Canadian Tire As A Prospective Employer For Trsm Students

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to analyze Canadian Tire in depth in order to evaluate it as a prospective employer for Ted Roger School of Management (TRSM) students. The report will allow readers to understand the company’s corporate insights, and have a better idea of where it stands in the industry.

Method

The research is conducted using three main secondary sources including the Canadian Tire corporate website, IBIS world industry report as well as SWOT analysis report from Business insights. The sources come from credible business databases, hence reliable, relevant and accurate.

Key Findings

Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) accounts for 23% of the entire sporting goods industry. They are the owner of FGL Sports, which is the largest retailer of sporting goods in Canada. Some of brand names under FGL include Sport Check, Sports Experts and Atmosphere and Pro Hockey Life names and brands. Their revenue stream is based on both retail and royalties. In recent years, the company experienced a slight decline in store count, but they are trying to improve by narrowing down their target customers and focusing on appealing to a specific market niche (IBIS World, 2018).

Canadian Tire Corporation’s strategy is innovation and efficiency. They are always trying to come up with new ideas and innovations, whether in their products or store designs. In their sustainability report (2016-2017), they mentioned about their clean technology, product-shipping technology as well as their energy-efficient buildings for stores. There is a positive outlook for the company moving forward as they are looking into opportunities of growth in the E-retail industry, demand for private labels as well as acquisitions

Though there has been a decline in the number of stores, their financial performance still appears to be strong. The company reported revenues of CAD 13, 434.9 million for the fiscal year ended December 2017, an increase of 5.9% over FY2016 (Global Insights, 2018). What makes them so successful? Some of the major strengths of Canadian tire include their existing brand equity and store network. Also, they are present in various different categories, for example online, automotive as well as financial services. This means that they have a diverse portfolio, which can help to leverage and offset risks when needed. On the other hand, their financial reports show a weak inventory turnover ratio, which is something they can improve on. They operate in a highly competitive industry, and there are also risks associated with the shortage of manpower in Canada overall.

With regards to human resource practices, Canadian Tire Corporation provides opportunities in many categories such as corporate, retail, call centers, distribution centers and dealer/franchisee. They are known to have a fun corporate culture, and recognized by IR Magazine, Canada’s top 100 employers 2018, best 50 Corporate Citizens, Great Toronto’s top 2018 Employees as well as MSCI. They operate under a family like atmosphere and try their best to maximize their employee satisfaction. They have a smart commute program for their employees, which encourage sustainable transportation alternatives such as carpooling or taking public transit. They understand that driving to work will not only hurt the environment, but also the wallet of their employees (Corp.canadiantire.ca).

Canadian Tire Corporation emphasizes heavily on corporate social responsibility and sustainability. Just a few of their initiatives include:

• Ethical sourcing: Since 2011, Mark’s (One of the TCC owned stores) partnered with Cotton Connect, an organization that delivers business benefits to retailers and brands by improving the sustainability of cotton supply chains. Mark’s has sponsored 1,500 farmers in India, and with the support, the farmers were able to product an annual sustainable cotton yield equal to the amount of cotton that goes into Mark’s products annually.
• Supporting safety in Bangladesh: Their family of businesses source garments from 61 factories in Bangladesh, and through their Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety, they have completed structural, electrical and fire inspections at each of these locations (corp.canadiantire.ca).
• Commitment to communities: Their Jump Start charity initiated in 2005 has helped over 1.3 million kids from families in financial need participate in organized sport and physical activity. In 2016, the charity disbursed over than $22 million to help 220,922 kids get off the sidelines and into the game (corp.canadiantire.ca).

Conclusions

In conclusion, Canadian Tire Corporation can be identified as a leader of the sporting goods industry. They have a diverse portfolio of companies, and still working on acquiring new ones. CTC works to become the most innovative and efficient player in the industry, and their success is reflected by their strong financial figures. They already have a well-established brand and network of customers, and only need to improve on their inventory turnover as well as online, E-commerce presence. CTC cares for their employees and offer them great room to grow. They emphasize on sustainability and social responsibility, and understand that profit maximization should not be its core values. They are about giving back to the community and ethical business conducts, which is also their “secret” to maintaining position as a leader in the industry.

Recommendations

I would recommend Canadian Tire Corporation as a prospective employer for TRSM graduates. They have such a broad of opportunities for interested candidates with different backgrounds. Because they cover such wide market category, graduates can easily find a position that best suit their qualification and interest. They can also easily transfer to other parts/departments of the company to explore their options. Also, the company’s strong financials as well as positive future outlook are all factors that would contribute to the graduate’s career development. CTC’s emphasis on social responsibility also makes it great place to work as the concept of CSR has become increasingly important with respect to long term, sustainable success. Overall, CSC would be a great place to work for after graduation both in terms of career exploration and career development.