Target has just confirmed the rumours that they are leaving Canada. This morning, Target announced that it will be closing its Canadian stores and filing for creditor protection in Canada effective immediately.
From the press information, I expect to see the store closings similar to when Zellers closed, with some closing earlier and liquidating their stock to other stores in the area until they all close.
For those worried about employees, they are asking that their creditor protection agreement includes a minimum of 16 weeks of compensation, including wages and benefits coverage for employees who are not required for the full wind-down period to give their team members time to find new jobs. Target Canada stores will remain open during the liquidation process.
The CEO had this to say about leaving Canada: “While we made some recent progress, the changes were not enough to inspire the guest to shop Target. The losses were just too great. Given that the holiday season is our busiest time of the year, we evaluated our fourth quarter performance carefully and unfortunately didn’t see the step change in our performance we needed to see.”
Are you sorry to see Target go? While I agree, they had a long way to go, I will miss the clean stores and some of the product lines that cannot be found elsewhere.
It will be interesting to see who takes over the stores, most were built or renovated so are in great condition, but for the ones in my area, there is a Walmart nearby each of them, so I can’t see them wanting them as some news stories claim.
Dollarama will take over.
For those people who have not signed the two petitions in change.org yet, do it NOW! Once again the links are:
i) https://www.change.org/p/ceo-target-…sored_donation
ii) https://www.change.org/p/target-cana…-target-canada
Some people on this thread apparently have not signed up yet (based on their giving up messages). At least let us make some noise and not let this go silently! You never know unless you try! To make these petitions gain more momentum, also tell your friends about these petitions and also provide these links on websites regarding Target Canada closings to get even more people to sign! You have a chance to save lots of jobs and keep a great store in Canada!
No surprise there.
I would love to see an IKEA!
I am lucky enough to have IKEA nearby too
That’s not a bad idea.
I am sad to see it go. I got some really good deals there.
I am sad to see them go. I always found deals and the staff are great at my local store! I love that Target has different, better quality goods than other retailers and I truly appreciate the cleanliness and atmosphere of the stores. This is a sad day in my world.
It was basically a rebranded Zellers. Target would have succeeded in Canada had they actually replicated their US stores, without groceries, in Canada. They figured the Canadian consumer would believe that red coloured stores and a few red and white targets placed on the walls and they were in Target. They did not fool anyone except themselves. Canadians love Target stores that are in the US and they failed to deliver that expectation in Canada.
Um, hello? they probably weren’t able to. Thanks to all our laws and regulations and god-given right to be “different” from our family to the South, they were probably forced to make a lot of concessions. Didn’t you notice the “Beaver Canoe” brand? and they probably had to carry a lot of “Canadian” products and brands from “Canadian” distributors. It’s like our telecommunications sector, Canadian culture shouldn’t need to be “protected”. And come on, Shomi? I’ll stick with my Netflix thank you.
I am so sad to see Target go. I want them to stay and think they need to give it another year. I find the best sales and clearance and love their amazing product lines and things you cannot find anywhere else. They have the greatest stuff for kids and décor as well. I am so bummed!!! Please stay Target!!
Aww man that really sucks..Target had such great prices on everyday items.. I will def. miss this store! …damn..
I agree. I am so ticked off as I got so many basics there for such good prices.
I know many did not find much difference between Zellers and Target but as a decorator I really did. I felt confident in making a number of decor purchases for clients there when they needed things that they would be gently using on a modest budget. Their style was on trend and although the items were not of the highest quality, I felt that Zellers was not a place I would EVER even consider making decor purchases for many reasons. I will be sad to see them go. I will say that I was excited to see them come because I loved the Archer Farms line of food product however many of the Archer Farms items I loved did not make it to my local Target Store. Call me sad 🙁
Exactly what I was thinking, The quality was there for home and garden. And it was priced accordingly for the quality. I will really miss them. As one who worked with an American company coming into Canada- it is near impossible to match the American experience unless you are in something like clothing. Something as basic as labelling laws for upholstery, lighting, nutrition,as well as bilingual issues, can really hinder a company. I didn’t expect Target to be like the US. They couldn’t. I will miss Target.
I somehow doubt that people who hire decorators would buy furnishings from Target. Might as well shop from the dollar store directly and save your fee. HA
I hope they are still accepting gift cards. I have one to use up!
Nooooooooo! I don’t want to go back to Walmart!
Unbelievably sad about this. I had said to many people that they really seemed to have improved in the last few months, and the stores were more full etc. They messed up at the start and they needed to give Canada a fair chance.
I’m sorry to see them go. The best part for me was 5% savings!
Not cash back, but savings on the spot.
I will surely miss that. 🙁
I liked Target’s customer service, and their clearance prices were great. However, I can’t even recall the number of times I went shopping there only to find empty selves of what I was looking for. Dampens the shopping experience significantly.
Sad, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the “liquidation process”.
It’s nice to see that they are making an effort to make the transition somewhat less painful for their employees.
I am VERY sad to see Target leaving Canada! When they had clearance items, the prices were unbeatable… however I do agree that the US locations were MUCH better and much better priced. I did LOVE Starbucks in all Target stores- made shopping taste that much better. Very very sad to hear that they didn’t have a good breakthrough in Canada… and very sorry for all the employees.
I have to admit, I went into the store ONCE, never bought nothing and never went back. I guess I won’t miss it one way or the other, but I am really very sorry to see that so many people will lose their jobs.
Very Very Sad Day!
Even though some of their regular prices may not be better than Walmart and their shelves were often empty, their sales, clearance and price match/coupon policy were the best in Canada. Target is the only place that allows you to price match and use multiple coupons per item. I never paid more than $2.99 for a pack of diapers and never more than $0.50 for a package of huggies baby wipes. With coupon stacking and gift cards, carlton cards were almost Free.
It’s unfortunate that most Canadians did not learn or know how to shop at Target.
Very sad for the employees. But it’s no surprise. I think I have spent under $100 at Target since they open. I do most of my shopping at Wal-mart mainly because it’s closest to me. I wasn’t very impressed with Target when they first opened and didn’t return to the store very often. So I cannot say I have bad experiences with them, but it seems like I usually come out empty handed. I just think most people just had unrealistic expectations that their prices will be like in the U.S. in the beginning. I also think they have opened too many stores at the same time. Should’ve maybe just opened a few in major cities just to get a feel of the Canadian market. Then expand from there.
Sorry, but to those who often find deep discounts and use coupon stacking etc., while it was good for you, didn’t you think that hurted their bottomline.
Price matching and stacking coupons is just smart shopping. Coupons don’t cost retailers any money, manufacturers reimburse retailers for coupons. Price matching got me into the door and allowed me to make the purchase at Target….otherwise I would have gone to the store with the sale. Target had their own coupon policy and often issued their own coupons to use in conjunction with manufacturers coupons. If their coupon policy was hurting the bottom line, they could have easily eliminated it.
I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my pack of diapers or wipes that hurt the bottom line at Target.
If you had figured this out earlier, you would have taken advantage of the “deep discounts” as well.
I liked my store at Metrotown,it was attractive,and the staff were much friendlier,and helpful.I too, liked the Archer Farms line,and always found something on sale.The store,sadly had few people in it,a restaurant,might of helped.Wal-Mart would be a good fit,at my location.K-Mart wasn’t around too long either,a while back.I had never been to a US Target,so I could never compare the two in that way…
They should have only closed half the stores at first to see how things go, and try a little harder. Its like we are sending them home with their tail between their legs.
I went there the first week it opened seen a piece of furniture I wanted but they never had it in stock, just had the display one I have been back about 8 times in two years and they never did get that item in stock they just had the display stand. Its like they just staged the store to look like they wanted to function but never really tried.
Maybe I can get the display of this item I wanted since they never planned on getting it in and since they will likely price it really cheap since they are now going out of business.
Sad for the employees but not unexpected. I keep coming back to the Canadian CEO’s interview when they were starting up, telling the listener that this Target would be a “boutique discount department store.” Then and there you knew they’d missed the plot. Canucks cross-border shop because of cheaper prices. That’s what they are loyal to…NOT the branding. They also oops with store location. If the store they replaced couldn’t make a go of it, it was poor decision making to think another store of the same type would. 🙁
I kept telling my husband, Target should play music in their stores, it’s always like death when you go in there. I certainly will miss couponing and price matching in their store. Sad to see the locals in Kelowna losing their jobs. Will definitely miss Target. They didn’t give it a long enough try at all.
I am realy sorry to hear that because all of my family specially my kids love target it is very bad
I will not miss them nor am I sad to see them close in our city. They overcharged and I could find the same things at other stores for half the price. Their stock was very poor and shelves sat empty a lot, so if you went to the store, you could not find what you were looking for.
I’ll never understand as to why Target shops throughout our country didn’t have a Pizza Hut Express nor popcorn being sold like you’ll find at Target shops or many Target shops throughout the States. Who knows perhaps just perhaps that that could have been an incentive for former Target consumers in Canada and therefore Target Canada may still be in existence but it’s obviously too late now to do anything about it.Finally I’ll admit that when I was recently at a Target store in the States that when I “feasted” on small popcorn I felt that it can be too filling so therefore the likes of me couldn’t finish the popcorn in a timely manner.Know what I mean?