You have to wonder what a good retail consultant earns these days, as someone is surely making some nice dollars advising Canadian Tire.

The iconic national chain is returning to a strategy it decidedly dumped five years ago, when it decided that smaller-sized stores left it vulnerable to the likes of Wal-Mart and Home Depot, American behemoths that could offer everything under the sun, at scale, with parking.

Yesterday, Canadian Tire told the Globe and Mail it was going to trial a new concept - a focus on smaller stores in city centres, acknowledging it needed a new strategy to rival old foes and new entrants like Target.

As a new concept always sounds better than an old idea, no reference was made to neighbourhood outlets like the one in Ottawa that was shuttered in 2008 after 56 years in business. It was seen as such a significant event in the community that the Ottawa Citizen interviewed area residents who had grown up browsing its aisles.

Ironically, only a year earlier, much

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Martha Fell is pictured in a handout photo courtesy of Hollinrake Photography. Dressed head to toe in hot pink, Martha Fell stands out. She doesn’t look like your typical capital markets professional, but then again Fell is no wallflower and certainly doesn’t get too hung up on stereotypes.

In finance for 15 years, she stuck out immediately as a minority on the trading floor. But throughout her career she consistently “leaned into the table” and looked for opportunities to get noticed even more.

“I put my hand up. I sought a voice,” said Fell, who left her career at CIBC to join advocacy group Women in Capital Markets. Ever since then, she’s been raising her hand up high on behalf of women in the financial services industry.

In June, Fell will step down after taking on the role as the group’s chief executive in 2008. Reflecting on her tenure, she notes the statistics haven’t shown much change. Last May, the group released an analysis that showed despite more than a decade of advocacy and good intentions, women continue to struggle to break through the senior

Read More »from Women in Capital Markets’ Martha Fell on standing out

Target has hit the bulls eye with its opening-in-Canada marketing efforts. With just days or weeks until stores beginning opening, the U.S.-based retail chain is creating more buzz with its warm and fuzzy ad campaign to show just how much it wants to be a good neighbour.

Playing on emotions close to Canadians' hearts, the ad features Target's mascot, bull terrier Bullseye, riding in a motorcycle sidecar in a country-wide tour featuring notable landmarks, from near St. John's to Vancouver.

Images range from lush, green landscapes to a lighthouse, hockey players and totem poles as Canadian band Dragonette sings its rendition of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. It is the first time ever the song has been licensed for commercial purposes.

"We really wanted a campaign spot that was really about us finally coming, and coming into the neighbourhood and being a good neighbour," said Lisa Gibson, spokeswoman for Target Canada.

"It's really about us getting to know our new neighbours and building

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Arlene Dickinson learned early on the powers of persuasion.

As a single mom at twenty-something, lacking education and skills training, she overcame some big barriers to become one of Canada's most high-profile marketing communications entrepreneurs.

Widely known as one of the dragons on CBC's Dragon's Den, Dickinson, 56, is chief executive of Venture Communications. From humble beginnings in Calgary, she has grown the company into a marketing powerhouse for blue-chip companies including Toyota and Cenovus Energy.

But she couldn't do all that without knowing how to persuade herself she could emerge from a dark time early on in life that consisted of many “highs and lows.” Now, Dickinson spends much time helping people understand persuasion's role in being an entrepreneur.

"There's never been a better time to be an entrepreneur than right now," said Dickinson, ahead of delivering two back-to-back speeches in Vancouver on Thursday.

Economic factors, social media and desire by employees

Read More »from Arlene Dickinson: pitch tips from a ‘Dragon’

The number of women in senior officer roles in Canadian business is practically unchanged from two years ago, but there are some small signs of improvement in the public sector.

A study by Catalyst, a women's advocacy group, found that women comprised 18.1 per cent of senior officers and top earners at Canada’s 500 largest companies in 2012. That's a tiny increase from 17.7 per cent in 2010.

Alex Johnston, executive director of Catalyst in Canada, said the data is discouraging as the numbers show little progress. But the data is critical in keeping corporate Canada on its toes.

"Whether or not they're encouraging is separate from the fact that they are important," she said.

"I think the two additional pieces that are of real interest to us is who is doing it well and why, and the fact that these numbers matter because they are holding people's feet to the fire."

The Catalyst analysis, which is conducted every two years, shows nearly 36 per cent of public Financial Post 500 companies

Read More »from Still few women in Canada’s top business posts

The price tag for a Vancouver waterfront property has risen to $37.9 million from $30 million, taking the topic of housing affordability amid a downbeat real estate market in the West Coast city to a new level.

Stately and pricey, but apparently also in need of major renovations.

Re/Max Masters’ listing agent Laura McLaren says the 5,000-square-foot home itself is “very, very dated” any potential buyer would likely tear it down for upgrades, according to a report in the National Post, which also pegs the house as being the most expensive in Canada.

“It’s livable, 5,000 square feet, but for that kind of money you’re spending, it would be a tear-down,” George Tsavdaris, who is also handling the listing, said in a Global B.C. report. “There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s in its original condition.”

"This amazing opportunity rarely becomes available for you to own Seaside Mansion on the Pointe. Featuring Spectacular 180 degree breathtaking views of the city, harbour, Point Grey and

Read More »from Canada’s most expensive home hits market at $38 million

What does Family Day really cost? The Conference Board of Canada attempts to answer this question now that the statutory holiday is celebrated in a handful of Canadian provinces.

On the one hand it's costly for employers. After crunching the numbers, the board found paying for the holiday costs employers roughly $206 per full-time worker and $62 per part-time worker. This adds up to as much as $3.3 billion in wages, according to Karla Thorpe, director of leadership and human resources research at the Conference Board of Canada.

The board estimates that a national statutory holiday can potentially cost the country about $6.9 billion in lost productivity, though the true cost of Family Day will be lower since it is not recognized in all provinces and does not apply to federal workers, Thorpe writes.

But it is really "lost productivity"?

Even if costly by the numbers and employers, the flip side is that Family Day is a welcome break for workers -- even those without kids and playdates to

Read More »from The real cost of Family Day

The barely-there Canada Goose logo is probably the last thing people will notice when the latest swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated hits newsstands this week, featuring a nearly-nude Kate Upton. But for the coat maker, the magazine cover is the golden egg of unpaid ads.

Wearing nothing more than a bikini bottom and a white, fur-trimmed Canada Goose bomber jacket, the cover fits the Toronto-based company's marketing strategy to a T: guerrilla marketers that don't take out mass advertisements, but instead rely on social media to create buzz.

More importantly, the business thrives on its loyal fan base, from dog mushers north of 60 to film crews working in below-freezing conditions.

Still, Kevin Spreekmeester, vice president of global marketing at Canada Goose, says he was "floored" when he found out about the magazine cover. The company knew the magazine was working with the jacket for its Antarctic bikini shoot, but not much else.

"Sports Illustrated is pretty tight-lipped. They

Read More »from Sports Illustrated and Canada Goose: A golden marketing opportunity