Canadian Tire Plans Grocery Push

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $43 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; SI Rating: Above average) plans to start selling grocery items such as milk, bread and frozen meals at two of its Ontario stores, on a trial basis. The grocery business is highly price competitive. Food also has a much shorter shelf life than Canadian Tire’s traditional merchandise of automotive products, household items and sporting goods. So replenishing food items could be a challenge. However, the company feels that selling food will help encourage repeat visits and expand sales. If this test is successful, it should also help Canadian Tire compete with grocery stores that have expanded their selection of general merchandise. Canadian Tire is a buy. buy…