Monday, 27 February 2012

History Of Canadian Tire


Key Dates:
1922: Brothers John W. and Alfred Jackson (A. J.) Billes purchase Hamilton Tire and Garage Limited, an automobile service garage and auto parts depot in Toronto.
1927: The Billeses incorporate their enterprise as Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited; first mail-order catalog is published.
1931: Company introduces its unconditional tire guarantee.
1934: First associate store opens in Hamilton, Ontario.
1950s:Canadian Tire "money" is introduced.
1982: Canadian Tire buys the U.S.-based White Stores, Inc. automotive retail chain.
1985: The White Stores venture flops and is divested.
1991: Company reenters U.S. market with the establishment of the Auto Source chain.
1994: Multiyear store improvement program is launched.
1995: Canadian Tire announces that it will shutter Auto Source.
1997: Martha Billes, daughter of A.J. Billes, buys out her brothers' stakes in the company, giving her a controlling 61 percent interest.
1999: The PartSource chain begins its official rollout.
2002: Clothing retailer Mark's Work Wearhouse Ltd. is acquired.  

Two brothers John W. and Alfred Jackson (A.J.) Bills in year 1922 started an automobile service garage and auto parts depot in Toronto with the investment of 1,800$ and named it as Hamilton Tire and Garage Limited which is today know as Canadian Tire. They started it with stocked a small inventory of repair and replacement goods, including Tires, batteries, and automobile fluids.  After four years of its origin Blesses decided to change the name of their shop and gave it a new name as Canadian Tires.
From year 1930 to 1960 Canadian Tires achieved a great success. A.J.  knew that in gasoline they can earn a great money but as the demand was high no one is going to give gasoline to them in cheaper price, to overcome this he introduce customer coupon which customers can use in his store for merchandise. This was a brilliant idea, which is continued even today. Second A.J.'s innovation was clerks on roller skates. In 1931 Canadian Tire introduce their first unconditional Tire guarantee before that they had guaranteed Tires.
In 1934 the company opened an associate store in Hamilton, Ontario. This was the first step towards the huge chain of stores that spanned Canada today. As the chain expanded, Canadian Tire's stores and mail-order catalogs began featuring a wide range of parts and supplies--many under the Canadian Tire brand name--including motor and chassis parts, radio equipment, and hundreds of miscellaneous accessories. As a result of this by the end of 1937 they had almost 73 stores in all over Canada.by the end of 1952 Canadian Tire sold 57 tons of inventory everyday which was increased to 225 by 1960.
By the end of 1960 they started their store in British Columbia. By the mid of 1980 they earned 2 million Canadian dollar as their yearly income. The company had started selling a large amount of sporting and leisure items, as well as hardware, lawn and garden items, inexpensive furniture and other home products, and even luggage. In essence, Canadian Tire was becoming a general-merchandise discount store with an emphasis on automotive products. By end of 1980 they had 10 Auto Source Outlet. Canadian Tire's net earnings plummeted to just CAD 5.5 million in 1994.
At the age of 93 A.J.Billes passed way in April 3, 1995. By the end 1999 profits had improved to CAD 145.9 million. In 2000 they launch "Next Generation" stores. By 2002, 290 of Canadian Tire's 451 outlets featured one of the newer store formats. In the same year they launched their website. Canadian Tire acquired Mark's Work Warehouse Ltd in 2002; it sold casual clothing and footwear for work and leisure. During 2004 Canadian Tires earned a profit of CAD 291.5 million. Canadian Tire, one of a dwindling number of Canadian-owned retailers, confidently looked to the future as an icon of the Canadian business community, and indeed for many Canadians it was an integral part of their lives.

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