Target closing all Canadian stores

[CarltonTheBear]

?After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021. Personally, this was a very difficult decision, but it was the right decision for our company. With the full support of Target Corporation?s Board of Directors, we have determined that it is in the best interest of our business and our shareholders to exit the Canadian market and focus on driving growth and building further momentum in our U.S. business.?

Target has 133 stores across Canada and employs about 17,600 people.
The company said ?nearly all Target Canada-based employees receive a minimum of 16 weeks of compensation, including wages and benefits coverage for employees who are not required for the full wind-down period.?

Target says its cash costs to shut down its Canadian operations will be $500 million to $600 million.

http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/01/15/breaking-target-to-pull-out-of-canada.html

Wow. Lasted what, less than 2 years? I liked Target as an alternative to Walmart, but it really paled in comparison to their US stores. I know a bunch of people who got jobs there, tough situation for them.

 

[WhatIfGodWasALeaf]

I like Target, but I don't like it enough to pay their inflated prices most of the time. I don't know if it's the same in Canada, but here you go in for a couple of items and almost always spending waaaaay more than expected, it's just much more expensive than the other grocery etc options here.

 

[Peter D.]

I shopped at Target a few times, and it definitely did not live up to its hype.  Time to go poaching for some pretty good closing deals.

Word has it that Walmart will be taking over a bunch of stores.  So much so they halted essentially all new store building across Canada. 

 

[L K]

They opened with barren stores in Canada, deals that paled in comparison to their US counterparts and a complete lack of good advertising.  It was How to Drive a Business into the Ground 101.

 

[dappleganger]

I like Target. I could always find good deals there and they had nice products. Shopped there way more than Walmart.

I'm surprised they gave up so soon. I'm going to miss it.

 

[Joe S.]

They also picked some strange former zellers locations to open up in - it's as if they didn't put any research into the neighbourhoods and the surrounding competition.

Opening one up at danforth and Victoria Park? Overlea? Even the one in Ajax, you'd think it would make sense, but there's a Costco and a Wal-Mart right there.

Anyway - I know my wife was excited when they came, she went opening day, and she said it was nothing like the stores in the states.

Oh well.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

Opening one up at danforth and Victoria Park? Overlea? Even the one in Ajax, you'd think it would make sense, but there's a Costco and a Wal-Mart right there.

One of the ones they opened up in Hamilton was literally a stone's throw away from a Walmart.

 

[bustaheims]

They made some poor location choices, and there was also a wide range in terms of the quality of the actual stores. I've shopped in a few, and some seemed great - the one on Bayview north of Wellington in Aurora seemed particularly nice - while others were just awful - like the one at Centrepoint Mall, for instance. With that kind of inconsistency, it's not surprise they weren't successful.

 

[Peter D.]

Opening one up at danforth and Victoria Park? Overlea? Even the one in Ajax, you'd think it would make sense, but there's a Costco and a Wal-Mart right there.

I thought the Overlea location would have worked out quite well for Target. 

EDIT:  Unless you're referring to the fact that Costco is set to go up right across the street shortly.

 

[cabber24]

In the US, Target competes against Walmart through it's product and prices. Target's approach in Canada was completely different with higher end product then Walmart and higher prices. I was surprised when I visited Target that it was more similar to The Bay type retail environment then a Walmart. It was obviously not what Canadians wanted. I believe if they were an alternative to Walmart like they are in the US they would have been successful. It's to bad that all those jobs are lost not to mention all those empty department stores.

 

[Joe S.]

I was surprised when I visited Target that it was more similar to The Bay type retail environment then a Walmart.

I don't know where you are - but Target in Toronto was nothing like the Bay, not even close. If anything, it was a Zellers/Wal-Mart hybrid with terrible prices.

 

[L K]

In the US, Target competes against Walmart through it's product and prices. Target's approach in Canada was completely different with higher end product then Walmart and higher prices. I was surprised when I visited Target that it was more similar to The Bay type retail environment then a Walmart. It was obviously not what Canadians wanted. I believe if they were an alternative to Walmart like they are in the US they would have been successful. It's to bad that all those jobs are lost not to mention all those empty department stores.

Seeing as it literally replaced Zellers it was an odd decision not to use the U.S. model for the store.

 

[Captain Canuck]

Having shopped at Target in the U.S. for years I was excited to hear about it coming to Canada.
We had the very first store open up here in Guelph and what a huge disappointment! There were empty shelves and what was available you were paying "Canadian prices", which is code for overpriced.
The American stores on the other hand offer a large variety at dirt cheap prices, which is what the draw is!
I'll continue shopping at Target across the border, but can't say I'm too surprised to see the Canadian version fail given how terrible it was in comparison.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Obviously Target didn't do their homework, so to speak, the way Walmart did, in opening stores in Canada.

I usually received Target's flyers and liked the products they had but was clearly disappointed in finding a store near or close to my area.  The 'nearest' Target location was at CentrePoint Mall, and I don't shop there.

I have the pick of the litter, so to speak, when it comes to Walmart -- there are 2 locations near my residential area, and with plenty of space (before the space was taken up by developers), Target could very well have plopped a store somewhere.


Too bad. They had their chance in Canada and they blew it, figuratively speaking.  Poor business decision-making on many fronts.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I much preferred Target over Walmart here. Walmart is trashy and filled with garbage product. At least at Target, we didn't have to walk our kids through a cloud of second hand smoke just to get through the front door.

I feel dirty when I leave Walmart.

 

[Kessel Run]

They also picked some strange former zellers locations to open up in - it's as if they didn't put any research into the neighbourhoods and the surrounding competition.

Opening one up at danforth and Victoria Park? Overlea? Even the one in Ajax, you'd think it would make sense, but there's a Costco and a Wal-Mart right there.

Anyway - I know my wife was excited when they came, she went opening day, and she said it was nothing like the stores in the states.

Oh well.

I'm not sure Target wanted to open in all 130+ locations at once, but they couldn't choose which Zellers locations they wanted, it was all the leases or none of them.

 

[cabber24]

What part of "UP TO 30% OFF" do people not understand?

I find it ridiculous that people are complaining when it was advertised that deals would be up to 30% off? Did they expect more then 30% off? Do these people go to 241 pizza and complain about not getting 3 for 1?

I would imagine the deals will get better as they run out of time.

 

[Bullfrog]

I don't understand why people are complaining at all. It's not Target's responsibility to offer any reduction in price.

At worst I would expect an "ah shucks, I was hoping for better deals", but people locally are getting angry. What a sense of entitlement.