commercial promoting its MasterCraft Eliminator Ultra car battery and its ability to function in extreme cold, which featured a stripped GMC Sierra pickup truck with its body re-created as an ice sculpture. The ad premiered during the 2014 NHL Winter Classic.[51][52]
In March 2015, Canadian Tire launched a new ongoing marketing campaign, "Tested for Life in Canada". The campaign, which includes television advertising and in-store labels, showcases products that have been vetted based on input by a consumer focus group recruited by the chain, as well as their reviews of the products. The program also collects feedback that is used to help improve products marketed by Canadian Tire.[53][54]