Family-owned business that engages across Canada in retail, financial services and real estate segments. The company was founded in 1922 by brothers John W. and Alfred J. Billes. Headquartered in Toronto, Canadian Tire has over 1,700 locations.
The Billes brothers began their business by purchasing a tire and auto repair business on the East side of Toronto in 1922. A year later, they moved the business to a more central location and adopted a strategy that focussed on tires, officially becoming Canadian Tire Corporation in 1927. The company opened its first associate location in 1934, establishing the expansion model that it would use throughout the company’s history. In 1968, Canadian Tire entered the financial services sector, and by 1980, the company had surpassed annual operating revenue of $1 billion. The company introduced its e-commerce business in 2001 and began expanding through several acquisitions during the 2000s, including Canada’s largest national sporting goods retailer, The Forzani Group, in 2011.
Canadian Tire continues to grow through acquisitions, such as the 2018 purchase of the Oslo-based sportswear and workwear company, Helly Hansen. Today, the company supports its retail, financial services and CT REIT businesses with over 16 owned brands.
- Family name: Billes family
- Sector: Consumer Products & Retail
- Founded: 1922
- Founder: John W. and Alfred J. Billes
- Country: Canada
- Company headquarters: Toronto
- Revenue: 8.8
- Employees: 27,772
- Website: canadiantire.ca
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