Target Closing All Canadian Stores After Failed Expansion & Liquidation Sales

Monday, February 02, 2015

Update Feb 2 - We got word today that the Liquidation Sales will be starting as early as this Thursday, February 5! They are claiming that the sales will be comparable to Black Friday and are not expected to last past March. Sales will include up to 30% off. See more information here on a CBC news article.

January 15 - Did you hear the sad news today? Target is closing all 133 stores in Canada less than two years after opening!

The retailer reported major losses and said they couldn't reach full profitability in Canada until at least 2021. This has stunned Canadian shoppers and is a huge blow to Target's 17,600 employees in Canada.

I was excited to see Target finally open in Canada, as it's a really popular chain in the US. But like others have said all over social media, the stock just wasn't there, the store shelves were rarely restocked and I could see straight away that something was wrong.

Having said that, whenever I was near a Target I always went, the store was always neat and tidy, the staff were attentive, it had a good mix of affordable and more high-end brands (they sold Vitamix which impressed me) and a really nice beauty section (Sonia Kashuk, Pixi, brands that are only found in Target stores). The checkout lanes were quick too, compared to the long lines that you see at Walmart all the time (that says a lot about how profitable they are however).

I guess they blew it with marketing the brand right and getting people shopping in the stores. Perhaps opening so many stores all at once was a bad idea? They blew their target!

How do you feel about Target closing in Canada? I presume they will have closing sales coming up, so there is always that to look forward to!

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