[someMidTowner]

Mark's sucks. Wearing their clothes basically screams "I have no style".

I don't think my steel-toed boots and hardhat were designed to look great.

 

[Tuscani01]

I wonder if there's a maxim in this retail segment concerning re-merchandising? @Tuscani01 might know.

I know in grocery there's a core belief that by shifting around certain products that are popular you will get people to see other products they may not have considered buying or buying from you.

This is most true in produce departments.

I've always questioned its validity in that I'm not at all clear that annoying someone by making them figure out where the tomatoes went will suddenly cause them to buy eggplant.

Re-orgs in bakery are fairly common too, much less so in other perimeter departments (meat and dairy) and whole sale reorganization of grocery aisles is relatively rare, tending to be associated
w/major renos or adding large new assortments (Joe Fresh, or Beer/Wine) .

We don’t take the grocery store approach. Our merchandising strategies are centred around how customers shop and are based on years of market research and experimentation. Adjacencies are often decided based on product usage and how a customer would shop, not based on what we think we can push. At the end of the day, we know what sells and what people are coming into the store for. Those products and categories usually get priority.

A grocery store does the opposite by putting the categories people want in the back, making people walk through the store to get to them.

The only situation where this isn’t true would have to be automotive, since its location is decided based on the location of the service centre.

 

[Tuscani01]

The issue with a lot of the CT Stores is that the layout is dependant on what the dealer (store owner) wants. A lot of the dealers are also in an older age bracket and what you will start to see is a shift in the overall presentation of the stores as older dealers reach retirement and new younger dealers take over. The problem is dealers have a large amount of say and they stick around for a long time so the corporation tries its best to make changes to better the experience however the dealer has the final say in terms of store layout as well as personnel on the floor. It's a very tricky balancing act that CT has to manage

That confirms what the manager of our local store told me. I think the owner is constantly trying to eke out and maximize every inch of floor space he has available to him in the face larger corporate inventory; larger both in terms of selection as well as physical space requirements of some items. Add to that the seemingly constant changeover of seasonal or holiday stock and a visit takes on a bit of a scavenger hunt atmosphere.

Yes and no.

When we redesign a store, the dealer ultimately has to approve the plan we present to them, but they have little to zero input into the plan until it is presented to them. The plan always reflects current corporate strategy. If the dealer doesn’t agree with the strategy, we can bend the rules a bit... but at the end of the day, they have no real choice or control. It’s either agree, or you don’t get a refresh. The refresh comes with a nice incentive for the dealer too.

What they do with the space once we leave is entirely up to the dealer though. I think the current strategy seems to be working though, as I haven’t really seen much changes made to the stores we’ve done in the past few years.

 

[Towered]

I don't think my steel-toed boots and hardhat were designed to look great.

That's funny, the steel toe shoes I just got a couple weeks ago are bright red sneakers. There are options - they don't have to be the ugly pieces of crap you see all the time.

 

[lenaitch]

Be it a corporate or local decision, having customers wandering around getting increasingly frustrated is not a good plan, and from the grumbling I hear from others I am not alone. Even a lot of the staff can't keep it straight. Not that I'm a huge fan of any 'big box' retailer, Home Depot has two floor plans depending on the store size needed for the market. I can go into a Home Depot in Timbuktu and know where to go.

 

[gabe]

We don’t take the grocery store approach. Our merchandising strategies are centred around how customers shop and are based on years of market research and experimentation. Adjacencies are often decided based on product usage and how a customer would shop, not based on what we think we can push. At the end of the day, we know what sells and what people are coming into the store for. Those products and categories usually get priority.

A grocery store does the opposite by putting the categories people want in the back, making people walk through the store to get to them.

The only situation where this isn’t true would have to be automotive, since its location is decided based on the location of the service centre.

That's the problem with Crappy Tire, they have no clue how to set up their stores. I hope Rona or Home Depot or some other hardware store chain buys them out. Doesn't matter what Home Depot i go to, everything is laid out exactly the same. I'm in and out of the store within minutes. Time is money.

 

[Tuscani01]

That's the problem with Crappy Tire, they have no clue how to set up their stores. I hope Rona or Home Depot or some other hardware store chain buys them out. Doesn't matter what Home Depot i go to, everything is laid out exactly the same. I'm in and out of the store within minutes. Time is money.

Did you even bother to read anything I wrote? There’s a methodology to how categories are placed in stores. It’s not a matter of not having a clue... there’s a lot of science that goes into it. We’re one of the few retailers that actually tests out concepts in a full sized mock store, with real shoppers.

 

[Tuscani01]

Be it a corporate or local decision, having customers wandering around getting increasingly frustrated is not a good plan, and from the grumbling I hear from others I am not alone. Even a lot of the staff can't keep it straight. Not that I'm a huge fan of any 'big box' retailer, Home Depot has two floor plans depending on the store size needed for the market. I can go into a Home Depot in Timbuktu and know where to go.

Our stores are planned to serve local markets, so the layouts reflect the needs of the communities they serve. Same goes for assortment. We can easily take the Home Depot route and toss in a prototypical floor plan into every store, but CT’s strength has always been the ability of stores to adapt to local markets - and it works based on the results we see whenever we go in and reset a store.

Also, it’s impossible to have every store laid out the same when all of our boxes are different shapes and sizes. We can open Home Depot boxes everywhere, but that means relying solely on large big box locations... and that’s not us. CT’s real estate portfolio is much more diverse.

 

[lenaitch]

Our stores are planned to serve local markets, so the layouts reflect the needs of the communities they serve. Same goes for assortment. We can easily take the Home Depot route and toss in a prototypical floor plan into every store, but CT’s strength has always been the ability of stores to adapt to local markets - and it works based on the results we see whenever we go in and reset a store.

Also, it’s impossible to have every store laid out the same when all of our boxes are different shapes and sizes. We can open Home Depot boxes everywhere, but that means relying solely on large big box locations... and that’s not us. CT’s real estate portfolio is much more diverse.

I get that. In smaller markets, other competitors in many product lines, such as Rona and home Hardware, often have very small retail space and in larger markets Sears has left the building. I've never purchased hardware or auto bits from Walmart so have no opinion.

I get the sense that the dealers stuck with smaller footprints are trying to shoehorn in the same inventory as their larger cousins. Regardless, your insider's view is what it is but rest assured some of us are getting a tad miffed. I now find myself going to other retailers that I know will likely have what I'm looking for. Also, BTW, the website is hopeless. I use Windows at the site often fails to respond to new pages or just says 'can't do that right now, come back later'.

 

[Skeezix]

I can’t say that I have ever had an easier time in the last two decades or so finding things at Home Depot versus Canadian Tire.

 

[Northern Light]

Our stores are planned to serve local markets, so the layouts reflect the needs of the communities they serve. Same goes for assortment. We can easily take the Home Depot route and toss in a prototypical floor plan into every store, but CT’s strength has always been the ability of stores to adapt to local markets - and it works based on the results we see whenever we go in and reset a store.

Also, it’s impossible to have every store laid out the same when all of our boxes are different shapes and sizes. We can open Home Depot boxes everywhere, but that means relying solely on large big box locations... and that’s not us. CT’s real estate portfolio is much more diverse.

Let me start my saying I am grateful for @Tuscani01 taking the time to share an insider's view of 'The Tire'.

Its easy enough for any of us (myself included) to point out things we think can or perhaps should be done better by this retail icon; that said, someone has to admit, it survived and even thrived in the post-Walmart world; out muscled under-funded Sears, and mismanaged Target; in the world of big box, for all its shortcomings, not that many do it that much better.

That said........since we have our insider here, I will put in my wish list.

1) It's gardening season, and 'The Tire' does not have any container garden slow-water (drip/wick) system for sale. Not one! Had to drag myself up to Sheridan for it! Grumble!

2) The layouts are usually workable, IF, the staff know the store, and IF, the you can clearly see up/down each aisle. Staff training standards could use a bit of work; and FFS less clutter in the middle of the aisles, it inhibits sight lines!

3) Too many of the auto centres seek unreasonable charges for things. I don't mean overprice. I mean 'test' something without first looking up if they can fix it, then wanting to charge for the test even though it has to go to the dealer to fix. PS, the solution was covered by a recall.........

4) Lastly, will someone please fix the hopeless layout and design that is the Danforth store? Shouldn't that site be intensified anyway?

Rant over. TY to Tuscani01 for putting up with it!

 

[Tuscani01]

I get that. In smaller markets, other competitors in many product lines, such as Rona and home Hardware, often have very small retail space and in larger markets Sears has left the building. I've never purchased hardware or auto bits from Walmart so have no opinion.

I get the sense that the dealers stuck with smaller footprints are trying to shoehorn in the same inventory as their larger cousins. Regardless, your insider's view is what it is but rest assured some of us are getting a tad miffed. I now find myself going to other retailers that I know will likely have what I'm looking for. Also, BTW, the website is hopeless. I use Windows at the site often fails to respond to new pages or just says 'can't do that right now, come back later'.

100% agree about our website. It’s absolute garbage. Hopefully the coming activation of deliver to home includes a revamped website.

 

[Tuscani01]

Let me start my saying I am grateful for @Tuscani01 taking the time to share an insider's view of 'The Tire'.

Its easy enough for any of us (myself included) to point out things we think can or perhaps should be done better by this retail icon; that said, someone has to admit, it survived and even thrived in the post-Walmart world; out muscled under-funded Sears, and mismanaged Target; in the world of big box, for all its shortcomings, not that many do it that much better.

That said........since we have our insider here, I will put in my wish list.

1) It's gardening season, and 'The Tire' does not have any container garden slow-water (drip/wick) system for sale. Not one! Had to drag myself up to Sheridan for it! Grumble!

2) The layouts are usually workable, IF, the staff know the store, and IF, the you can clearly see up/down each aisle. Staff training standards could use a bit of work; and FFS less clutter in the middle of the aisles, it inhibits sight lines!

3) Too many of the auto centres seek unreasonable charges for things. I don't mean overprice. I mean 'test' something without first looking up if they can fix it, then wanting to charge for the test even though it has to go to the dealer to fix. PS, the solution was covered by a recall.........

4) Lastly, will someone please fix the hopeless layout and design that is the Danforth store? Shouldn't that site be intensified anyway?

Rant over. TY to Tuscani01 for putting up with it!

LOL! A lot of things in that list that I can’t help with.

In regards to #3, I don’t even bring my own car to CT for service. Had some bad experiences with it in the past. The only thing they do is store my off season tires and swap them when the time comes.

For #4, there are no plans to do anything with Main/Danforth in the near future. My recommendation is to head to Leslie/Lake Shore!

 

[Tuscani01]

The project I've been working on for the past year finally opened in Calgary last week. (New urban CT) Skyrisecities Calgary did a little write up with some pics:

https://calgary.skyrisecities.com/news/2018/10/canadian-tire-opens-its-doors-beltline

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Why can't out CT look like that - wide aisles and don't have the fire hazard look?

AoD