Don’t expect Giant Tiger to claw its way into the Flin Flon market any time soon.
The discount retail chain could be adding up to six rural Manitoba locations in the future, but Flin Flon is not on the radar.
“While Giant Tiger Stores Limited is always looking for new communities to call home, we currently do not have plans to open a store in Flin Flon,” Sara Chesiuk, manager of public relations and community activation for the chain, told The Reminder last week.
The closest new store opening in the near future is one in Swan River, which launches in late August.
Flin Flon’s northern Manitoba neighbours in The Pas and Thompson already have Giant Tiger outlets, which sell a range of items such as clothing, groceries and electronics.
Some Flin Flon area residents wondered about Giant Tiger’s plans after the head of North West Company’s (NWC’s) Giant Tiger division spoke about a Manitoba expansion strategy last month.
Edward Kennedy told the Winnipeg Free Press that company officials believe smaller rural centres with a trading area of 10,000 to 15,000 people or less are an ideal fit for the chain.
He said he could see adding up to six additional Giant Tiger outlets in rural Manitoba, but the article mentioned no time frame.
Kennedy also said Giant Tiger’s chances of success in a market increase in the absence of retail heavyweights such as Walmart, which has been in Flin Flon since 2002.
NWC has a master franchise agreement with the Ottawa-based Giant Tiger chain to open stores in western Canada, according to the Free Press.
The agreement allows NWC to open as many as 70 Giant Tiger stores in the four western provinces by 2032, the newspaper reported,
adding that are currently 31 stores.
The Winnipeg-based NWC also owns and operates Northern and NorthMart stores in northern Canada, the Free Press reported.
