Canadian Tire 'Money' - Canada's Oldest Loyalty Program

At some point in our lives, we've all had some Canadian Tire ‘money’ in our wallet. As kids we would find it in our parent’s room and use it to play shop with, as adults we save it until we can get a few dollars’ worth to put towards a purchase. Getting that paper piece of ‘money’ back when we make a purchase always seems to make us feel a little better. Canadian Tire money was first introduced in 1958 and has long since become a treasured second currency in Canada; in fact, it’s printed on genuine bank note paper!

Canadian Tire money is the oldest loyalty program in Canada and “pioneered the loyalty program concept”. It was the wife of co-founder A.J. Billes who came up with the idea for the coupon. It originally feature a smiling tire and a dollar sign running hand in hand, which was the Canadian Tire logo dating back to 1926. In 1961 the Sandy McTire character was created by an employee and is still on the ‘money’ today. There are 21 different series of the ‘money’ and it comes in many different denominations: 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, $1 and $2. Since its inception, over 1 billion Canadian Tire ‘money’ notes have been in circulation.

There are many charities that accept Canadian Tire ‘money’ and they use it to help fund or buy supplies for their programs. You can even donate your CT points directly to Jumpstart, CT’s charity to help children in need play organised sports. Canadian Tire is very community conscious and will donate 25 points for every 25 points donated to a local community charity to a maximum of 2000 points. Not only to they promote loyalty for their company, but they help out the community in the process.

Through the ‘money’ program, Canadian Tire has promoted customer loyalty and in turn given back more than $100 million dollars every year. They have strived to stay current and in 2000 they introduced the Canadian Tire ‘Money’ on the Card program through the CT Options MasterCard to earn everywhere MasterCard is accepted. The CT Options MasterCard also allows CT to be able to cater to their customer’s needs based on their spending, i.e. you just bought a children’s bike, so here is a coupon for a bike helmet in the mail. It’s incentives like this that keep customers coming back to Canadian Tire. Do you have a CT Options MasterCard to earn points? Have you ever saved up a lot of CT 'money' to buy something good?

Candaian Tire Jumpstart

Canadian Tire is not only a retail power house; they are also a responsible corporate citizen and are involved in the local community around them. The Canadian Tire Jumpstart program was originally launched in 1999 as the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families. It was created to help families in need to get life’s basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, and other essential goods. The Foundation for Families had donated over $28 million dollars to help Canadians before it evolved into Jumpstart in 2005. Jumpstart’s main focus was the inactivity in children and the fact that many families could not afford the high cost of organized sports.

According to Vision Critical (2011), one in three Canadian families cannot afford to put their child in organized sports. Jumpstart’s aim is to help these families in need to pay for the rising costs associated with sports like registration, equipment, and transportation. Through organized sports, they hope that children can gain self-confidence, self-esteem, and leadership skills to last a life time. “We see it as equipping kids for life, because participation in organized sport and recreation increases a child’s chance for success in life.” There are currently 332 local chapters involved in the program who are staffed by volunteers. They work closely with other local non-profit organizations to help identify families who could use the support of the program. Children between the ages of 4 to 18 can gain funding and there are currently 73 sports and recreation activities funded including: hockey, swimming, soccer, basketball, dance, yoga, climbing and martial arts.

So far, over 540,000 Canadian kids have had the chance to play in organized sports thanks to the Jumpstart program. Canadian Tire retail stores hold Jumpstart Days to help fundraise and the stores always have donation boxes where you can give your CT money. This year there will also be a “Pedal for Kids” campaign hoping to raise $200k where partners and employees will ride 500km from Hinton to Calgary. In 2014 they will again be summiting Mount Kilimanjaro to raise funds for the program with a goal of $300k. Canadian Tire Corporation also funds all general and administrative costs as well as the program delivery so that 100% of all donations can go directly to the program. Canadian Tire is truly a proud community ambassador. Do you know anyone who has used the Jumpstart program? Does knowing a company supports a charity make you more likely to shop there?

To donate to the Jumpstart program clickhere. 

A Brief History of Canadian Tire

Who among us hasn't shopped at Canadian Tire? Whether it be for a new set of tires for our car, a new tent for the next camping trip or a hockey stick for our kids first game, we all seem to make a trip there at least a couple times a year. With more than 90% of the Canadian population living within 15 minutes of a store, it’s no wonder they are so popular. Canadian Tire, started in 1922 by the Billes brothers has grown into a Canadian institution and icon.

John W. and Alfred J. Billes bought the Hamilton Tire and Garage Ltd for $1800 in 1922 with great ambition for their future. A year later they sold the garage and moved to a new location in Toronto with a new name – Canadian Tire Corporation.  From there they developed their brand and cultivated customer loyalty. They were officially incorporated in 1927 and went on to release their first catalogue – now a tradition in Canadian households – with a handy roadmap of Ontario on the back in 1928. In 1934 they expanded and opened their first associate store in Hamilton; they were on their way to what is now one of the largest retail chains in Canada. In 1937 Canadian Tire moved their main store to a vacant supermarket in Toronto and introduced a much loved addition – clerks on roller-skates who could quickly get to customers to fulfill order and requests. They expanded further in 1958 with the first gas bar where they gave customers discount coupons for in store discounts that would eventually become Canadian Tire money. Canadian Tire opened their first distribution centre in 1962 and quickly grew with their corporate revenue exceeding $1 billion for the first time in 1980. The Canadian Tire online shopping website (www.canadiantire.ca) was launched in 2001 and has since become one of the busiest online shopping sites in Canada. They continue to grow and in 2011 acquired the FGL group.

Canadian Tire has many groups under its umbrella:

•          Canadian Tire Retail
•          PartSource
•        Canadian Tire Petroleum
•         Mark’s
•        Canadian Tire Financial Services
•        FGL Sports Ltd.

PartSource, launched in 1999, is an automotive parts speciality chain which is staffed by professionals to sell auto parts to professional installers as well as do-it-yourselfers. (www.partsource.ca)

Canadian Tire Petroleum is one of Canada’s largest gasoline retailers pumping out more than 1.7 billion litres of gas per year.

Mark’s was established in 1977 and currently has 385 stores across Canada. They specialize in men’s and women’s work, work related, casual and active wear clothing and footwear. (www.marks.com)

Canadian Tire Financial Services is the parent company of Canadian Tire Bank which issues the Canadian Tire Options MasterCard. They also offer high interest savings accounts, tax free savings accounts and GIC’s as well as insurance products and the Canadian Tire Roadside Assistance. (www.ctfs.com)

FGL Sports Ltd was acquired in 2011 and is the largest sporting goods retailer in Canada. Some of the stores under their banner include Sport Chek and Sports Experts.

Canadian Tire currently has 488 retail stores, 5500 auto service bays and 287 gas bars, and has almost 68,000 employees across Canada. Their financial services division has one of the largest MasterCard franchises in Canada with more than 4 million of the Canadian Tire Options MasterCard’s in circulation. The company is involved in the community with their Canadian Tire Jumpstart program (originally founded in 1999 as the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families) to help underprivileged kids become involved in sports. With a company like this, it’s clear to see why more than 80% of the population shops at a Canadian Tire store every year. How often do you shop at Canadian Tire?