At Canadian Tire Corporation, believe we have various competitive advantages over companies who offer who similar products both internationally and domestically. First and foremost, we are a retial store that offers services at our locations. This makes the shopping experience momentously simpler for customers and they can purchase products and get them installed from one location. Another significant competitive advantage that Canadian Tire has over most competitors is that they offer in-house branded products as well the usual third-party favorites. This offers consumers a vast variety of products and services to meet their needs.
Canada’s trade relations among Mexico are currently very strong. In fact, Mexico ranks as Canada’s third largest trading partner with a gross export of $5,008,226,868 and a gross import of $22,110,444,350. Furthermore, Canada’s trading relations with Mexico are greatly enhanced by the North American Free Trade Agreement (N.A.F.T.A) which ensures tax-free trade among each other.
*Trends of Canada’s merchandise trade with Mexico
Description of the Business:
The ultimate goal of Canadian Tire Corporations is to expand our business and products internationally in hopes to become the standard of the world. To accomplish this task, we must continue to individually launch our products and expand in select nations while accordingly making adjustments as the market is unique internationally. Canadian Tire is massive Canadian retial company founded in 1922 by co-founders Alfred J. Billes and J. William Billes. Canadian Tire offers various products such as automotive parts, home improvement supplies, gardening, sporting goods, tools/hardware, and more. Some of the services that we offer at Canadian Tire retial stores include automotive service, petroleum, logistics, locksmith services, and more. Canadian Tire co. has won nine different awards in 2012 alone that highlight their various achievements such as innovation, sustainability, customer service, and more.
*Canadian Tire Corp Stock chart and information in 2012
Present Situation:
North American Free Trade Agreement was established on January 1, 1994. It was a deal between Canada, United States, and Mexico finalizing free trade among each other. This significantly simplifies our businesses transition to Mexico as we are entitled to tariff-free trade. There is a high demand for an automotive and home improvement department retial store and service provider in Mexico. Currently, Mexico has only one domestic business called Cemex that offers similar products at a competitive rate to Canadian Tire. Although their business is generally successful, they lack the innovative features we can offer here at Canadian Tire.
Risk Assessment:
Similar to any sort of innovation/change, expanding a business internationally can potentially have various different types of risks. In order to achieve success in a venture, it is important to evaluate these potential risks aiming to reduce severity or eliminate them altogether. Different nations tend to be significantly different in economics, laws/regulations, and the social/cultural lifestyle. First of all, any international business must begin their risk assessment by evaluating the selected country’s economics. For example, in Mexico their currency is known as the “Mexico Peso”. One Canadian dollar is equal to 13.0186 Mexico Pesos. Being a Canadian business that is expanding internationally, this is one of the most import factors to consider. The currency of a foreign country is often not as strong and consistent as Canada so therefore becomes a risk for a business when expanding internationally. Although Mexico may not be the strongest economic nation, it is proven to be viable in that department. According to Mexico’s central bank, the nation’s