CLOSURE: Major retailer closing 17 stores across Canada

A major Canadian retailer is closing 17 stores across the country.

Canadian Tire Corporation announced it is closing 17 uncompetitive standalone Atmosphere stores, with 14 sites to be co-located within SportChek stores.

Atmosphere, an outdoor gear store, is already located inside SportChek stores in Ontario including the two GTA locations in Toronto at Sherway Gardens and on Winston Churchill Boulevard in Oakville. Atmosphere stores in the Eaton Centre, Vaughan and Don Mills closed several years ago.

Fourteen stores standalone stores in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan will be relocated to SportChek stores in phases throughout 2025.

Canadian Tire spokesperson Joscelyn Dosanjh did not indicate whether any job cuts will stem from the closures, but said in an email to The Canadian Press that the company is trying to place employees impacted by the changes at other locations as their stores in Western Canada close over the next four months.

The closures are part of a new, four-year transformative growth strategy dubbed “True North,” according to a press release from Canadian Tire. The strategy will focus on data-driven customer relationships, core retail growth and striving to acquire more Triangle Mastercard holders.

Canadian Tire purchased SportChek and Atmosphere in May 2011 as part of Forzani Group, a Canadian sporting goods retailer.

The company also owns Mark’s Work Warehouse, which it purchased in 2002.

True North aims to create a unified operating model for all banners, including Canadian Tire, SportChek and Mark’s.

Canadian Tire said it will eliminate siloed, redundant and costly back-office processes and systems. The company recently converted of all major banner websites onto a single digital platform.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Irene Nattel saw the series of changes as “sensible.”

“If properly executed, the result should be closer connection to (Canadian Tire’s) customer base and a more effective approach to procurement and merchandising, in turn driving stronger revenue growth/profitability,” she wrote in a note to investors.

The announcement comes weeks after Canadian Tire Corp. signed an almost $1.3-billion deal to sell sportswear company Helly Hansen to Kontoor Brands, which owns Wrangler, Lee and Rock & Republic.

With files from The Canadian Press

Lead photo: Lisa from Pexels