Competing in the global marketplace - developing innovative products that
    meet the needs of consumers

    TORONTO, Nov. 16 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Retail and the Ontario Ministry of
Economic Development and Trade and Ministry of Small Business and
Entrepreneurship are hosting today 50 Ontario manufacturers at a
jointly-sponsored Spirit of Innovation seminar in downtown Toronto.
    The networking event is bringing industrial and product design experts,
provincial business and trade representatives, and Canadian Tire innovation
specialists and product buyers, together with Ontario manufacturers to share
insights on how to develop new and innovative products that meet the needs of
today's savvy consumer.
    "In the global marketplace, innovation is a key distinction that
separates the business leaders from industry followers," said Sandra
Pupatello, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Trade. "By brining
together our hardworking manufacturers and design experts, the Spirit of
Innovation seminar is stimulating the kind of innovative collaboration that
helps our businesses, and our province, lead the pack in the knowledge-based
economy."
    "Small and medium-sized businesses are the engine of our economy,"
Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar said. "This
event is bringing our innovation leaders together so they can develop
strategic partnerships, make valuable contacts and do business."
    According to Duncan Reith, senior vice president of merchandising for
Canadian Tire Retail, "Canadian Tire has been very successful in developing
innovative and exclusive products that appeal to our customers. Today, we
shared our consumer insights with local manufacturers and highlighted how we
use that knowledge to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace from other
retailers. As we continue to grow and invest in our business, we look forward
to developing more long-term relationships with Ontario manufacturers so that
together, we can develop innovative products that meet consumers' needs."
    Industrial and product design experts from the Rotman School of
Management (University of Toronto), the Association of Chartered Industrial
Designers of Ontario, and representatives from Ontario's major design schools
- the Ontario College of Art and Design, Humber Institute of Technology &
Advanced Learning, and Carleton University - will participate in The Spirit of
Innovation seminar and shared their expertise with the manufacturers attending
the session.