World-class store in Edmonton, Alberta is the largest Canadian Tire in Canada
Store brings brand to life with unprecedented focus on products and services for life in Canada
EDMONTON, June 1, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX:CTC, TSX:CTC.A) opened the doors to a first of its kind 'Showcase' store in Edmonton, Alberta. At 140,000 square feet spread across two floors, the new store provides customers with dynamic digital technology experiences, a truly Canadian shopping experience and an unparalleled product assortment.
To take a video tour of the store, click here.
"Canadian Tire's new store in Edmonton is built around celebrating life in Canada and our investments in high impact digital technology create a modern, inspirational and fun environment to shop," said Allan MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer of Canadian Tire. "The speed of change and innovation in our industry means that we need to be nimble and try new things. I am proud to say that our Showcase store is the best of the best in retail around the globe."
Advanced Digital Technology
A modern and sleek new version of Canadian Tire, more than 240 store associates will use advanced interactive technology to provide personalized customer service to Edmonton shoppers. With over 100 digital screens, the Showcase store features a large exterior high resolution LED screen, digital flyer access and a plethora of helpful product selectors in the Living, Playing, Fixing, Seasonal and Automotive departments. The store's world-class Automotive department also features Canadian retail's first ever use of a car simulator, providing customers with the opportunity to test drive tires in different weather conditions before purchasing and installing them on their vehicle.
Additionally, when visiting the store's Seasonal department customers can create and interact with a 3D image of their dream backyard using the 'Canada's Dream Backyard and Patio Builder.' This app technology raises the bar for our customers and their ability to engage with large interactive screens. It was built internally at Canadian Tire's "NEWcleus" digital lab in Winnipeg and utilizes state-of-the-art virtual reality technology from Oculus.
Design and development of the digital experiences throughout the store are delivered by Canadian Tire's team of in-house digital experts in Toronto, Waterloo and Winnipeg working in close partnership with some of the best interactive design experts from around the world.
Celebrating Life in Canada
With over 73,000 individual products housed in a space the size of eight Edmonton Oiler-sized hockey rinks, the Showcase store has the most extensive product assortment of any Canadian Tire store in Canada. Products throughout the store have been tailored to the Edmonton market, with key assortment extensions in truck and trailer, tools and outdoor living departments as well as an extensive Hunting and Fishing Pro Shop.
The store's Playing department also has a custom Hockey Canada Museum which houses jerseys, trophies and other historical assets from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Also home to a rapid shot simulator, customers can test their new hockey stick and their slap shot on-site.
Unique Shopping Conveniences
In addition to bringing an unprecedented focus on products and services for life in Canada, the Showcase store features unique shopping experiences that customers just won't find anywhere else. With a focus on ecommerce and creating a seamless shopping experience for our customers, the store has been purposefully designed with over 50,000 square feet of warehouse space to house inventory intended to fulfill online orders. A dedicated drive-thru area along the side of the building makes it convenient for customers to easily pick-up their ecommerce purchases. This area also allows sales associates to assist customers with pick-up and loading of large items and bulk purchases.
The store also boasts 19 full-service, drive-in auto bays and six drive-in reception bays and later in the year customers can visit the locations' standalone Pit Stop Express Lube and Gas+ stations onsite.
While customers can visit the store today, official Grand Opening promotions and celebrations will take place from Thursday, June 11 until Sunday, June 14. The Showcase store is located at 2110-101 Street N.W. in South Edmonton Common.
About Canadian Tire
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or "CTC," is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.
SOURCE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED
Video with caption: "Video: New Canadian Tire 'Showcase' Store Shines a Spotlight on Innovative Retail". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhKf0TDq5bM
