SportChek’s new “Destination Sport” store format is poised to redefine the retail experience for Canadian sports enthusiasts.
Over the next three years, Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) will enhance the SportChek network by building new stores, updating existing locations, and adding digital services to improve the shopping experience.
These new stores will be modernized, equipped with the latest technology, and digitally connected to meet our customers’ changing needs:
- Enhanced Store Layout for a Superior Shopping Experience – The traditional racetrack layout has been replaced with an enhanced grid design, facilitating a seamless shopping journey. This new layout brings products closer to customers and showcases the extensive range, particularly in key sport categories such as hockey, soccer, baseball, and golf.
- Brand Amplification & Feature Wall – The new feature wall and flexible fixtures provide maximum visibility for key brands, ensuring customers have access to the best selection available. This strategic display not only highlights top brands but also enhances overall brand presence within the store.
- Redesigned Footwear Wall & Sales Assisted Technology – The redesigned footwear wall now boasts greater capacity, dedicated sections, and unique displays. Enhanced technology at the footwear wall and fitting rooms further improves the customer experience by simplifying the process of finding the perfect fit.
- Improved Service Shop Design – Service shops have been upgraded to include an expanded suite of services, ranging from skate fitting and sharpening to golf gripping and baseball glove steaming. These enhancements ensure that customers have access to everything they need for peak performance.
SportChek recently launched two state-of-the-art Destination Sport locations in Moncton, NB and Etobicoke, ON, which have already experienced a tremendous impact to their sales. Two more locations will be opening this summer in Richmond, BC and Windsor, ON. Here’s video tour of the Moncton location:
SportChek’s Destination Sport stores play a pivotal role in Canadian Tire Corporation’s (CTC) recently unveiled True North strategy, which focuses on strategic investments that enhance its core retail operations. The recent introduction of Canadian Tire’s “Remarkable Retail” locations represent this new era of expansive retail spaces equipped with omnichannel shopping capabilities, further supported by Mark’s “Bigger, Better, Bolder” stores which feature a significantly larger footprint and a more diverse product assortment.
“As Canada’s authority on sport, SportChek prioritizes athletes by offering them the best market experience. The new Destination Sport Store Concept offers a bigger and better retail experience tailored for our customers’ athletic needs,” said Scott Dowding, President, SportChek.
“Feature walls and flexible fixtures maximize visibility, showcasing top brand assortments, while the enhanced grid layout and sport-specific sections ensure a seamless shopping journey by bringing products closer to our customers. Lightbox treatments add visual appeal, strengthening the in-store brand experience. These enhancements, combined with our larger footprint, highlight our extensive assortment and dominance in sports, ultimately creating a superior shopping experience for our customers.
“Our enhanced technology at the footwear wall and fitting rooms makes finding the perfect fit easier than ever. With large touchscreens conveniently located in each area, customers can scan an item and see available sizes that are in stock at the store. If the desired size is not in stock, our store staff can order the correct size on the spot and have it delivered directly to doorsteps. The stores also introduced larger, oversized in-store pickup lockers for some of the bigger products carried within our sport assortment.”
Dowding said the Destination Sport locations in Moncton and Etobicoke are scoring major points with customers, who are very pleased with the new store format, highlighting its bright, welcoming, and well-organized design.
They also appreciate the ease of navigation and finding products, thanks to clear layouts and product callouts. The large selection of items and helpful, friendly staff received positive comments, including:
- “The new store is outstanding. So bright and welcoming. Love the open concept so you can find the various sections.”
- “Excellent selection, could find anything I would want or need.”
- “Great big store, easy to get around, friendly and helpful staff, well lit.”
“Every month since the renovation, both our Destination Sport stores have significantly outpaced the NPS compared to other SportChek locations, improving by 20 points from pre-reno to post reno.”
Dowding said the Destination Sport concept is a key component of CTC’s True North strategy, which focuses on enhancing the store network with new builds, refreshes, and innovative digital services.
“Through 2028, we will continue introducing the SportChek Destination Sport format as part of our commitment to creating hundreds of modernized, digitally integrated, and tech-enabled stores across our banners,” he said.
“This investment is directly tied to True North and our commitment to prioritize investing in transforming our core Canadian retail businesses, including Canadian Tire’s Remarkable Retail and Mark’s Bigger, Better, Bolder formats. These efforts underscore our commitment to putting the customer at the centre of everything we do, ensuring they enjoy a best-in-class shopping experience.
Dowding said the Service Shop positions SportChek as Canada’s complete sport destination—not just selling premium products but supporting customers throughout their entire athletic journey. It’s about being there for athletes as a reliable partner to keep them active and in the game.
“We provide post-purchase setup, care, and maintenance services that build customer confidence and maximize equipment performance. SportChek offers the most comprehensive equipment services across more locations than any other North American retailer, ensuring customers have everything needed for peak performance from the moment they walk in,” he added.
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- Canadian Tire reports Q1 2025 sales growth and launches $2B ‘True North’ strategy with new loyalty and store Investments
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