Duncan Fulton has been made senior vice-president, communication and chief marketing officer of Forzani Group as the company’s shareholders voted Thursday night to finalize its acquisition by Canadian Tire.
Fulton, also vice-president of corporate affairs and communications at Canadian Tire, said he looks forward to working on Forzani’s various sport retail brands, including Sport Chek, Sports Experts and Nevada Bob’s Golf.
“We’ve done a lot of consumer research in the last few months,” Fulton said. “We looked at the equity in the different banners… If you look at the two giants – Sport Chek and Sport Experts – the brand equity there is as strong as you would find in Apple, Tim Hortons or Canadian Tire. They’re fantastic brands that have clearly done very well.”
Fulton said his mandate is to grow Forzani’s marketeshare. “As a marketer, that’s exciting. We’re seeing a majority of the customers coming through the door under the age of 35,” which he said suggests multiple ways to engage the consumer base – namely digital online technology.
Fulton would not comment definitively on his plans for each store banner or its agency relationships, but had scheduled meetings with several vendors such as creative agency BOS, which works on Sport Chek.
“I come from an agency background. Agencies are very important to me,” he said.
Fulton’s appointment was not the only executive change. Among those from Canadian Tire taking responsibilities at Forzani are Michael Medline, the former president of Canadian Tire’s automotive division who led the Forzani acquisition, who is now president of Forzani Group. Gregory Craig, formerly VP financial planning and analysis for Canadian Tire, has become Forzani’s CFO.
Forzani shareholders were set to tender their shares at approximately 5 p.m. Thursday at $26.50 per share, closing the $771-million all-cash deal. Canadian Tire has previously said it hopes to find synergies between the two companies’ marketing operations, supply chains and international suppliers.
This story was updated at 9:48, Aug. 19, 2011
