More than just tires.

A new Canadian Tire catalogue has just arrived. Talk about a shock. No photos of cordless power drills. No pictures of gas barbecues. Rather, the 32-page booklet contains pastel images of place settings and soft-focus shots of tea towels and kitchen gadgets. No nuts, no bolts. Heck, no tires even. The Canadian Tire catalogue is a Canadian tradition; some 10 million are mailed out annually. Not even a loose screw--unless you count the one in the mind of the marketing genius who created this version of Martha Billes' Living. The hardware retailer has survived the onslaught of Home Depot, Wal-Mart and all the other competitors cynics predicted would wipe out the venerable chain. Retail consultant John Williams, a partner at Toronto's J.C. Williams Group Ltd., dismisses the competition the upscale upstarts offer. Adrienne Goddard, a retail consultant with Toronto's Kubas Consultants, says with women making more of the household purchases and decisions, the chain wants to appeal to the female market.