PEST Analysis – Social (S)
by Brian
Socio-cultural factors:
Canadian Tire
 Safety
o Canadian Tire promotes protection of the environment and the health and
safety of its employees.
o Employees are required to follow the Company’s Environment, Health and
Safety Policy issued by their business unit.
o If an employee needs to travel, transportation services offered by a 3rd party
may be accepted provided that such services prove time and cost efficient or
protect the health and safety of the employee.
Home Depot
 Safety
o Home Depot believes in maintaining a safe working and shopping
environment is every associate’s responsibility.
o They have a comprehensive safety program which includes:
 safety standards
 customer communication
 associate training
 accountability
o Department safety awareness plans by topic
 attended by all associates the day the training is conducted
o Back Injury Prevention Training (BIPP) taken by new employees.
Comparison: Both companies have written safety policies and procedures, but Home
Depot provides training for all of its current and new employees and they
have a more comprehensive safety program compared to Canadian Tire.
Canadian Tire
 Public Opinion
o After a slow start, launched it’s website in November 2000 and soon after
became No.6 e-tailing site in the country (according to Nielsen/NetRatings)
 Canadian Tire customers enjoy shopping online
o Attempting to bring in more female shoppers.
 Cambie Street, Vancouver location:
 Hardwood floors, widened aisles, brighter lights
 More touch and feel displays
 Female customers said it was more focused toward them,
especially for ones who had children
o Some customers report that the quality of products purchased for their
vehicles have been faulty on more than one occasion.
Home Depot
 Public Opinion
o Planning on launching a new website www.myhomedepotproject.com
 Website will be specifically tailored to improving customer experience
 Will assist customers with home installations and provide
additional services
o Certain locations have been met with resistance to having a home depot built
in their community, while some are embracing it.
 Agoura Hills, Mountain View, Reedley, Calexico, and East Palo Alto
 Cities in California that didn’t like the idea of having a home depot
around.
 Local home improvement businesses would go bankrupt if Home
Depot came into town.
Comparison: It is difficult to compare Canadian Tire to Home Depot in this field
because Home Depot is the larger corporation that has more locations in
other places than just in Canada. Generally, there is more resistance met
with Home Depot expanding into smaller communities since they plan on
opening a lot more stores than Canadian Tire.
Canadian Tire
 Corporate Social Responsibility
o Canadian Tire Foundation For Families
 Helps families by making sure that basic needs are met
 Food & shelter
 Have donated to various food banks and have helped others rebuild
their homes, particularly victims of the South East Asian Tsunami
disaster.
o Canadian Tire Jumpstart
 Helps kids in financial need participate in organized sports and
recreation
 Hockey, dance, soccer, swimming etc.
Home Depot
 Corporate Social Responsibility
o The Home Depot Foundation
 Supports organizations working to create/rehabilitate/finance home for
low to medium individuals and families.
 Promotes a healthy environment by supporting programs to restore and
sustain urban territory (parks, playgrounds) and wildland forests.
Comparison: Both companies have set up charitable organizations within their
corporations that basically have the same goals of helping people who
have financial difficulty. Canadian Tire is more people and activity
oriented, while Home Depot is more people and environment oriented.