Target Canada finished

[one.of.a.kind]

They lost everybody's trust by screwing up the launch with empty stores. It was hyped up and then there nothing worth buying. Problem is even if they delivered the US experience now the brand is tarnished, too many people have given up, they can't get the customers back in the store even if they fixed the selection.

Apparently the first thing the new CEO did was a chain wide analysis of the operation and came to the conclusion that it would take another six years before they would see a profit.

It was also concluded that the initial launch was grossly mismanaged. His report facilitated the closing.

 

[canada-man]

under harper's watch Target kill Zellers and kill Canadian jobs

 

[elmo]

under harper's watch Target kill Zellers and kill Canadian jobs

What does this have to do with Harper?

 

[wpgguy]

What does this have to do with Harper?

Absolutely nothing, surprised he's not blaming it on the Pope.

It will be interesting to see who steps forward to fill all of that brand new freshly renovated retail space. With the rumor of Sears closing as well there could be some rather large holes for a long time.

 

[IRIS]

What does this have to do with Harper?

Maybe they asked too much in their pocket.

 

[MissCroft]

So when exactly are they closing? Better hurry up and use my Target gift card! lol

 

[GameBoy27]

This is my take on Target Canada.

- Poor selection especially compared to their US stores
- Empty shelves
- No great deals like US locations
- Had nothing that would make me want to go there as my first choice

No surprise they're packing it in.

 

[theycallmebruce]

First it was Krispy Kreme, now it's Target....
America, keep your stores out of Canada, but we will keep Walmart.

 

[rafterman]

Yeah seems like the roll-out in Canada was handled poorly. Three or four visits to my local store and the place was empty of customers and the shelves seemed bare. Sorry for the 17,000 odd Canadian employees who will be out of work. Going to be tough to fill the empty space too for quite a few of the malls that had Target stores. Can't fault the new CEO given the performance. Seems like the past Christmas was the make or break and when sales fell short of expectations he decided to pull the plug.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...an-operations/article22458161/?service=mobile

 

[nobody123]

don't you just love the incompetence of the business and corporations. this is the same crap that caused the 2008 crash and recession

No. The crap that caused the 2008 crash and recession were the big banks and financial outfits deliberately bundling toxic mortgages as part of AAA bonds, as well as other unethical and downright criminal shenanigans for which many of them were richly rewarded. What caused this was good old fashioned shitty management. Stupid, small minded assholes unwilling to listen to advice and unwilling/unable to understand the differences between Canadian and American retail. They made their own bed and shat in it.

http://business.financialpost.com/2014/05/20/target-canada-president/

http://gawker.com/why-was-target-canada-such-a-disaster-1579554288

 

[one.of.a.kind]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...an-operations/article22458161/?service=mobile

This is a good read.

"Wall-Mart would be the most obvious buyer of Target stores, he has said. A Wal-Mart spokesman did not respond to questions last month.

Grocer Loblaw could use some of the space for its fashion chain Joe Fresh; and even HBC, which sold its Zellers leases to Target to pave the way for its entry into Canada, could pick up some outlets"

"The shutdown also reflects that “consumers have unique needs and wants and their expectations are different than those in other countries,” Ms. Silva said. “Retailers from other countries looking to enter the Canadian market will not be successful with a cookie-cutter approach, they need to have a full understanding of our retail dynamics in order to be successful.”"

 

[IM469]

I thought Target was suppose to compete with Walmart but I went a few times and found their prices too high.

Walmart also has the price matching so besides having hardware, electronics, their own brand names, .. ie: everything I need in the one store - I take a handful of flyers and complete my grocery shopping with the best prices. Target is just a waste 9/10 times.

 

[wpgguy]

I would doubt Wal-mart will pick up many of the locations. I can't speak for what the situation in Ontario but here about a third of old the Target locations were actually Walmart locations that Zellers took over when Wal-mart moved to a new free standing location. I doubt they would take those back. Plus many if not all of the locations have a much larger Wal-mart less than 5 minutes drive of the old Target.

The rest of the Globe article make a lot of good points.

 

[james t kirk]

People in Canada who expected the same pricing as Target in the States are on glue.

Everything costs more in Canada. Just look at the minimum wage in Ontario vs. Michigan, or NY for starters.

But bottom line, we have more than enough retail in Canada now. We don't need more. We can't even support the stores we do have. There have been all sorts of bankruptcies of late in the retail world in Canada.

Target is just the latest and greatest victim.

If I was Saks and Nordstoms, I'd seriously be reconsidering my move into Canada. There just isn't enough pie to go around, it's a fucking HUGE country, and it's sparsely populated.

As far as Target goes, between Canadian Tire, Walmart, Costco, I've got all the department store shit that I need.

 

[SkyRider]

But bottom line, we have more than enough retail in Canada now. We don't need more. We can't even support the stores we do have. There have been all sorts of bankruptcies of late in the retail world in Canada.

True, and the same can be said of telecom companies as well but the feds want more, more, more. Even France with twice the population has only 3 telecom companies.

 

[explorerzip]

What a shame especially for Zellers since it looked like they were on the verge of cleaning up their image before Target scooped them up.

 

[james t kirk]

What a shame especially for Zellers since it looked like they were on the verge of cleaning up their image before Target scooped them up.

Absolutely true.

Zellers had been around forever in Canada. They were not Walmart, but they did their thing and they made a living and they kept a pile of people working.

Now that's all gone, and all the people who worked for Target are out of a job.

Sad for those people.

Target has some pretty big properties that they lease (maybe some they own, I dunno.)

I'm thinking of the target by me (Stockyards). HUGE new store. Ive been there a couple of times. (Weird location / layout). I think RioCan will have a very hard time filling that store with a new tenant. CTC is already there. Walmart is a Jane and St. Claire, etc. Not the right location for Lowes (say), or Costco (already on the Queensway).

I see a big empty store for years to come.

 

[explorerzip]

Absolutely true.

Zellers had been around forever in Canada. They were not Walmart, but they did their thing and they made a living and they kept a pile of people working.

Now that's all gone, and all the people who worked for Target are out of a job.

Sad for those people.

Target has some pretty big properties that they lease (maybe some they own, I dunno.)

I'm thinking of the target by me (Stockyards). HUGE new store. Ive been there a couple of times. (Weird location / layout). I think RioCan will have a very hard time filling that store with a new tenant. CTC is already there. Walmart is a Jane and St. Claire, etc. Not the right location for Lowes (say), or Costco (already on the Queensway).

I see a big empty store for years to come.

It's going to hurt the small shopping malls like Cloverdale in Etobicoke where you had Zellers / Target as anchors. No obvious tenant for those giant stores. I guess this is the beginning of the end of big box retailers anchoring malls as we know it.

 

[shack]

I like Target. I go there every time I go to Buffalo. Never set foot in one here.

 

[stay]

I was in a target once and very disappointed. Still felt like the Zellers that preceded it. Feel badly for the employees, however.

Here is an article on the topic.

http://www.streetinsider.com/Corpor...an+Ops;+Boosts+Q4+Comps+Outlook/10167213.html

This was my take on it. The three or four targets that I went to felt like Zellers with a coat of paint.