New format leverages Canadian Tire's heritage businesses and unique
    product mixTORONTO, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Two fundamentally different Canadian Tire stores
are now open in Welland and Orleans, Ontario. These two stores are the first
of Canadian Tire's latest store format- the Smart store- and feature
significant changes that leverage Canadian Tire's heritage businesses and
unique product mix, as well as a Mark's Work Wearhouse offering to create an
even more compelling shopping experience for customers.
    With decades of learning developed from building and replacing more than
300 of its stores, Canadian Tire has launched the Smart store as its next wave
of concept renewal. The new format stores are designed to improve operating
productivity while at the same time creating a comfortable and inspiring
shopping experience for customers. The Company has plans to open up to ten new
Smart stores and complete a number of retrofits to existing stores in 2009.
    "As part of our strategic plan, we continue to be focused on building a
bigger and better Canadian Tire through growth and improvements in
productivity," said Mike Arnett, president, Canadian Tire Retail. "While the
Concept 20/20 format focused on expansion, this new wave of renewal focuses on
increasing productivity and improving the customer shopping experience. The
Smart store features significant design and merchandising changes to create an
even more unique and compelling shopping environment for our customers."
    Easy-to-read navigational signage, the reintroduction of the "race track"
and the use of high walls and ceilings are a few of the design changes aimed
at helping customers comfortably navigate throughout the store.
    With impressive new presentations and a combination of improved category
adjacencies and additional space devoted in Canadian Tire's heritage
businesses - automotive, sporting goods and tools - the new concept features
inspiring boutiques within the store offering customers valuable information
and a deep assortment of innovative products.
    "The Smart store is the result of more than a year of design and
merchandising planning. We believe we have created a store that reinforces the
role that Canadian Tire plays in the lives of our customers," said Arnett. "In
addition to design changes to help customers navigate the store, we made
significant enhancements to our assortment so that we could allocate more
space to higher-performing products and new product lines."

    Energy-efficiency

    Canadian Tire continues to be a leader in environmentally-sustainable
retail design. Starting with the construction phase through to the opening of
the store, the store was built with a focus on energy-efficiency and includes
a number of energy-efficient features including state-of-the-art heating and
cooling systems, T8 lighting, significant glazing to harvest daylight, motion
sensors to control lighting, to name a few.
    "Canadian Tire continues to be focused on reducing energy consumption and
overall impact on the environment," said Arnett. "We do this both
operationally by building energy-efficient stores and also by offering our
customers products for inside and outside the home that will enable them to
reduce energy and save money on their utility bills."Summary of the major features of the new store:
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    -  Customer Service - The new Smart stores feature a number of customer
       service features designed to take service at Canadian Tire to a whole
       new level. In addition to customer help buttons which are located
       throughout the store, the new store features additional customer
       assistance desks, price look-up stations and helpful 'how to' guides
       throughout key areas of the store. To help customers manage bulky
       purchases, the new Smart stores will all feature an automated Customer
       Pick-Up Area.

    -  Seasonal - The seasonal department is located at the front of the
       store and offers customers a dominant assortment of products to help
       customers start each season with confidence. In the spring/summer the
       area features barbecues and outdoor living items, while in the winter
       customers can find a large selection of Christmas décor and
       winter-related items. Design changes have made room for the display of
       bulkier items such as log splitters and sheds, items not previously
       displayable in previous store formats.

    -  Household Essentials - With more than twice the space of other
       Canadian Tire store concepts, the Household Essentials area features a
       dominant assortment of consumables and pet products, along with a
       brand new convenience offering. The 1,000 - 1,400 square foot
       convenience food section features quality brand name snacks and
       staples including milk, bread, eggs, frozen dinners, dry good and
       condiments to help provide customer with quick-to-prepare food for
       time-starved customers.

    -  Storage and Organization - With 164% additional square footage
       dedicated to products that help customers stay organized both inside
       the home and in the garage, the Storage and Organization category
       continues to represent a key growth area for Canadian Tire. Increased
       space and design changes enable the store to feature inspiring closet
       organization, garage organization and laundry room displays.

    -  Small Project Centre - this new area of the store brings together
       hardware, paint, plumbing and electrical in one, easy-to-shop
       location. With an extensive assortment of products, new customer
       service desk and kiosks offering customers helpful tips and
       information, the Small Project Centre has everything customers need to
       complete their projects with ease and confidence.

    -  Tools - located beside the Small Projects Centre, the tool boutique is
       visible from the front of the store and features one of the country's
       largest assortments of power, carpentry and stationary tools organized
       to make it easier for customers to find what they are looking
       for- quickly and easily. This co-location strategy means that
       customers now have a complete, convenient hardware store offering.

    -  Sporting Goods and Outdoor Recreation - With more than a one-third
       increase in space, the impressive Sporting Goods and Outdoor
       Recreation area features hockey and outdoor recreation boutiques
       offering customers an extensive selection of year round hockey
       equipment, as well as innovative camping and outdoor recreation
       products. With its own Customer Service Desk, this area provides
       helpful information, maps and fishing and hunting licenses designed to
       meet the needs of the sports enthusiast. Canadian Tire's signature
       bike rack featuring more than 225 bikes for adults and children is
       also prominently featured in this area of the store. With almost 300%
       more space allocated to fitness, the new store features a dominant
       year-round assortment of fitness products.

    -  Automotive - Canadian Tire continues to emphasize its dominant
       assortment of automotive parts and accessories. In addition to an
       impressive selection of tires tailored to the local market, the
       automotive department also features a wide selection of parts and
       accessories and an Automotive Service Centre offering motorists the
       latest in diagnostic equipment to help them maintain their vehicle and
       get back on the road safely and easily. The new Automotive Service
       Centre also features a comfortable waiting area complete with
       comfortable chairs, cultured stone accents, flat screen television and
       internet stations.

    -  Mark's Work Wearhouse - Featuring two great Canadian brands under one
       roof, the Smart store leverages Canadian Tire's interrelated
       businesses and features a Mark's store within the Canadian Tire store.
       Featured off the main race track, the Mark's offering is beautifully
       laid out and includes the latest product offering in work and casual
       apparel and footwear for men and women.To obtain login information for a virtual tour of the new Smart store,
please email broadcast@newswire.ca

    Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (TSX: CTC.a, CTC), operates more than
1,180 general merchandise and apparel retail stores and gas stations in an
inter-related network of businesses engaged in retail, financial services and
petroleum. Canadian Tire Retail, Canada's most shopped general merchandise
retailer, with 473 stores operated by dealers across Canada offers a unique
mix of products and services through three specialty categories in which the
organization is the market leader - Automotive, Sports and Leisure, and Home
Products. www.canadiantire.ca offers Canadians the opportunity to shop online.
PartSource is an automotive parts specialty chain with 82 stores designed to
meet the needs of purchasers of automotive parts - professional automotive
installers and serious do-it-yourselfers. Canadian Tire Petroleum is one of
the country's largest and most productive independent retailers of gasoline,
operating 269 gas bars, 262 convenience stores and kiosks, and 74 car washes.
Mark's Work Wearhouse is one of the country's leading apparel retailers
operating 364 stores in Canada. Under the Clothes that Work™ marketing
strategy, Mark's sells apparel and footwear in work, work-related, casual and
active-wear categories, as well as health-care and business-to-business
apparel. www.marks.com offers Canadians the opportunity to shop for Mark's
products online. Canadian Tire Financial Services has issued over five million
Canadian Tire MasterCard credit cards and also markets related financial
products and services for retail and petroleum customers. Canadians can also
access Financial Services online at www.ctfs.com. More than 57,000 Canadians
work across Canadian Tire's organization from coast-to-coast in the
enterprise's retail, financial services, and petroleum businesses.