Target leaving Canada

B

BobF

Well-known Member
Location
Ohio, USA
Target leaving Canada seem like a serious problem to me. Two other chains were also mentioned but I did not catch their names.

I am just wondering why this should happen. I have been under the impression that Canada had been doing OK in their economy in recent years. Maybe that just is not true. I know that there is a lot of Canadian oil moving south and with some new voices in the US Congress there might be a lot more Canadian oil moving south.

Really surprise by these business comments. Any feed back to add to these pullout statements?
 

Yes, appears true

Two years after moving north into Canada, Target is leaving the country

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-target-leaving-canada-20150115-story.html
 
As a Canadian I'll tell you my thoughts. The problem was that those who did shop across the border at Target, found lots of selection and great prices. When Target came to Canada, the shopping public thought the store would provide more of the same and they wouldn't have to drive across the border to get those great prices and lots of selection.

What we got was high(er) prices, empty shelves, poor selection and so after a visit or two, lots of shoppers quit including Target in their 'go-to' list of retailers to visit. I would think it was partly Target's fault (stocking, selection, etc) and it was partly Canadian shoppers who forgot that our government layers on taxes and tariffs which the store is not going to absorb. Surprise, surprise right? In a nutshell, there's the reasons why Target is leaving.
 

I shop price all the time and Target is definitely not the cheapest. They are cheaper than higher priced stores but they are rarely the lowest price. Some items or sales have a good/low price But even some of their clearance sale prices on clothes are still not as cheap as Walmart or Kmart. In this part of the state they don't do well in the city but flourish in the suburbs. It's like they travel on the perception of cheap. Quite frankly I never understood their success.
 
Canadians like Walmart and we like it a lot. Target came on board in Canada well after Walmart was well established. Canadians are a loyal bunch and most did not switch. I went once to Target and found empty shelves, higher prices.
 
WhatInThe said:
I shop price all the time and Target is definitely not the cheapest. They are cheaper than higher priced stores but they are rarely the lowest price. Some items or sales have a good/low price But even some of their clearance sale prices on clothes are still not as cheap as Walmart or Kmart. In this part of the state they don't do well in the city but flourish in the suburbs. It's like they travel on the perception of cheap. Quite frankly I never understood their success.
Click to expand...

No Target is not the cheapest. I think some of their success is a brilliantly clean store, attractive display and well stocked shelves. Walmart & Kmart.... not so much. My local Target also has Starbuck's coffee which is a plus for me.
 
Observations so far are quite correct. Target has never been called the lowest cost store. But they do keep their stores a step or two ahead of K-Mart or Wal-Mart for cleanliness and well stocked shelves. Target has always look much neater to me when I do shop there. And yes I do wait in the coffee shop while the wife does her shopping.

If there were empty shelves in the Canadian stores then It had to be management, or staff, not doing right. Staff in the stores I have been in were all busy at all times. Cashiers were busy tidying up shelves nearby and always ready to take on a customer that entered the checkout area. Others can be see moving about the store and bringing in stock or rearranging shelves to keep them tidy. I seldom saw two standing around doing conversations. It appeared that they were always busy doing something.

Well, I feel that their loss is not good for Canada's shopping experience. I remember one store we visited in central or western province was somewhat western in decore, the staff had folks on roller skates zipping around doing whatever. I thought that was an interesting place to visit. Don't remember what they sold as that was years ago.
 
I seldom shop at Target because I don't like their prices. I'm there a lot more now because that's where my prescription plan requires me to get my meds. What I do appreciate about Target is their cleanliness, well-lighted stores, clear shelf pricing and the fact that I have never asked a Target employee a question that they weren't either able to answer themselves or that they would get someone immediately to help me. If they DO say "it's not my department", it's always followed by "but I'll get someone who can help you." They are about as cheerful and polite as you can expect people dealing with the general public to be. If there's a problem, there is a manager there on the jiffy.

I do most of my routine shopping at Walmart because #1 - I'm cheap, #2 - they usually (but not always) have the lowest price on canned goods, dry goods, etc., #3 - I'm cheap, #4....it's the nearest big store to me, and #5 - I'm cheap. Did I mention I'm cheap? I have met some very friendly and helpful employees at Walmart, but they are the exception, not the rule in my opinion. I don't blame them....I'd be depressed if I had to work at Walmart, too. It's frequently hard to find the price on something unless you can find one of those pricing machines on a column. God forbid you should manage to find an employee and ask if they have any more of this or that back in the stockroom or when that or this will be back in stock. The usual answer is a flat "no" or a flat "I don't know". I can probably count on one hand the number of times that an employee has offered to go back and try to find something for me. It's not easy to find a store manager or department manager, either. I think they hide back in the stockroom along with all the things that "aren't back there".

I wish I could afford to do all my shopping at Target, but until I win the lottery or my pension doubles, I'm stuck with Walmart.
 
I'm just like jujube re Walmart & Target except i have wider choice of where To get Rx. My biggest complaint with WM is not enough checkout lines, don't restock popular products promptly. My grandson & wife love Target. They are in early 20s, like modern things & styles but need to be thrifty. WM stuff often boorrrrinnnggg & blah.
 
Have always loved Target Australia.
Bought woolen jumpers at Target Australia 30 years ago, and they're still in good shape, perfect for cool days in the Melbourne winter.
The Target range seems to last and last (although products are made in the same country as the ones in KMart, Best and Less, also Big W.)
I'm puzzled why "Target" should be leaving Canada!
:nicethread:
 
I HATE Wal-Mart, but I shop there for a lot of things, like food staples (flour, etc.), paper products and cleaning stuff, etc. For most everything else foodwise I shop at a local Sprouts store -- their produce is better and surprisingly, cheaper. Their bread is better, and frequently their dairy stuff is cheaper than Wal-Mart. They actually have employees who will help you.

I used to get my prescriptions at Wal-Mart, but when they built the new store, they moved the pharmacy way to the back of the store. When I was waiting for my hip replacement surgeries, it was almost impossible for me to get clear to the back of the store and back, and their handicapped carts were always out of order or had teenagers joyriding in them. So I switched to Walgreens, where they have a drive-up. There's now a new Wal-Mart with a drive up window at the pharmacy, but I've just stayed at Walgreens -- it's closer anyway and my RX plan allows me to go to either one and the prices are of course the same to me.

I've never much cared for Target -- not sure why. Maybe it's because it has been out of the way for me.
 
We shop Target as much as possible over Walmart because of the already mentioned reasons and one more, which will draw the ire of some or maybe most people. We feel that the class of people at Target, or at least the local Target here is a step up over Walmart. With Walmart having the lowest prices, it also entices low income along with the under privileged to shop there. This is not to be demeaning, just a fact. I have seen some pretty scary looking people and some things go on inside Walmart that I have not witnessed at Target, e.g.; little children being threatened by their 'parents' to "shut up or I'll give you something to really cry about", "next time you're staying home with Grammy" and pulling them by their little arms and other forms of abuse. Also, some people think that when they go to Walmart that they are dressing for the Mardi Gras and so many other situations that I have run into. One that comes to mind is the time we went to Walmart to pick up some toiletries and we saw this Dude (?) I think with spiked hair about 8"-10" high, (that's OK), but then he had tats over 80% of his exposed body parts and piercings out the kazoo. I made the comment to my wife with a couple of older ladies standing nearby, "Oh, look Dear, the circus is in town." The one lady turned to me looking very serious and I thought to myself, "Oh, great, it's her Grandson." Instead, she said, "That would be funny, if it weren't probably true."

If people are truly low income or disadvantaged and shop at Walmart, I understand and that's fine. I don't expect them to dress like they just walked out of Macy's, but be neat and comb your hair and wear clothes that fit. Anyone can shop at the thrift shop and still look neat, if they also follow proper hygiene. I mean, wearing one's pajamas is not considered fashionable, is it?
 
I!m hoping that the Dollar Store starts stocking underwear soon...
 

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