Target to close all Canadian stores

[golden eagle]

What happened, eh?

[SteveG1988]

Sales were not on target.

[hotdogPi]

http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/target
http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/target
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-thesaurus/target

Replacing "target" with a synonym:

Aim to close all Canadian stores
Goal to close all Canadian stores
Plan to close all Canadian stores


Why are you trying to close all Canadian stores? And how are you going to do so?

[oscar]

As some other press coverage pointed out, Target made its first gruesome mistake by using the stores of the old Zeller's chain to enter the Canadian market.  Zeller's was dying in large part because of its dumpy stores, and locations not exactly positioned to draw the kinds of customers Target seeks in the U.S. 

I've been to a few Zeller's stores while that chain was still alive.  They were thoroughly unappealing, as in a few notches below K-Marts.  What could Target have been thinking?

[Duke87]

American companies often seem to have trouble succeeding in Canada. Usually the critical flaw is they think that Canada is just like the US and they can run their business there the same as they do here with similar results. When the business model which succeeds in the US fails to attract customers in Canada, they are often left mystified as to why.

In Target's case the fact that they fired all of Zeller's unionized employees and then hired their own non-unionized employees for lower wages is a great example of this, as the article points out. Americans tend not to notice or care if a company does something like this because all we care is that the store sells all the crap we want under one roof for the lowest possible price - a philosophy which is driven by a lot of Americans not being able to really afford any other attitude. Canadians, meanwhile, have a higher minimum wage and more government services, so poor families are not under as much of a crunch as they are in the US. Ergo, in order to be successful as a retailer you have to do more than just offer the cheapest crap around because Canadians can and will pay more for a better experience and less abrasive business practices.

[SignGeek101]

I never shopped there. I didn't find their products appealing to me. I'd rather go to Wal-Mart. Frankly, it doesn't surprise me that much. Their shelves were bare, prices and selection weren't as expected, and perhaps service was unsatisfactory. I guess many Canadians just were fed up.

[GCrites]

One thing I've noticed about US-based stores is that they are very dull inside as compared to ones in other countries. That wasn't always true, but it's been like that since about 2003. The US overall has been on a dull kick since the iPhone came out a few years later. People talk about the Wal-Marting of America, but Wal-Marts have only gotten flashier in recent years. They were a lot worse in say, 2000.

[empirestate]

I never shopped there. I didn't find their products appealing to me. I'd rather go to Wal-Mart.

That right there sounds like the problem. In the U.S., your third sentence could never logically follow the first two. One may not care much for Target, but the idea the Wal-Mart could be any better is laughable on this side of the border.

Then again, I can actually see that side of it: I live in the Bronx, and the Target in my area (which is technically in Manhattan, but that's another thread) is usually as much of a disaster as the typical Wal-Mart is nationwide; meanwhile, I've been to Wal-Marts across the country that are downright Fifth Avenue-quality by NYC standards.

[froggie]

WalMart's changed in the past few years in part because they saw what Target was doing and it was working better, so they've been trying to emulate it.

As a side note, the closest Target to me is one of these Canadian stores, though I've never gone there.  I happen to be in the ONE state in the country that doesn't have a Target.

[Pete from Boston]

WalMart's changed in the past few years in part because they saw what Target was doing and it was working better, so they've been trying to emulate it.

As a side note, the closest Target to me is one of these Canadian stores, though I've never gone there.  I happen to be in the ONE state in the country that doesn't have a Target.

Wal-marts are just not as well maintained, in my experience.  Broader selection, but stores and products aren't aiming for "pretty" like Target.  This is how Target can do well selling limited selection and not necessarily the best price–it just feels better than a Wal-mart or a Kmart. 

[DaBigE]

WalMart's changed in the past few years in part because they saw what Target was doing and it was working better, so they've been trying to emulate it.

As a side note, the closest Target to me is one of these Canadian stores, though I've never gone there.  I happen to be in the ONE state in the country that doesn't have a Target.

Wal-marts are just not as well maintained, in my experience.  Broader selection, but stores and products aren't aiming for "pretty" like Target.  This is how Target can do well selling limited selection and not necessarily the best price–it just feels better than a Wal-mart or a Kmart.

I've been in a few well-maintained Walmarts (granted, they're few and far between), but across the board, the stores just feel cheaper. Case-in-point, our local Walmart built a new store right behind their old one a year ago. (Kudos to Walmart for keeping everything on the same site instead of encouraging further sprawl.) The old store had finished walls (plaster/drywall) and ceiling tile. Their new store just has the exterior brick (albeit painted) and no ceiling tile. I have yet to be in a Target that doesn't have ceiling tile, and boy does it make for a better shopping experience (screaming kids' noise doesn't travel across the store like it does in a newer Walmart).

One of the things I don't like about Target, aside from higher prices, is that everything is red. At least Walmart varies things in their grocery section.

[3467]

Sounds just like Wal Mart and Target in Illinois -yes big surprise- I have noticed Walmart has grocery  on one side and drugs/pet /car on the other and all the Chinese junk in the middle where I mostly see people crossing from side to side. I have noticed their traffic has dropped I seldom go there. I use the internet for most durable goods

[Henry]

Given that Target's corporate headquarters is in Minneapolis, you'd think that they'd do much better across the border. Then again, we said the same thing about Detroit's Big Three automakers, and look how that experiment turned out.

[AsphaltPlanet]

I think Target missed the mark in a number of areas.

Most notably, as was mentioned above, was that Target bought second rate real estate.  When Wal-mart came to Canada it bought old real-estate as well, but quickly moved on to buying better parcels.  I think this may be attributed to Target overestimating its brand value in the Canadian market.

Target also may have underestimated the level of competition in the Canadian marketplace as well.  While Wal-mart is the largest retailer of general merchandise in Canada, there are other players including both Canadian Tire and Loblaw Companies which both have an established customer base and good real-estate holdings.

It's amazing that a company with both the size and weight of Target could miss the boat so grossly with such a big launch into Canada. 

[PHLBOS]

Although the OP's article doesn't mention such and since Target was relatively new to the Canadian market; one has to wonder if the credit/debit card security data breach that occurred 2 Christmas' ago (were Targets in Canada also impacted by such?) contributed to their downfall in Canada?

[oscar]

When Wal-mart came to Canada it bought old real-estate as well, but quickly moved on to buying better parcels.

Did Wal-Mart also replace unionized workforces at the stores it acquired, like Target did?  (Not that keeping unions would necessarily have been a bad thing, but it is so deeply against Wal-Mart's SOP.) 

[AsphaltPlanet]

^ I don't think Wal-mart kept any of the old Woolco store's employees when they purchased their real-estate in the 1990s.

Employees of a Wal-mart store in Quebec successfully unionized in 2004.  During the collective bargaining that ensued, Wal-mart promptly shut the store down.  Since the store was shuttered, there has been a decade of court battles between Wal-mart and Union that represented the workers resulting in various outcomes.

[Brandon]

Given that Target's corporate headquarters is in Minneapolis, you'd think that they'd do much better across the border. Then again, we said the same thing about Detroit's Big Three automakers, and look how that experiment turned out.

Like how Ford, Chrysler, and GM all do very well in Canada, and Chrysler sells far more in Canada (as a percentage of the market) than in the US?  It's a very bad comparison, Henry.  The Big Three have been in Canada since the 1920s (or earlier) and do very well there.

[Dr Frankenstein]

Another one of Target Canada's many problems was the dysfunctional supply chain. They tried to set up a full supply chain from scratch to fill the shelves in over a hundred stores nationwide, in a very large country. Several changes and adjustments were needed, and the broken machine was already too big to make quick changes to it. Result: Stores could never got their stock in time an in enough quantity, so the shelves were empty.

Also, you just can't offer the same products as Wal-Mart at a higher price and expect people to buy them.

There was no online store. You couldn't even look up a product on their Canadian website and see where it was in stock.

Other than that, I think they were nice stores with nice employees and there were no lines at the cash. It was practical for whatever products they actually had in stock. I heard their clothes were better than Wal-Mart's.

[DandyDan]

Given that Target's corporate headquarters is in Minneapolis, you'd think that they'd do much better across the border. Then again, we said the same thing about Detroit's Big Three automakers, and look how that experiment turned out.

Like how Ford, Chrysler, and GM all do very well in Canada, and Chrysler sells far more in Canada (as a percentage of the market) than in the US?  It's a very bad comparison, Henry.  The Big Three have been in Canada since the 1920s (or earlier) and do very well there.

Not to mention the fact that some of their vehicles are made in Canada.

[cl94]

Many of Target Canada's stores are within 2 hours of US locations. If you're in Hamilton, for example, and you're buying a lot of stuff at Target, you can head over to New York, do your shopping, and fill your gas tank for less than you'd spend at a Target in Canada. The Targets in Buffalo are full of Canadians from as far away as Toronto. Heck, I've even seen people from Barrie down here on weekends. Why spend the extra money in Canada if you can just go to US locations and spend a lot less?

[texaskdog]

I hate Target.  And I'm from Minnesota originally.

[cl94]

I hate Target.  And I'm from Minnesota originally.

The problem with Target is that their customer service is horrible. It's sad that the Walmarts near me have better selection, customer service, and prices than all local Targets. I might see a long lines at both, but the Walmart line moves 3 times as fast because their people actually know how to work without talking amongst themselves about their personal lives.

[jeffandnicole]

Given that Target's corporate headquarters is in Minneapolis, you'd think that they'd do much better across the border. Then again, we said the same thing about Detroit's Big Three automakers, and look how that experiment turned out.

Like how Ford, Chrysler, and GM all do very well in Canada, and Chrysler sells far more in Canada (as a percentage of the market) than in the US?  It's a very bad comparison, Henry.  The Big Three have been in Canada since the 1920s (or earlier) and do very well there.

If they've been there for 95 years, they understand the market. Target only exists for a few years in Canada.

I hate Target.  And I'm from Minnesota originally.

The problem with Target is that their customer service is horrible. It's sad that the Walmarts near me have better selection, customer service, and prices than all local Targets. I might see a long lines at both, but the Walmart line moves 3 times as fast because their people actually know how to work without talking amongst themselves about their personal lives.

Maybe the store or stores you visit. Maybe it's a regional issue. Wherever I've been in a Target, customer service has always been excellent.

[Pete from Boston]

I hate Target.  And I'm from Minnesota originally.

The problem with Target is that their customer service is horrible. It's sad that the Walmarts near me have better selection, customer service, and prices than all local Targets. I might see a long lines at both, but the Walmart line moves 3 times as fast because their people actually know how to work without talking amongst themselves about their personal lives.

Wal-Marts I've experienced have even worse throughput than Target, if that's possible.  But it's the exasperation of the Wal-Mart checkers that really makes me miss Target.