I’ve talked about how Canadian Tire Corporation (TSX:CTC.A) has, and is likely to continue to, outperform other Canadian retailers for quite some time. In this article, I’m going to talk about the company’s revitalized e-commerce platform, and why it remains a cornerstone of any long term fundamental investor in this company.
What the market should value, and may be starting to value more dearly, are companies with the correct retail mix of e-commerce and bricks and mortar within a given market segment. I feel as though too many companies want to make too drastic of a shift away from a traditional supply chain model and therefore losing focus on what works and shifting instead to a platform that others do much better.
There is a strong argument to be made that Canadian Tire should not compete with companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and vice versa. Amazon does not have the footprint or the expertise-laden prime real estate that Canadian Tire does. Rather, Canadian Tire needs to continue to improve its bricks and mortar offering to encompass online search options (studies have shown that consumers are much more likely to buy a physical good after researching said product and reading reviews).
Earlier this quarter, Canadian Tire announced that it had launched home delivery nation-wide in an attempt to do just that. The company has taken its time in developing a home delivery program that works, enhances the customers’ experience, and is profitable (something that’s proving impossible for competitors).
Canadian Tire has grappled with how to integrate e-commerce properly into the company’s sales channels, previously launching various e-commerce programs that have sputtered, including a click-and-collect program that continues from a few years’ past.
Canadian Tire will continue to make efforts to integrate its e-commerce channel with a robust portfolio of store locations to leverage a number of trends that indicate that shoppers will simply spend more, and more often, when products are better displayed online and customers have more options when it comes to buying such goods.
Bottom line
Canadian Tire is one of the few excellent retail options available for Canadian investors looking for a long-term play. The company has established a plan for how it expects to roll out e-commerce offerings over the long-run, and plans to do so profitably, a move that will continue to please investors who will look for continued dividend growth and capital appreciation for decades to come.
Stay Foolish, my friends.
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM), an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. David Gardner owns shares of Amazon. The Motley Fool owns shares of Amazon.
Fool contributor Chris MacDonald has no position in any stocks mentioned in this article.