Canadian Tire ends catalogue after 80 years; another hit for Quebecor World
It is one whammy after another for Quebecor World. Not only is it effectively disowned by its parent company, Quebecor Inc. (one of Canada's leading magazine publishers through its media division), but it also is desperately trying to renew a contract with the Economist, which served notice last week. (See earlier posts.)And now, Canadian Tire has announced that it is discontinuing its iconic paper catalogue after 80 years. The reason? Most people are accessing the catalogue's contents online. With its decision goes the not inconsiderable business of printing the estimated 9 million copies of the catalogue in English and French.While it is not strictly a magazine story, the end of the Canadian Tire catalogue is a real marker in the changing nature of the print marketplace. Things like directories and catalogues so naturally lend themselves to the searchability and quick updating that the web allows (encourages)that printing and mailing them is becoming not only uneconomic but also no longer sensible.
Canadian Tire customers are being informed about the change, ironically, through this week's printed flyers. While such flyers may continue, their role now will be more and more to drive people to the web. The catalogue content will, of course, continue online in some form.
"We've done a lot of research around customer shopping habits and the reality is, with consumers, they really are spending a lot more time online, that's where they go to obtain the information they're looking for," Lisa Gibson, a spokeswoman for Canadian Tire, told the Canadian Press.The Canadian Tire decision won praise from environmentalists.
"There's a lot of research out there that says the readership and retention of annual catalogues is declining, and obviously, as a result (of the change) you're saving that many catalogues from being printed and then ending up in the recycling or garbage."
"Catalogues have a tremendous environmental impact, from forests that are clear cut to produce them to the energy consumed during manufacturing and delivery," stated ForestEthics' Gillian McEachern.The catalogue was started in 1928, the year after they founded the company, by brothers John W. and Alfred J. Billes.The first edition featured tires on one side and a road map of Ontario on the back. (A history of the company.)
"(The) announcement by Canadian Tire demonstrates that dramatically reducing paper use makes good business sense."
Labels: Quebecor World
posted by D. B. Scott at
8:30 pm
1 Comments:
Having spent most of my career working and supporting the magazine industry, it is always sad to see the end of such a long running print tradition. We all remember the Canadian Tire Catalogue as the place where we circled our first bike. Unfortunately, I see more printed edition slashing to come.
But, as with all “out with the old and in with the new” mentality - I’ve learned you either can dwell on the death of the dinosaur or you can embrace the liberation of the printed page. Although I grieve for the printers, I see this as a positive for the magazine world. What better way to develop new, innovative and stronger relationships with readers and advertisers. This gives us the value add we've been looking for for some time.
What this migration to the online catalogs says to me, is that printed magazines have an even more important roll to play in the future. They will aid in helping readers weed through all the choices they have access to and then direct them with the tip of the mousing finger. The web is to be embraced and the smart publisher knows it.
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