Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) reported a marketing spend decrease for Q2, with retail revenues having slumped 4.2% from the same period last year, with declines at Mark’s and Sport Chek stores. Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.1%.

For the quarter, revenue moved to $4.26 billion (from $4.40 billion), while adjusted net income fell to $206.5 million from $218.2 million a year ago. For the 13 weeks ending July 1, CTC also dialed back its marketing and advertising spend more than 6%, from $99.6 million to $93.4 million.

“As inflation persisted and rate hikes continued, consumer demand for discretionary goods softened, particularly in the latter half of the quarter, and Canadians shifted to more essentials within our multi-category assortment,” said Greg Hicks, president and CEO, Canadian Tire Corporation, who maintained that CTC’s essential portfolio was “extremely resilient.”

The company also stressed that Triangle loyalty sales as a percentage of total sales is growing.

“Loyalty sales continue to outperform non-member spend, driving an increase in loyalty penetration,” Hicks says. “Our ongoing commitment to our Better Connected strategy further positions us to deliver value over the long-term. The investments we are making to integrate our customers’ digital and in-store experiences continue to deliver strong results.”

In this morning’s earnings call, the company also reported it is “very bullish” on its owned brands in terms of the retailer’s ability to differentiate the business. Consolidated owned brands penetration was 37.8%, up 24 basis points compared to the prior year, particularly at Canadian Tire and SportChek.

The company reported strong growth for brands like VitaLife and Petco, with Canadian Tire having signed an exclusive shop-in-shop agreement in February. The investment enabled it to further tap into Canada’s $5.3 billion pet market and expand its exclusive Petco product assortment through dedicated store space.

Canadian Tire also said it is pleased with progress made with its Sher-wood brand. Since acquiring Sher-wood’s global hockey trademarks in 2018, the retailer said it remains focused on “building the brand’s credibility with next-gen hockey players” and that the Sher-wood brand “will show up as a greater force in the hockey market.”

For example, Canadian Tire just announced it has aligned with Blackhawks star Connor Bedard on a multi-year partnership, with further details to come this week. Sher-wood is already linked to Panthers star, Matthew Tkachuk, and Leafs star William Nylander.

On the ecomm side, Hicks says CTC is “not taking its foot off the gas” in terms of investment. He says the company is pleased with work done across banners on the digital front, ecomm and instore, with omnichannel being the “essence” of its Better Connected strategy.