New Canadian Tire ‘Showcase’ Store
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
While the official Grand Opening promotions and celebrations of Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd.’s showcase store in Edmonton will take place from June 11 to June 14, 2015, the public was able to get in for its first look Monday, June 1, at the more than 73,000 individual products housed in a space the size of eight professional NHL hockey rinks and see and use the advanced interactive technology that will provide personalized customer service to Edmonton shoppers.
With 140,000 sq. ft. spread across two floors, the new store provides customers with interactive digital technology experiences, a truly Canadian shopping experience and an unparalleled product assortment.
“Canadian Tire’s new store in Edmonton is built around celebrating life in Canada and our investments in high impact digital technology create a modern, inspirational and fun environment to shop,” says Allan MacDonald, Canadian Tire. COO. “The speed of change and innovation in our industry means that we need to be nimble and try new things. I am proud to say that our Showcase store is the best of the best in retail around the globe.”
A modern and sleek new version of Canadian Tire, its over-240 ‘store associates’ will use advanced interactive technology to provide personalized customer service to Edmonton shoppers. With over 100 digital screens, the Showcase store features a large exterior high resolution LED screen, digital flyer access and a plethora of helpful product selectors in the Living, Playing, Fixing, Seasonal and Automotive departments. The technology is STRATACACHE based. The store’s world-class Automotive department also features Canadian retail’s first ever use of a car simulator, providing customers with the opportunity to test drive tires in different weather conditions before purchasing and installing them on their vehicle.
Additionally, when visiting the store’s Seasonal department, customers can create and interact with a 3D image of their dream backyard using the ‘Canada’s Dream Backyard and Patio Builder.‘ This app technology raises the bar for customers and their ability to engage with large interactive screens. It was built internally at Canadian Tire’s ‘NEWcleus’ digital lab in Winnipeg and uses state-of-the-art virtual reality technology from Facebook-owned Oculus.
The store’s Playing department also has a custom Hockey Canada Museum which houses jerseys, trophies and other historical assets from the Hockey Hall of Fame. Also home to a rapid shot simulator, customers can test their new hockey stick and their slap shot on-site.
Design and development of the digital experiences throughout the store are delivered by Canadian Tire’s team of in-house digital experts in Toronto, Waterloo and Winnipeg working in close partnership with some of the best interactive design experts from around the world.
The Showcase store has the most extensive product assortment of any Canadian Tire store in Canada. Products throughout the store have been tailored to the Edmonton market, with key assortment extensions in truck and trailer, tools and outdoor living departments as well as an extensive Hunting and Fishing Pro Shop.
In addition to bringing an unprecedented focus on products and services for life in Canada, the Showcase store features unique shopping experiences that customers just won’t find anywhere else. With a focus on ecommerce and creating a seamless shopping experience for customers, the store has been purposefully designed with over 50,000 square feet of warehouse space to house inventory intended to fulfill online orders.
A dedicated drive-thru area along the side of the building makes it convenient for customers to easily pick-up their ecommerce purchases. This area also allows sales associates to assist customers with pick-up and loading of large items and bulk purchases.
The store also boasts 19 full-service, drive-in auto bays and six drive-in reception bays and later in the year customers can visit the locations’ standalone Pit Stop Express Lube and Gas+ stations onsite.
The Showcase store is located at 2110-101 Street N.W. in South Edmonton Common.
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