The Canadian Tire Company - Essay Example

Canadian Tire of Introduction This paper is about a company known as Canadian Tire, which was established in 1922 by two brothers John William Billes and Alfred Jackson Billes who bought a tire company and formed Canadian Tire. It cost them $1800 in combined savings to buy off the company from Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd. Since its inception, Canadian Tire has come a long way to become a multibillion dollar enterprise that specializes in selling Hardware products and providing automotive solution besides running several petrol stations (Data Monitor, 2007). In fact, believed to be Canadas largest retailer, it is asserted that about 90 percent of Canadians live within a 15-minute drive of a Canadian Tire store and that at least 40 percent of Canadians shop at Canadian Tire, which has 487 stores across the country, each owned and operated by an associate dealer. This essay therefore examines the progress that Canadian Tire since its formation. Specifically, the paper explores the company’s achievements, challenges, and weaknesses, further explaining the reason it is my favorite company. Company History As mentioned earlier, the Today Canadian Tire is today a multibillion dollar corporation despite its beginning as a humble and a small company. Having been founded in 1922 by the two brothers, the firm originally operated as a tire store. They two brothers named the company Canadian Tire with the thought that such a name would make it sound big. Strange enough, this strategy worked since currently, almost every town in Canada, regardless its size, has a Canadian Tire store. The first Canadian Tire store became operational in 1934 in Hamilton, Ontario. However, the first Canadian Tire gas station was opened in 1958 during which the company introduced its first Canadian Tire money service. However, the firm would open its first financial services section in 1968. The firm’s progress was evident early since by 1980 the company’ revenues had exceeded the $1 billion mark and its employees had started sharing its profits buying its stock. In 1993, the company recorded huge expansion in its operations and revenues leading to the formation of the Canadian Tire Foundation in 1999 to help needy families. Following the expansion of the 1990s was the 2001 opening of most of the firm’s stores seen today (Data Monitor, 2007). However, Canadian Tire continues to grow even in current business environment, which is marred with numerous business issues and challenges. Challenges The company, as any other, has faced many challenges over the years in which it has remained in operation. For instance, it incurred a lot of losses during the formation of its many stores. These challenges are apparent even in contemporary times. For an illustration, in a 2007 SWOT analysis of the firm, Datamonitor showed that the company’s average returns and revenue per employee were rather low (Data Monitor, 2007). There was also a reported decline in revenue compared to the industry average. Notably, the firm faced most challenges during expansionist years given that the immediate market was not used to companies that dealt in petrol, hardware products and automobile services and offered them in the same location. Therefore, it required some time for customers to get used to such stores, implying the firm had to incur massive losses at its inception and during its expansion. Nevertheless, the company continues with its approach of diversity because recently, it signed an agreement with a clothing company with which it is to undertake the risky venture of merger. The challenge is that this undertaking is expectedly a huge risk that could result in massive losses for the firm. The other recurrent challenges for the company include employee dissatisfaction, boredom, and lack of motivation due to job monotony (Offman, 2011). There is also the problem of customers that are ever unhappy and cannot be satisfied at whatever cost. Importantly, the financial crisis also had certain negative impacts on Canadian Tire’s earnings since people could not afford its high end products, resulting in reduced revenues. Regardless of all these challenges, Canadian Tire is still the leading hardware giant in Canada and continues to look towards a brighter future. The Canadian Tire Way The reason Canadian Tire is a favorite company is that it places its employees and customers first. In fact, in modern times, the media is filled with reports of how corporate giants have low opinion of their employees whose ideas, suggestions, and complains do not reach the top management. Fortunately, Canadian Tire’s current CEO is trying to break this type and structure of management to make communication available to everyone from the CEO’s level to the entry level (Felix, 2001). Another amazing feature about Canadian Tire is that it is constantly trying to come up with new and innovative ideas. For instance, in 1983, the company allowed some of its employees to go around the shop in roller skates because it made travelling around its big stores faster (Offman, 2011). In general employee satisfaction at the firm seems to have gone up recently throughout its structure and usually love shopping at their workplace. The firm thus cares so much about employees that in 1998 it was ranked the best place/company to work in. Furthermore, the employees believe in the company so much that 80% of them have invested in the company’s stocks (SGA Lists, 2012). In addition, Canadian Tire also offers its employees the opportunity to train and improve their skills, competencies, and abilities. For example, an employee named Len Foster started out loading and unloading trucks for Canadian Tire but ended up a senior Director of Human Resources. The company thus helps its employees to continue training in colleges and universities so that they can get promotions in the company. The Canadian Tire leadership program is also a plus for the firm since it is popular with employees who can challenge the management for leadership roles and positions in its stores across the country (Felix, 2001) Conclusion Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company with retail operations such as core retail and automotive service operations, petroleum products, men’s, women’s, and work clothing, warehouse, auto parts and accessories. It has its head office in Toronto, Ontario. This paper begun by explaining the reason Canadian Tire is a favorite company. First, it cares for its customers and employees equally. For instance, there are always smiling staffs to welcome clients at the firm’s stores. These happy and smiling employees indicate the level of employee satisfaction at the firm. Importantly, Canadian Tire is always on the look out for new opportunities to give its employees a chance to achieve better personal and organizational outcomes. This is the reason it has grown from a corner store for tires in 1980 to the multibillion dollar company it is today. Among the service provided by the company are hardware, financial and gas station services. In fact, the company is considered Canada’s biggest seller of hardware, evidenced by its huge premises and a petrol stations. Canadian Tire, with its employees as its driving force continues to grow and take up new projects and expand in the range of products it offers to its customers. References Data Monitor. (2007). Canadian tire corporation ltd. Retrieved on June 18, 2012 from http://www.docstoc.com/docs/117923533/canadian_tire_corporation_limited_strategy_and_1_ Felix, S. (2001). The Canadian Tire Way. Benefits Canada, 25(1), 243. Offman, C. (2011). How to Fix Canadian Tire. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved on June 18, 2012 from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/how-to-fix-canadian- SGA Lists (2012). Canadian tire corporation, limited. MarketResearch.com. Read More