Oh Target, I hardly knew ye. I hardly shopped there either
Since I was never really into cross-border shopping (the fact that I hate shopping may have something to do with it), I never saw Target coming to Canada as a big deal. I had been to Target only once while driving back home. I wasn’t that excited. I didn’t care. I just felt sorry for Zellers and thought to myself, just another Canadian store being taken over by an American one. I was still curious though. I could care less if a foreign high-end retailer comes to town, but a discount retailer? That’s a different story. To me, that’s worth checking out.
Source: Canadian Press/Dave Chidley, on Huffington Post Canada
When you’re the new kid on the block, the first impression means a lot. Especially when you’re in a highly competitive market with big players such as Wal-Mart. What was my first impression of Target Canada? It was really not much better than its predecessor Zellers. With barely stocked shelves and lack of customers, it seemed as if Zellers had never left. I must have purchased only two things at the store. Every store was the same and was never busy.
Now that Target is leaving Canada, my feelings remain the same. I feel mostly indifferent, but there is a small amount of pity. While I’m not surprised Target is closing its doors, I’m surprised they didn’t pull out sooner. Almost everyone agrees that the U.S. Target is much better in terms of merchandise and prices.
Not even their glossy, colourful flyers or price matching policy could bring customers in and save them.
When Target had announced it was going to sell Beaver Canoe clothing, I was super excited. Growing up, I thought Beaver Canoe was awesome and embraced Canada. Just like Roots does. I don’t remember ever wearing anything that had the Beaver Canoe logo on it. I had a couple of Roots sweatshirts that I received as gifts. I currently own one pair of Roots sweatpants. Yes, they were quite expensive for sweatpants and I know I’m paying a premium for the name. So I guess I do have a bit of brand loyalty when it comes to sweatpants.
However, they are so darn comfy and really good quality. I practically live in these pants. They have gone through many washes, yet they are still intact.
Back to Beaver Canoe…..
So when I went to check out the merchandise at Target, I was quite disappointed. The display wasn’t appealing at all. The racks and tables were quite bare, with not many sizes available.
No bullseye there. The store hadn’t changed since my first visit.
Sad as it may seem, I think it’s worth going to check out Target’s massive liquidation sales now that they’re leaving. My sister got me a pair of earrings from there for $5.
My heart really goes out to the thousands of people who have lost their jobs. 🙁 I can’t relate in that sense because in the past I have chosen to leave jobs instead with nothing lined up after. I suppose I can only relate to how hard and frustrating it is to find a job. The whole process is a full-time job on its own.
I’ll be honest. I think the retail business is such a risky one. And a supersaturated one. However, so many businesses have still managed to set up shop in the Great White North and thrived.
I went to Target once to check things out. I would go to Zellers because they would have deals that would make it worthwhile for me to drive out of my way, like 50% off baby equipment. But Target never seemed to have a deal I really wanted enough for me to go out of my way. So no, not sad to see it go, sad for the workers.
For some reason, I never seemed to find deals at Zellers. Then again, I rarely went to Zellers to begin with.
Hi Karen,
As eomeone who doesn’t do a whole lot of shopping, I was generally indifferent to Target’s arrival in Canada. I never figured they’d really do much in the way of challenging Wal-Mart or anything along those lines.
I was mainly interested as I hold an investment in RioCan (REI.UN) which was a significant landlord for Zellers and many of the locations Target was moving into. I was hoping Target might be able to revitalize those pieces of real estate.
As it turns out Target has tucked its tail and run back South. As you noted, I feel sorry for the thousands who were looking to start careers with a respected retailer from the U.S..
The bottom line to be gleaned from Target is this: Take care of your customers. If you leave empty shelves and don’t respect the people who buy your product, eventually you won’t have people to buy your product.
Thanks for writing,
– Ryan from GRB
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for your comment. I had actually considered purchasing the Rio-Can REIT awhile back. I ended up purchasing the iShares S&P TSX Capped REIT Index Fund instead, which doesn’t seem to be doing too bad…