Executives at Canadian Tire, one of Canada’s largest retailers, are on a roll as they embrace a number of store-management innovations. One such strategy involves pursuing a new method for restocking the shelves in nearly 500 locations.
Some 17,000 items are initially being removed and replaced.
“When we were approached by ITW, the primary fastener supplier to Canadian Tire, we realized this was an extraordinary job,” says Larry Deverett, president of Spar Canada Co., which is providing in-store merchandising services for the project. “So we decided to go at it in an extraordinary way.”
“Usually during a shelf reset, we take products off the shelves, sort the new product lineup, and put it up according to the new shelf planogram,” explains Jo-Ann Bobier, a Spar district supervisor. “Sorting so many SKUs, of similar products in similar packages, was not a job any of us looked forward to.”
Deverett notes that “we couldn’t do much to improve on removing and replacing the packages, so we tackled the sorting step.” Using sorting trays designed specifically for the job, along with planograms for the old and new shelves, crews were able to remove the packages in the order in which they would be replaced, effectively reducing two steps into one.
“We sorted as we pulled,” says Bobier. “It worked so well that our reps were saying it made the job more enjoyable.”
“This was the most productive reset we’ve done – the fastest and most cost effective,” Deverett says. “Previous fastener resets took about 25,000 man-hours, and we did this one in just less than 20,000. We planned well.”
A 20 percent time-savings amounted to about $140,000 in monetary savings for the tire dealer and its supplier.
“It just makes sense that if we can make our customers more profitable it helps our business too,” adds Deverett. “We’re looking forward to using the new system with other customers in this year’s reset season.”
Founded in 1922, Canadian Tire Corp. has more than 1,200 outlets, including 475 tire/general merchandise stores, 273 gas stations, 267 convenience centers and kiosks, plus 73 car washes. Its 88 PartSource auto supply locations are aimed at professional installers and avid do-it-yourselfers.
Electricity provider Hydro Ottawa has presented the operation with its August “Companies for Conservation” award based on the retailer’s environmental conservation efforts.
“Nearly 90 years after the opening of its first locations, Canadian Tire has become a fixture in communities across Canada,” notes Rosemarie Leclair, Hydro Ottawa’s president and CEO. “Canadian Tire’s influence is powerful and important. By rolling out truly impressive environmental initiatives within their stores, owners are demonstrating the value of energy conservation to all their customers.”
To complement in-store recycling programs and other environmental efforts, the company has made a commitment to switch to T8 lighting in all of its Ontario stores by 2010; the electricity demand from facility lighting will decrease by an anticipated 40 to 60 percent.
The Merivale, Ottawa outlet has gone beyond just replacing the lights by reducing its lighting pattern in half on the hottest days of the year and installing a new ventilation system for better cool air circulation, according to Leclair
“The payoff for this was extraordinary,” she reports. “Since expanding retail space by 42 percent in the winter of 2008, kilowatt consumption at the location has been 15.2 percent lower than the average consumption of the previous three years.”
“In this facility, what we really wanted to do was reduce electricity consumption. Other owners in Ottawa want the same as well,” explains Robert Bonneville, a Canadian Tire associate dealer. “Making smart upgrades to each store allows us to lead by example within the community and to encourage our customers to make eco-friendly choices.”
In July, Canadian Tire finished installing new chip card-compatible point-of-sale terminals in each of its 475 tire/general merchandise stores.
“After successfully testing chip-enabled Canadian Tire Options MasterCard credit cards in the Kitchener market, we decided to roll-out the chip card payment platform nationally,” reports Jim Kozack, vice president of Canadian Tire Financial Services.
“The early adoption of chip card technology by a leading Canadian retailer paves the roads for other merchants in their transition to the new and more secure technology,” notes David Ades, senior vice president at Moneris Solutions, which implemented the changeover.
For more information, visit www.canadiantire.ca.
