Canadian Tire facts for kids
Head office for Canadian Tire at the Canada Square Complex on Yonge Street
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Trade name
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Canadian Tire |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | TSX: CTC (voting) TSX: CTC.A (non-voting) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | October 24, 1922 |
| Founders | Alfred Jackson Billes John William Billes |
| Headquarters | 2180 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario M4P 2V8 |
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Number of locations
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1,686 locations: 503 Canadian Tire stores, 91 PartSource stores, 409 FGL Sports stores (various banners), 386 Mark's stores, and 297 gas stations. |
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Area served
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Canada |
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Key people
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Greg Hicks (President and CEO) |
| Products | Automotive, sports, leisure and home products |
| Revenue |  CA$17.810 billion (2022) |
| CA$1.182 billion (2022) |
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| Total assets | CA$22.102 billion (2022) |
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Number of employees
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58,000 |
| Subsidiaries | Canadian Tire PartSource Sport Chek Canadian Tire Bank Mark's Canadian Tire Petroleum Helly Hansen Party City Canada Sher-Wood |
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a big Canadian company. It sells many different things. You can find car parts, tools, sports gear, and home items there. It also owns other popular stores. These include Mark's, Sport Chek, PartSource, and Party City Canada. Canadian Tire even owns Helly Hansen, a clothing company from Norway.
The company is famous for its "Canadian Tire money." This is a special loyalty program. It started in 1958 with paper coupons that look like money. Canadian Tire's main office is in Toronto, Ontario.
Contents
The Story of Canadian Tire
How It All Began
On October 24, 1922, two brothers, John William Billes and Alfred Jackson Billes, started a business. They put in $1,800 of their own money. They bought a company called Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd. This company bought tires cheaply in winter. Then, they sold them for more during the busy summer. The brothers opened their first store in Toronto, Ontario.
In 1927, they changed the company's name. They called it Canadian Tire Corporation Limited. A.J. Billes said it "sounded big." In 1928, they sent out their first catalogues. These had price lists and road maps.
Growing Across Canada
The first official "Associate Store" opened in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1934. By 1945, there were 110 Canadian Tire stores. The company became public in 1944. This meant people could buy shares in the company.
In 1958, the first gas station opened in Toronto. This is also when "Canadian Tire money" began. It gave gas customers a discount in the store. By 1961, there were 31 gas stations.
New Stores and Services
Canadian Tire bought Mark's Work Wearhouse in 2001. This was their first step into selling clothes. In 2003, they started Canadian Tire Bank. This bank handles their credit cards and other money services.
In 2018, Canadian Tire launched "Triangle Rewards." This new program replaced the digital "My Canadian Tire Money." But, you can still get paper "Canadian Tire money" at some stores. Also in 2018, Canadian Tire bought Helly Hansen. This company sells outdoor clothing. Today, Canadian Tire has hundreds of stores across Canada.
Trying to Expand to the U.S.
Canadian Tire tried to open stores in the United States twice. In 1982, they bought a car parts chain called White Stores. It had 81 stores in Texas. But after losing a lot of money, they closed or sold all these stores by 1986.
In the early 1990s, they tried again. They opened a special auto parts chain called Auto Source. These stores had many more parts than their rivals. The first Auto Source opened in Indianapolis in 1991. They opened ten stores in total. But the chain lost money and closed in 1995. Even though Auto Source failed, a smaller version became the PartSource brand in Canada.
Canadian Tire Brands
Canadian Tire sells many products under its own brand names. You might know some of these:
- Mastercraft: This brand offers a wide range of tools.
- SuperCycle: This is their brand for bicycles.
- Motomaster: This brand sells tires, batteries, and other car products.
- FRANK: These are economy-priced food, drink, and cleaning products. They often have funny sayings on the package.
- NOMA: This brand sells many items. These include Christmas lights and air purifiers.
- Master Chef: This brand is for BBQ and outdoor cooking items.
- Canvas: This brand is for furniture.
- Yardworks: This brand offers lawn care equipment.
- MAXIMUM: This is their top-quality tool line.
- Woods: This brand sells camping and outdoor clothing.
- Simoniz: This brand is for car cleaning products.
- Premier: This brand sells paint products.
- Jobmate: This brand offers budget-friendly power tools.
- Certified: This brand sells some car parts and gas-powered equipment. For example, generators and snowblowers.
In 2017, Canadian Tire also bought Padinox. This company makes Paderno kitchen equipment.
How Canadian Tire Works
Money Services
Canadian Tire Bank (CTB) is the company's bank. It handles credit cards and takes deposits. It's a real bank under Canada's Bank Act. In 2014, another bank, Scotiabank, bought a small part of Canadian Tire Bank. This helped Canadian Tire grow its financial services.
Gas Stations
Canadian Tire Petroleum (CTP) runs the gas stations and car washes. These are called Canadian Tire Gas+. They started in 1958 to bring more customers to Canadian Tire stores. In Ontario, CTP also has "Pit Stop" locations. These offer oil changes and rust checks. The "Canadian Tire money" program first started with these gas stations.
In 2023, Canadian Tire announced a big change. All Canadian Tire Gas+ stations will become Petro-Canada stations. Also, Petro-Canada's rewards program will join Canadian Tire's Triangle program.
Retail Stores
Canadian Tire is unique in Canada. It sells many different products. These range from car parts to sports gear and even some groceries. Their "Canadian Tire money" is also very special. Some people even call it a "sub-fiat" currency.
In 2009, Canadian Tire started a new store design. They called them "Smart stores." These stores have special areas for popular products. For example, car parts and home goods are near the front. Some stores even started selling common groceries.
Canadian Tire has opened some very large stores. In 2015, they opened a huge store in South Edmonton Common. It has two floors and many interactive displays. In 2022, they opened an even bigger store in Chilliwack, BC. It has over 70,000 different items. That same year, they opened a large "flagship" store in Ottawa. This store has a modern design. It focuses on car service, seasonal items, and pickup services.
Canadian Tire also sells things online. They stopped online sales for a while in 2009. But they brought it back in 2013. Now, you can order online and pick up your items at the store.
Car Parts Stores
Besides the car parts in Canadian Tire stores, the company also owns PartSource. This is a special chain of stores just for car parts and accessories. PartSource has 91 stores across several Canadian provinces. They serve both car repair shops and people who fix their own cars.
Clothing Stores
In 2001, Canadian Tire bought Mark's Work Wearhouse. This store sells casual and work clothes. It is now known as Mark's. Some Canadian Tire stores even have a Mark's section inside them.
In 2018, Canadian Tire also bought Helly Hansen. This company sells sportswear from Norway.
Sports Stores
In 2011, Canadian Tire bought Forzani Group. This company owns many sports stores. These include Sport Chek, Atmosphere, and Sports Experts. In 2021, Canadian Tire closed all National Sports stores. They wanted to focus on their main sports brands.
Party Stores
In 2019, Canadian Tire bought Party City's business in Canada. This means Canadian Tire now owns and operates Party City stores in Canada.
Marketing and Ads
Advertisements
For Christmas, Canadian Tire used to have ads with Santa Claus and Ebenezer Scrooge. They would argue about whether Canadian Tire had the best selection or the best prices. Their slogan was "Give like Santa, save like Scrooge."
Canada Post even made a stamp for Canadian Tire's 75th anniversary. It showed a boy getting his first bicycle from Canadian Tire.
From 1997 to 2005, Canadian Tire ads featured the "Canadian Tire couple." Ted Simonett played the man, and Gloria Slade played the woman. They would show new products to their neighbours. In 2006, these ads were replaced with new ones. The new ads showed signs from inside the stores.
In 2013, Canadian Tire made a cool ad for a car battery. It showed a truck made of ice. This showed how well their battery worked in cold weather.
In 2015, Canadian Tire started a new campaign. It's called "Tested for Life in Canada." This campaign shows products that have been tested by real Canadian customers. Their feedback helps improve the products.
Sports Sponsorships
Car Racing
In the 1980s, Canadian Tire sponsored an IndyCar racing team. David Billes, the son of one of the founders, was a Canadian Corvette racer. He owned the car for Jacques Villeneuve Sr. in the early 1980s. Jacques Villeneuve Sr. won a race in 1985.
Canadian Tire also has naming rights for a famous racetrack. It's called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. It used to be known as Mosport International Raceway.
| # | Season | Date | Sanction | Track/Race | No. | Winning Driver | Chassis | Engine | Tire | Grid | Laps Led |
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| 1 | 1985 | August 4 | CART | Road America (R) | 76 |  Jacques Villeneuve Sr. |
March 85C | Cosworth DFX V8 t | Goodyear | 4 | 14 |
Other Sports
The home arena for the Ottawa Senators hockey team is also named after the company. It has been called the Canadian Tire Centre since 2013.
See also
- List of Canadian department stores
- NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
