Canadian Tire is looking to build on its dominance in sporting goods retailing gained through its acquisition of Forzani Group. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Michael Medline, the new president of Forzani, indicated the goal is to grow in size and reach.
“To do that you have to be looking at more square footage. We have six and a half million square feet today. We'll need more square footage,” said Medline of the FGL stores under various banners across the country. “We have great stores today, but I think they're going to be bigger over the medium to long term.”
Marketing, including social media, will be a priority.
“We're going to be very aggressive in terms of pursuing growing social media. Those are the ways I think we can really appeal to Canadians and become more a part of their lives and their sporting lives,” said Medline, who joined Canadian Tire in 2001 and was previously president of the company's automotive and dealer relations division.
“We want to be very strong in numerous categories . And sports was one of them,” he said.
Forzani operates more than 500 stores under the corporate and franchise banners, including Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Atmosphere, Nevada Bob's Golf and Sports Experts.
