Total Annual Sales:

Stephen G. Wetmore- CEO, President

G. Michael Arnett- President (Canadian Tire Retail)

Founded in 1922, Canadian Tire is one of the most iconic brands of Canada.  As Canada essentially was untouched by the recent ‘worldwide’ recession, Canadian Tire has continued with its aggressive behavior in terms of growth and expansion.  The company has always been unafraid to explore new product lines for its Canadian Tire stores.  At the same time the very diverse corporate parent continues to seek new opportunities both to enhance current properties while maintaining an appetite for ancillary ventures such as last summer’s acquisition of the The Forzani Group Ltd. which is the largest national sporting goods retailer in Canada.    

Often people unfamiliar with Canadian Tire make the natural mistake of assuming they operate basic tire stores.  In reality their stores are more like home centers with an accent on automotive maintenance, repair and of course tires.  The stores have a strong complement of products anyone would expect to find in a home improvement center and then some.  Everything from branded hand tools and power tools to paints to household chemicals including dishwashing liquids.  The stores offer a complete line of vacuum and steam cleaners. 

The Sports and Rec sections offer a vast array of products to meet the needs of campers, hunters and fishermen as well as those who just want to dabble outdoors.  Canadians who love to play the national sport are treated to a full array of uniforms and gear.  With the acquisition of the Forzani Group these offerings can only be enhanced as per the company’s current promotion of Livestrong home exercise equipment by Lance Armstrong. 

Even pet lovers are served as stores offer a wide variety of pet accessories and even food.  The company is currently promoting a line of accessories from Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan. 

When Home Depot spearheaded its invasion of Canada with the purchase of Aikenhead’s Hardware in the 1990’s, many observers wondered if this would spell the eventual doom of Canadian Tire.  Perhaps aided by the use of its homeland in its name, any rumors of the company’s possible demise were short lived.