Canadian Tire feeling ‘disappointment’ after mail strikes hamper flyer delivery: CEO

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TORONTO — Recent postal service strikes have dealt a blow to Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd.’s marketing efforts.

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The retailer said Thursday that the flow of flyers to mailboxes has been hampered by Canada Post workers whose job actions have oscillated quickly. Over the last year alone, they’ve participated in a mix of countrywide and rotating strikes and paused flyer deliveries, in a bid to secure better pay and working conditions.

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“When less consumers receive (our flyer), it certainly becomes friction that we’d rather not have to face,” TJ Flood, Canadian Tire’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer, said on a call with analysts.

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To cope with the disruption and get flyers out to consumers, he said his company has taken lessons from past interruptions and turned to local distribution alternatives, as well as digital marketing and its app to get Canadian Tire’s promotions out.

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“But relative to Canada Post, these actions are limited and don’t have the same efficacy as Canada Post, especially when we have to act as quickly as we had to,” Flood said.

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Canada Post has been working to reach a new contract with its roughly 55,000 unionized employees for almost two years. The two sides have been veering toward mediation to resolve the unrest, but in the meantime, thousands of businesses have had to scramble to figure out how to more reliably get orders and flyers to customers.

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With the holiday season approaching and a trade war between Canada and the U.S. still in full swing, it’s become even more crucial for these businesses to see a resolution soon.

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“We are watching the Canada Post labour dispute closely and with disappointment that it comes at a time when consumers are craving value,” Canadian Tire CEO Greg Hicks said on the same call as Flood.

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He added he is “hopeful this situation stabilizes swiftly and sustainably.”

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Earlier that morning, Canadian Tire raised its dividend as it reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago on restructuring and other transformation and advisory costs.

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The quarterly dividend will now amount to $1.80 per share, up from $1.775 per share.

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The increased payment to investors came as Canadian Tire reported its net income attributable to shareholders from continuing operations amounted to $169.1 million or $3.13 per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 27. The result compared with a profit of $198.5 million or $3.55 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

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On a normalized basis, the company earned $3.78 per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from a normalized profit of $3.55 per diluted share a year ago.

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Hicks positioned the quarter as a reflection of an “uncertain and unpredictable” consumer landscape, where shoppers are now often facing higher costs and fretting about ongoing trade negotiations and government actions “that will shape the Canadian economy for years to come.”