New flagship store

The doors of the new store, which is just under 5 900 m² in size, were officially opened in downtown Vancouver on 18 August. Available here to customers is everything they need for their home, car and leisure activities. The store format developed for the company by 20/20 has been customized for the new outlet to meet the requirements of urban markets. The aim is to make shopping easier by means of such features as an improved store layout, wider aisles and checkout lanes, clear and easy-to-follow signage, and redesigned shopping carts with larger capacity, as well as unique “kiddie style” racing carts.
Housewares are presented in attractive surroundings.
Canadian Tire Retail and its franchise partners operate 458 stores in Canada. Four specialty stores under one roof are what they offer their customers: Driving, Living, Fixing and Playing.
“Earlier this year we announced that one of the top priorities within our 2005 – 2009 strategic plan is replacing existing stores and building modern outlets to better serve our customers,” says Mark Foote, president, Canadian Tire Retail. “This flagship store in Vancouver is unlike any other Canadian Tire store and a great example of how we used a strategic and innovative design to offer our customers in the urban market a special and unique shopping experience.”
The distinctive feature of this store, and one that is totally new to the company, is the way it is geared to female customers. This is obvious not only from the product assortment, but also from the design of the store: with hardwood floors, granite-topped counters, more seating areas and more product displays.
The company hopes the upmarket store fittings will meet the wishes of female customers.
Approximately 55 000 products are stocked on a retail space of 5300 m². The assortment has been expanded by categories such as home décor, sports and leisure, footwear and apparel, cleaning products, storage and organisation, and ready-to-assemble furniture.
The automotive section with its assortment of 9 000 parts is operated as a store-within-a-store and features a redesigned tyre wall displaying 3 000 tyres. For those requiring car repairs or servicing there is an integrated automotive service department, which is equipped with 13 service bays and the latest in diagnostic equipment for all repair needs. The waiting area is comfortably furnished with leather armchairs, plasma TV screens, laptop access, newspapers and magazines, and hot and cold drinks are also available…