Frame Lake Canadian Tire aims for October opening
Richard Gleeson
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 02/01) - Owner operator Brad Elliott promises that when the doors swing open on the new Canadian Tire store, customers will find an entirely new look.
"It's going to be a lot different from what customers have seen," said Elliott.
The store is the latest to use the company's 'Next Generation' retail format, and will stock a wider range of automotive, sports, leisure, hardware and home products.
"It's going to be very unique, a store within a store for each product grouping," Elliott said.
The 31,000-square-foot building will be half again as large as the downtown Canadian Tire, which is now up for sale.
Elliott made the move to Yellowknife four weeks ago, but a with a three-year stint in Whitehorse behind him, he is not new to the North.
He comes to Yellowknife from Mount Forest, Ont., where he owned an operated a Canadian Tire store he has since sold.
"It's a great change with a new store and a new place," Elliott said. "My wife and I loved Whitehorse, so we jumped at the opportunity to come North again."
The wider selection will include higher quality brands than are currently carried.
Elliott said two of his focuses will be customer service and making sure items listed in the chain's weekly sales flyer are in stock.
The new store will have a staff of 70 people, 20 more than the current store. All staff employed with Canadian Tire will be transferred to the new store, and additional positions will be filled beginning in July or early August.
Located next to Beaver Lumber, the store will have a larger outdoor gardening centre -- one that will include live plants.
As a franchisee, Elliott rents the new building from Canadian Tire, but owns everything in it.
The new store is part of a $1-billion national store expansion program launched by Canadian Tire in 1994. Since then, more than 230 of the newly designed stores have been built.
