Target says its cash costs to shut down its Canadian operations will be $500 million to $600 million. The stores will remain open during a court-supervised liquidation period.
It also plans to sell its real estate.
I’ve always loathed shopping in Target stores. Who sold them on those irritating red interiors?
K-Mart for progz.
we go to target for their movie style popcorn. in and out 2 minutes tops
personally, i see no value in target stores. it reminds me of zellers
Yep. Zellers sucked too.
If I am going to buy bargain basement crap that will fall apart the second I walk out the door I go to Ukranian Tire. That place has all the junk I never wanted in one convenient location! AND – they sell hunting and fishing licenses too!
I will never set foot in a kmart or a Wal-Mart because I really don’t care for the junk or the ‘cultural vibrants’ that shop there. I still have nightmares about that email that went round entitled ‘The People Of Wal Mart’! I will bet the pics on that one were taken in Tranna! GAH!
Sayonara Target! Take the other dept. stores with you!
My family does not shop excessively, we make lists of needs, and discuss and go slow on major purchases, we found Target to be a good store every time we visited – very clean, helpful staff, plenty of good prices and discounted items, well worth checking out. I dropped a significant portion of our modest Christmas budget there on stocking stuffers, treats. On the other hand, we are probably like everyone else, we are doing more and more internet shopping, we can often surf the net to find what we want, the price, whether or not it’s in stock, even its location in the store, and can have it delivered or go pick it up. Target may be a victim of the internet, a decline in the wandering walk-in shopper.
Do go and check out their going out of business 75-90 percent off clothing.
Made in Vietnam-China,
but one heck of a deal over anyone else selling the same Shiite.
Funny,
but all those red colors cause customers to spend less.
WTH would use colors that cause a client to spend less?
Oh Wait,
Forgot about Fidel Castro..
They never had a chance,big stores ,empty shelves, a major box store on every corner and worn out locations.
Red colour repelling customers? I remember a Cuban sandwich shop that opened in downtown Calgary a few years ago, their window said ‘a revolution in sandwiches’ and had red stars, my instant reaction walking by was, “commies aren’t funny, does the staff wear Che t-shirts? They’ll never get a phkn penny out of me…”. they didn’t last a year…
The Target stores I went to pretty much forced the customers to use the self-serve checkout kiosks; any place that makes those central to their strategy is doomed from the outset. Those things suck.
And the U.S. stores won’t be far behind.
I was in Target once. Worse atmosphere than the Zellers it replaced. Haven’t been in Walmart for at least 3 years. I don’t buy crap anymore. It’s a false economy.
I couldn’t help thinking from the first announcement some knucklehead on the Target Board of Director’s said Canada is a French nation and so they will naturally like to have a Tarjay store on every corner.
The next thought was the “leader of the pack” at Fannie Mae, who led the deluge of ordinary citizen savings in the No;Income:No;Job;&Assets (ninja) receivers of Asset Backed Shite (ABS) securities which showed Madoff’s $50 Billion ponzi scheme as small play; the guy identified in expose’ after expose’, Jim Jameson was/is a member of the Tarjay Board of Directors.
The book I read on his sleeze, learned from our Kate’s blog, showed he managed to pull over $ One hundred million dollars of taxpayer funds for his personal use by providing former Congressional Clowns like Barney Frank with political donations of under $10,000.
Guess he wasn’t the knucklehead that made the proposal about Canada being French. But then again sleeze doesn’t really indicate intelligence. Cheers;
As long as they have a NO GUNS polacy presuded to them by some mislead mothers and fananced by wealthy scumballs like Micheal Bloomberg i’ll never patronize their stores ever
Target is taking a +/- $5 billion write down on their Canadian shutdown, not $500 million. A serious red flag in my mind is the Target CEO stating they could not see a break even for another 6 years. That is not a terribly positive forecast on the retail market in Canada. Combine this with RioCan’s strategy of not making any capital investment in commercial real estate in Canada outside of Van, Edm, Cal, TO, Ott and Montreal = six markets.
The full impact of the oil price drop is not understood by most in Canada, particularly in the east. It has dropped Canada into balance of trade deficit and raised the cost of imports dramatically. Equalization is seriously threatened. High income jobs will be lost and replaced by McJobs. So be it we will see how it plays out.
Target was a good place to get uber cheap printer paper, and I’ll miss that. Never bothered shopping for groceries there. Their electronics prices were good, but also advertised thereby allowing me to get the much nearer Walmart to price match.
I don’t mind Walmart. Some of their Great Value products are VERY good. Better than name brand in some cases, and at half the price. I’m not too proud to save $$$ on groceries, especially with a teen eating me out of house and home.
As much as I loathe shopping, I have to confess that I actually didn’t mind spending my money at Target. You never had to worry about people blocking the aisles or generally getting in your space. I feel claustrophobic in WalMart and Canadian Tire due to the amount of people aimlessly wandering about and standing indecisively in the middle of the aisles trying to make a decision.
Don’t know about other locations, but the store here was top notch. Super clean, tidy, excellent service, and competitive. A huge improvement over the Zellers store it replaced.
Wife is very disappointed.
It was a stupidly run operation from day one which
seemed more interested in building and peddling its
credit card database than anything else.
Not Marks&Spencer stupid, but it’s own unique variant.
Went in once pre Father’s Day looking for slippers.
They had zilch because “they didn’t carry the item”.
The Chinese Canadian girl who was the only one who
broke away from the gossip group to try to help me
was great but it must have been very hard to sell
crap when the brainy big shots had no clue how to
deal with suppliers and distributors.
Bet some outfit from Japan, China, or Europe could
pick up the pieces cheap and easily make it work.
Saw this coming from day one when they chose not to open in the highest grossing neighbourhood of Vancouver. Shut down the Zellers there and let the space go. Stupid is as Stupid does.
We very much enjoy Target stores in the U.S. (where we spend about 1/2 the year) but their Canadian stores / selection / prices / value are NOTHING LIKE their American stores! Everywhere in the U.S. that Target and Walmart are within half a mile of each other, Target kicks Walmart’s @$$. But in Canada they are just Zellers with a different logo.
Target blew. I miss Zellers, actually. In my small hometown in Ontario, the Target was/is for now the biggest store (by sqft) and will now be kaput making me wonder where all the single moms and grannies will work.
Unapologetically a Walmart fan when I need something (and I’m as minimalist as I can be). Cheap prices, good service, free RV parking across NAmerica in most locales. That being said, going into the Walmart in Marlborough here in Calgary has way too vibrants to be safe.
Have to wonder if the reason they couldn’t make a go of it may have something to do with where the bulk of their stores where located.
If over >50% of the outlets where in Ontario they would be victims of the Wynne-McGuinty green shift economic plan (called communism in places that have already tried it) and this is the result of consumers having their discretionary income severly reduced by a corrupted government.
Target was over an hour drive away so no impact on me.
I will miss them locally, as it will force me back into Walmart, which I’ve never liked since they went to the superstore concept. Target has some products I can’t get (at the price) anywhere else, and they’re not the stuff you internet order.
I have to head off to my local store soon – thee were a couple of small appliances nobody else sells that I was loking at over Christmas.
This result was entirely predictable. IMO, they’d be better off furloughing all of the stores for 6 months, closing about half, fire the CEO, who botched the Cdn rollout big time.
Then re-merchandise the stores properly and come out swinging. Their footprint rollout was way too ambitious – they gambled visibility over merchandise supply and shorted their market. Products, especially clothing were low cost (not necessary low fashion), and it showed. The expectation was high for clothing coming in, and they dropped the ball. Had they gone with fewer stores and higher inventory, they’d have done much better. I left my local store asking, “where’s the stock?” on a regular basis. But they did get more of my money than Walmart. The local Walmart is also the major grocery vendor – big problem for a box store that’s not also into groceries here.
I will miss them locally, as it will force me back into Walmart, which I’ve never liked since they went to the superstore concept. Target has some products I can’t get (at the price) anywhere else, and they’re not the stuff you internet order.
I have to head off to my local store soon – there were a couple of small appliances nobody else sells that I was looking at over Christmas.
This result was entirely predictable. IMO, they’d be better off furloughing all of the stores for 6 months, closing about half, fire the CEO, who botched the Cdn rollout big time.
Then re-merchandise the stores properly and come out swinging. Their footprint rollout was way too ambitious – they gambled visibility over merchandise supply and shorted their market. Products, especially clothing were low cost (not necessary low fashion), and it showed. The expectation was high for clothing coming in, and they dropped the ball. Had they gone with fewer stores and higher inventory, they’d have done much better. I left my local store asking, “where’s the stock?” on a regular basis. But they did get more of my money than Walmart. The local Walmart is also the major grocery vendor – big problem for a box store that’s not also into groceries here.
Sony is going too… http://ottawacitizen.com/business/local-business/sony-announces-it-will-close-all-sony-stores-in-canada
Agreed. Target in the States actually has decent stuff at a decent price. TarJay by contrast doesn’t, last I looked. Although in fairness I do buy different stuff when I’m in the States, because I’m on holiday. Housewares and things like that I never buy when I’m at home, I already have all that crap here.
I think the time of these big box stores may be passing. That amount of inventory tied up in one location has to be hard to support, particularly with the belt tightening that people are doing.
The other thing that continues to amaze, is that American retail managers really don’t get that this is a DIFFERENT COUNTRY up here. We really don’t buy the same crap the same way that Americans do.
Example, Canadian Tire is a model that works awesome in Canada but simply does not work at all in the USA. Walmart struggled with this for a long time before they started doing well in Canada. Their stores here are very different than the US ones. Compare Florida Walmart to Toronto, even the lighting is different.
Foolish Canadians thought that Target Canada would be a clone of Target US. Same brands, same prices etc. We shop on occasion at Target in the US and find them quite good. The Canadian stores were just another Wal/Mart, Zellers etc.
Target wouldn’t play Christmas music according to my sister in law, but she doesn’t know why.
I’ve never shopped at Target in the US so I have nothing to compare it with but here in Canada I wondered how long they would last when they couldn’t seem to get the doors open. The space in West Edmonton Mall was unused for almost a year and they just opened the one in Kingsway Mall a few months ago. You’re not going to sell much product if the store is closed for renovation.
I liked Target, they were roomy and airy compared to the Zellers they replaced in many locations. Found Zellers to be gaudy, messy and much like visiting a jumble sale. Target had young helpful staff. Am not fond of the colour red – I’m not Indian, but it never really bothered me, shopping wise. I think this bodes badly for all retail stores, we know that Sears is close to becoming a total discount store, where help is almost impossible to find, and I find the Bay to be unaffordable. What a terrible waste of money and job entry employment!
I didn’t shop in Target a lot, primarily because their merchandise selection was so thin. And what they had appeared to be in short supply. The shelves always seemed empty. They did have helpful – and plentiful – floor staff, something other big-box stores don’t.
They did make some horrendous errors – taking the Canadian market for granted being the biggest one, IMO. And opening 133 stores at a single bound was just stupid. They did have one disadvantage imposed on them, in that the federal government, through one of its myriad bureaucracies, insisted that a certain percentage of Target’s merchandise be Canadian. That was a stupid directive if one is expected to compete with Wal-Mart or Dollarama – or even Canadian Tire, none of which has had that imposed upon them.
My first impression when they opened was, ‘Zellers with a new paint job.’ When, after many months, of the 14 cash stations on just one floor of our local Target (Chinook Centre Calgary) only one was open at any time, I knew they were done – even if they didn’t.
I liked target, regularly bought groceries there. They have some good stuff I couldn’t find anywhere else. Will miss them.
Following on CT’s comments, the bigger question is why a retail chain that does so well in the US can’t make a go of it here. I doubt cultural differences are at work here. Inter-provincial trade barriers and other regulatory hurdles probably played a role. Maybe the stupidity resides north of the border.
You know, I think Target is doing a class act. If they were like a of of Canadian Corporate Whores, they’d have applied to the various levels of government for grant money to stay open…even if they would have been making a profit.
Giant Tiger — best place to buy cheap stuff. It’s Canadian and you don’t get lost in the stores.
Actually my local Walmart has all their aisle signs in Chinese and Arabic. And, of course, never has anything to do with Christmas.
I guess that is why Walmart is still open here. It caters to the new majority.
Went in the Fredericton Target TWICE. Both times it was badly lit, silent as a tomb and reminded me of communist regimes with the sparse selection and red, red, red everywhere. I could sum it up as “Zellers quality at Sears prices.”
” Maybe the stupidity resides north of the border”
BINGO….I used to shop and lounge out at the Zellars that was a 20 min drive for me (North Edmonton). They had a little café where the retirees would hang out and have cheap brekkies and talk. I sat there and watched the people that came in just for the chit-chat(young’uns). They invariably left with something they had bought. When the Red Horde took over, I asked them about a little café. You would have thought I was the anti-Christ. Can’t say I am sorry to see them go, just wonder what crap is going to replace them.
The Target stores near me in SE Pa. and Delaware do great business, so it must be a regional thing.
‘I remember a Cuban sandwich shop…..their window said ‘a revolution in sandwiches’ and had red stars’
I’ve wondered about that too.
How is Banana Republic a good name?
In a real banana republic there is no shopping because the people have no money.
I don’t get it.
Never stepped in one, as I understood it was just a place for Liberals to rub shoulders with “little brown people” to justify their claim to cultural enlightenment.
Otherwise the sad part is, all those commie wannabe’s will be shopping somewhere else, maybe with real folks.
Somewhat related, has anyone noticed all the “granolas” in the gun shops and big box hunting fishing store the last couple of years? Now camo is a fashion statement with the cappuccino lumber-sexual crowd.
Target Canada was an answer to a question no one was asking.
The far more interesting stories will be Nordstroms and Marshalls, which are now both in Alberta (one in Calgary and one in Edmonton). Very curious to see how they do in a very lucrative market.
I’ve been to the Chinook target store (Calgary). I was given a gift card,had to use it.
I was not impressed. It was just another Wal-mart/Zellers/ etc.
The staff were very helpful, but then again they were likely bored out of their skulls and anything to break the monotony would be a plus. The place had very few customers.
That’s right K99 and I’ve even seen them looking at the rifles. Speaking of Target, if we could just get the hipsters to try shooting at some targets they might actually understand why people use and enjoy guns.
So somebody now needs to do a graphic of two Target logos side by side, floating on a body of water…and facing skywards…
That interior, krikey.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wN6TPtaBKwk/maxresdefault.jpg
I’ve lived in the states and like every other store chain that tries to cross the border Target changed up their business model for the Canadian market, or so they thought. Different products and pricing being the biggest downfall for TarJay. Keep in mind that all of the Canadian stores would amount to only a state’s worth south of the border so the lack of enough product to fill the shelves would not be a big deal to the distribution centers. A lot were located in former Zeller’s locations which were going under as the shopping trends shifted. The customers stopped going to that location for a reason, you have to have something wow to bring them back along with the new spending crowd.
Lastly, I just have to comment on the service at Targets in Canada. Some were good, some were bad, but the thing that most forget when comparing the Canadian vs the American Targets (and other chains) is that the rude clerk at the Canadian store was in fact a Canadian! They didn’t pick up those manners south of the border.In my seven years down south, most folks that said “Have a nice day.” actually meant it.
Hey Black Mamba, what you doin’ in the Target men’s room girl?
Oh, REDRUM and all that. How’s tricks?
What happened to the Anti-Walmart crowd that were going to shop at Target (Canada) to prevent the children from sewing their fingers together in Bangladeshian sweatshops?? The truth is that Target was selling the same merchandise at Walmart except at higher prices!!
Another package of misinformation from our leftist Suzukian savants!