See why Target Canada failed

[@LincLux]

Can we have just the Zellers stores back already? Like they had filled shelves and sections, they had a great restaurant, a good business, and even seemed to last more than 70 years.

[@dougtaylor2803]

+Curt Reyes (CurtChronicle) YES!

[@Mintzsh]

Yea I miss zellers , it was so much better than any other stores

[@naethanbest3225]

The smell is still rememberable, not in a good way.

[@staringcorgi6475]

Even if target never existed in Canada zellers would still go bankrupt anyway

[@sounds0fmeows]

i miss the Zellers brand potato chips Truly, even the packaging I miss

[@LittleLordFancyLad]

I loved shopping at Target when I go to the US, but the Canadian Targets were like an even-poorer man's Walmart. They were full of cheap junk that even a dollar store wouldn't sell, but at prices higher than anywhere else. If they'd offered Canadian consumers the same experience as American Targets, they'd be Canada's top chain today.

[@bananian]

Target is like Walmart except way more expensive and with less selection. I don't know how the top brass didn't research this.

[@redintheriver]

+bowens92 lol everyone said lol.

[@METALMAN4Wii]

Better Quality clothes tho.

[@gypsywoman9140]

@@METALMAN4Wii What Target were you in? I went into a few in different cities (was traveling for work) and most of the adult clothes looked like stuff the nerds of Big Bang Theory would wear: so many "ugly Christmas sweaters" except instead of pine trees adorned with tinsel and lights it was rocket ships and was back-to-school shopping season. Quality material or not, I don't know any adult who would wear a rocket ship sweater. 🚀 rocket ship. I don't think anyone in my child's grade 2 class would wear that, either, unless it was some space themed day at school. Even if it were space day, they'd probably rather wear Baby Yoda shirts instead of rocket ship 🚀 sweaters.

[@gedias1]

Target's main problem was getting in 20 years too late. The big boxes had already established themselves and had ramped up operations as soon as Target announced their intentions to move to Canada.

[@AllenMQuinn]

They would have succeeded had they done an Ikea approach, opened a few stores in Vancouver, Toronto, and Edmonton and tested the waters and focused on slow, long-term growth.

[@amtwhite]

Target also fired all the Zeller's employees and made them reapply for their jobs. Target always felt cold when you walked in. Zeller's employees seemed more connected and happier.

[@martylynchian8628]

How are Canadians shoppers different from US shoppers? They made that statement however they never expanded on it.

[@artirving6074]

Target wasn't really Target in Canada. it was in name only. Hudsons bay Company, owners of zeller's Kmart ETC made a deal with Target US for the use of their name only. Everything past there was just the same people who put their own business's out of work through the same reasons. sales without product. Purchasing their supplies through their competitors as they weren't allowed to use target products because of The deal the stores had put into place years ago when the free trade came out. The Growers wanted or needed some protection from the cheaper products grown in the US. The stores saw a great way to scam the people of Canada out of Billions of dollars by then fixing prices so there is no longer competition here, they don't protect the Canadian Growers as promised and no one has been able to revoke the law which protects them. They now make use of Ninety percent US Produce and farm products paying US prices, Shipping them here and charging Canadian prices for american product. This should be a violation of the Trust laws where there isn't supposed to be any one organisation controlling the prices. But the Government is so slack they need the money given them by their "Friends" in the Grocery Stores conglomerate to win their elections that they just don't care that we pay such high prices for food. In fact it is used now as was the gun laws of the US to keep the Poor at bay and hungry so that they won't have the clarity of thought to try and change things. And the advertisers make it so that people are fast paced and no longer take the time to Shop around to find fair prices. it is almost impossible but not impossible to find places who are willing to sell at reasonable rates.You can tell a grocery store all day that they would make more sales if they reduced their prices. But the Grocery stores target senior citizens, Every Time you see a new Grocery store built it is always withing blocks of new senior citizen complexes. Just so they can assure they charge as high a price as they can.I find them appalling to deal with and usually don't. I find examples each day in the stores where they have changed a price higher so that they can place a sale price over it which usually is fifty to ninety cents higher than what it was just a day or so before they put them on sale. If you go to our stores the use of Air Miles cards tells them what you buy and when you use these they see that you find things which you will buy because they are usually cheaper and within a persons Budget. They then use the information obtained from these cards and mark up the prices on these items so that no one gets a deal. It truly is appalling, but you can't get people to listen when you tell them that they enable the stores to fix prices by using air miles cards.

[@naethanbest3225]

The US super sizes stuff like shirts and string cheese, Canada is not like that.

[@thedailylifeofjay3822]

@Skunky Stinkerson That proves how we shop different. We will cross borders for a deal. Americans dont do that as often.

[@dasistliana5151]

Marty Lynchian because Americans think they know everything.

[@dasistliana5151]

cleanview70 I agree the US is supersized 🤣

[@anastasiagirl1342]

The only time I went to Target was to get a special edition of Catching Fire. But the guy at the store said they don't carry it in Canada. I was there ready to pay EXTRA for a extra disk! I have never gone back and I hope the Target stores are replaced by reliable companies.

[@BKAllmighty]

"...didn't understand the Canadian customer." WHAT THE HELL? That is such a stupid thing to say! We Canadians, like Americans, don't like expensive prices. We, like Americans, like our store shelves fully stocked. We, like Americans, ARE BASICALLY THE SAME PEOPLE. If Target was originally Canadian and decided to expand in to the U.S. and did the same thing, they would close for the exact same reasons! They failed. It doesn't matter that it was in Canada. They failed.

[@fdannn6926]

+BKAllmighty What they said was correct, Canadian have different buying habits than Americans do, and no we aren't "basically the same people" just compare the disastrous state of American politics and the biggest social issues in the US today vs Canada.

[@BKAllmighty]

F Dannn Target did not fail because we have different buying habits. I can absolutely guarantee that. My father and I walked into our local Target store the day it opened and knew instantly that it was doomed. Why? Because of the obvious reasons. The prices were too high, the stocking was pathetic, and the selection was disappointing in multiple departments (the grocery and shoe departments were absolute jokes - and the store didn't even sell watches). Every Canadian that I knew that had ever shopped at a U.S. Target told me how big the price and quality differences were.

[@fdannn6926]

BKAllmighty Actually, Canadians have different buying habits, because you know….contrary to popular belief Canadians are a different people..shocker!! there are dozens of articles about this very topic online. For instance, one of the many cultural differences is in how Canadians consume advertising and marketing. There is an incredibly low transferability rate between ads that were created in the U.S. and then exported to Canada without any alteration. In one study, 60% of effective U.S. ads resulted in much lower sales effectiveness in Canada. In other words companies can't just use the same commercials they show Americans and they show them in Canada expecting them to work just as well, they don't and its been proven. Other examples : On average Canadians spend more time online than Americans, yet in spite of their high rates of internet usage, Canadian consumers have been slower than Americans to embrace online shopping. ​E-commerce only represents about 4.5% of total retail sales compared to 7.7% in the U.S. Let me know if you want a link to the few dozen articles that go more into detail on it.

[@BKAllmighty]

Here is where we do not differ. We both want lower prices. We both want our shelves fully stocked and filled with a good selection of goods. We both want competition between stores and do not want Walmart to monopolize the market. This is why Target failed, simply and unavoidably.

[@fdannn6926]

BKAllmighty You can say that for all nationalities though, pretty sure every nationality wants to pay less for things and want to see an abundance of products. That is a poor comparison. Very vague.

[@maziku4749]

the target that was near me was totally stocked all the time. it was amazing. it even had a starbucks in it. problem is my town also has had walmart for 15+ years and the walmart location is a megastore. target opened too many stores at once.

[@TheGamingCanadian]

Mine too, it was in a mall but was always stocked and always packed. Now it's a Walmart.

[@jerryhobbs8247]

The Target store in Vernon British Columbia showed why the chain failed in Canada right from day one. Shelves almost completely bare and staff too busy pretending to be doing something when they obviously weren't. I visited that store twice and both times bought nothing because there was nothing worth buying. If this is how the Target stores in the USA also are then I am glad I never wasted time on cross border shopping and never will...because this tells me all stores in America will be equally as terrible, including Walmart (which over the past year or so has let itself get just as bad as Target in Canada, and as a result has made quit shopping there too).

[@StarSnowGhost]

I've never gone into a bare Target here in California. That being said, I'm trying not to shop there much for ethical reasons.

[@TRINITYADAMS69]

jerry hobbs I fill out online surveys for pay and I am always getting a Target survey and I tell it like it is; they are crap and are trying to compete with Walmart which they will fail every time. They say they want to compete and beat Walmart but they never have what I'm looking for. I go to walmart and find what I need each and every time. I hate Walmart, but I hate having to go to 10 different stores to get what I need more; when I can get it all at Walmart; that is what no one can beat walmart at; no matter how good their advertising or price structure is; Walmart has it all PERIOD :(

[@knockingowl4028]

SO disappointing. They took on too much too quickly. Less locations with fully stocked shelves would of been better. Damn sad. I liked Target. Much better quality then Walmart. CRUMBY.

[@WornSteve2751]

Target was a replacement of Zeller. But since Target Failed. Zellers is coming back in 2023.

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

I really hope Shopko expands into Canada in the future, they could open their first Canadian store in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada if they did.

[@AllenMQuinn]

Target was kind of like a first date trying way too hard and coming on too strong. It's a shame they bombed, but the problem was the hype was so over the top and they were so aggressive, but then you went to visit and it was like Walmart or The Bay, and it just really didn't prove themselves as worthy competitors to Canadians. That's why a lot of people didn't return or turn into loyal customers.

[@kevinbarton9052]

I am so sorry Target Canada is closing. It closes at the end of March 2015. At least I still work in Walmart in Ajax. However I have no idea what should replace Target Canada?

[@victorrodriguez6608]

Funny that Canadians would prefer Walmart over Target. Walmart is an absolutely trashy store! Here in the states we all know that if you want quality, simplicity, presentation, variety, cleanliness, and a pleasant shopping experience..... you shop at Target. It's too bad for them that it didn't work in Canada .

[@HollowHill17]

Walmart got everything and is cheap than any store in real person.....amazon is number one in online reliabiity

[@endezeichengrimm]

So what? If you can buy the same shit at walmart, why bother going to a slightly "cleaner" shop? There are too many department stores anyway. People could benefit from buying less useless shit.

[@victorrodriguez6608]

Because it's a better store. Obviously not in Canada, but definitely here in the states. To be honest.... Walmart is typically associated with trashy people. It's a stereotype, but it's rather true. So most people prefer Target. Plus not everything they sell is useless shit. Toilet paper, laundry detergent, toothpaste, medicine, etc. Hardly sounds like useless shit to me. It's not a Macy's.

[@endezeichengrimm]

They sell the same shit. You're not going to socialize. Just buy your shit and get out. Or better yet, save your money and stop buying useless crap you don't need.

[@JamesLeonardGraham]

Victor Rodriguez If we want something that is "cleaner" than walmart, we would go to Shopper Drugmart. If you're are not sure of this place, its probably cause its in Canada.

[@moysoyjoy]

The footage showed clearance at 90% off, of course there isn't going to be anything left. I'm sure Target Canada has had issues with stock, but choosing footage to support this claim is manipulative.

[@JmenChristpas]

As a millennial I think target arrived too early! We had no idea what target was before the rise of influencers on KZbin. Now we know what it is and would like to shop there but it’s too late they closed every stores.

[@edwardharley9]

The prices did not "fluctuate" like the presenter suggested. They were the same price as all the other stores in Canada. Identical. So what shop there. I loved going to Target in Bellingham....

[@shirlsa3227]

Empty shelves, higher prices and badly mismanaged. Of course they failed. I have never seen the US stores run this way.

[@sebs4990]

The Canadian customers wanted It be like it is in the USA

[@thomasrizzo4368]

This USA TODAY video lists the reasons why Target Canada failed. There were retail stores that had empty shelves, and little to no stock. Maybe the reason the retail stores were under-stocked was because the workers in the Target Distribution Center in Canada were treated as badly as I was treated at a Target Distribution Center in Michigan. I worked as a seasonal warehouse worker at a D.C. in Michigan, and it was one of the worst jobs I ever had. In fact, I'd go further, working for the Target Corporation is living proof that we now live under a system of Inverted Totalitarianism. I was under constant surveillance (like a bug under a microscope). In this place there were cameras watching cameras, (which are watching other cameras)... well, you get the picture. There was a "security group" called "loss prevention" which was a corporate police force that constantly watched workers and decided who would have a job and who would be fired. The Target Corporation has reached a level of totalitarian control that has rarely ever been reached in the world if ever... (you might check). ~~Amazon she's gonna eat Target for lunch~~

[@agent_mc]

I worked at a Target DC and they treat their workers like crap!

[@MaxRubyFan]

It Closed Down Target in Canada Putting Up Walmart. But. Going to Put Up Canadian Tire or Lowes in Much Room for Vacant Target

[@seventhuniverse8168]

Target should just close all stores. way Overpriced crap

[@artirving6074]

No Target in The US is fairly Priced shopping as is walmart. As stated before Target Canada was in fact the Old zellers they bought the use of Targets name, and they bought their good from Sobeys and Superstore who are fixing prices in Canada anyway. So if we ever got fair marketing back in Canada and the Government stopped protecting canadian Market shares, they gave this to Canadian stores to keep Canadian Stores in business, but they failed to recognise that when the stores got what they wanted, they stopped using Canadian products and began using US products. They bought these at American Prices and bring them back to Canada and sell them to us at the greatly inflated canadian prices. Canadian stores have been enjoying Higher prices on the premise of protecting Canadian growers and producers. But they can't compete at these costs so they use lower prices and charge Canadian prices. Profit is all they care about. If you asked your Government representative to stop protecting the canadian marketplace, the People would get cheaper food. The TWo largest stores in Canada have been fixing prices here for two or three decades, or right from when they got the Government to protect canadian growers. Well they don't and the protection should be stopped. It amounts to allowing the stores to make more money from a lie they told to make sure they didn't have to compete when the fair trade agreement came into play.Write your Government and ask them to stop this madness and give the advantage back to the people.

[@Igetit1980]

Thank you Seventh Universe. They truly had overpriced crap. I don't even go to target in the USA...as they were overpriced also.

[@seventhuniverse8168]

***** you must be a target employee. otherwise your experience is only a coincidence.

[@Clesarie]

If they keep making business practices like this they will soon enough. Plus retail is dying anyways. People only wanna go out for entertainment not goods. The internet will eventually kill all retail.

[@xavierwongli5637]

yep

[@bbsmith1000]

is target out of business her in Wisconsin please let me know

[@Igetit1980]

Just feeling sorry for the 17000 + who will be unemployed. Good luck

[@Clesarie]

Don't worry, Canadians broken employee system meant that every single one of those employees got severance packages and payouts after the company failed.

[@PryZy]

walmart 1:14 I WANTED TARGET BECUASE THEY WERE BETTER OMFG I WILL NEVER SHOP AT WALMART AGAIN

[@jaihind3053]

The downfall of Target was imminent. Why because: 1. Wrong Market ( Canada) - high taxes on everything 2. Broke Consumers - can't afford anything except Walmart / Dollorama goods 3. Too many items stolen from the shelves - a huge loss in the business. 4. Target's Bad Luck - a major drawback. R.I.P. Target, Amen.

[@Satoshi9801]

Target made the same mistake as Zellers: They neglected their stores.

[@chairr7336]

Walmart is crap. Target is a awesome store.

[@pumpkinboi3981]

walmart better

[@pumpkinboi3981]

Their beyblades are cheap

[@octov460]

aiga cho z burst were not talking about beyblades buddy

[@KeemySmith122]

Squid Walmart is great but zellers needs to come back

[@TheGamingCanadian]

Loblaws best tho

[@NYKID10014]

America stores are slowly stocked and holiday mech never gets restocked!

[@13mrfred]

im from canada i never got this problm cus the one we went to no one went there XD

[@Acecity17]

+KaktusJR CS:GO XD

[@TheLennyLegoShow]

Id still rather shop at a Canadian Target that the Mos Eisley UR I MEAN Walmart

[@vamphunterx]

All that glitters isn't gold, my friend

[@artirving6074]

We expected Target to be target and not zellers. Target USA has cheaper prices and they charged just as much as everyone else and when we found out they were the same price as the rest people wouldn't use them as we know what they pay in the US. We are fast becoming tired of paying higher prices here than they do in the US. Our Government protects everyone But the consumer. So when they said target was coming here everyone was excited, but when we aftyer watching what the American people paid for things people just said no.to another crooked store coming here to gouge the people. We want Stores here but we want the prices that other people pay. It is bad enough the Government protects landlord's Grocery Stores Gas stations, Building supply stores. We need to see the prices go down now that gas has fallen after all that was the reason they told us the prices were on the rise. We see decisions made on things like Wheat, where we have millions of extra bushels of wheat, but we pay two to three dollars for a loaf of bread, only to hear that they say there is a shortage. Give us a break, we are not that stupid. We want fair pricing and that doesn't mean all stores charging the same price. That used to be called fixing prices.Here when you see a sale priced item, you have to check and see what the price was last week to find out that they increase the prices marked on the previous price, then mark it down to a price where you actually pay fifty to ninety cents more than the regular price, and if you complain they simply say thats just how we do business.I would like to see all department stores be forced to do business like it used to be, and not these conglomerates who control all prices. They raise their prices faster and with more changes than gasoline changes theirs.

[@canadianturfsandwich1258]

Why open130 stores ? Why? Too much risk

[@yumyumyum2619]

A Target at a local shopping mall is like a couple weeks away from opening... I wonder if it ever will now, its been in construction for a while haha

[@canadiandude24]

Are you talking about the one in bridlewood mall lol?

[@yumyumyum2619]

Nah Bayshore mall in Ottawa lol

[@flexi33x21]

We had Walmart from 1997 to 2007 in Germany.

[@GoreHumanPudding]

A target just got built 1 or 2 years later it got closed

[@TRINITYADAMS69]

Must be nice to be able to waste money like that. Build 133 stores and now they are all closed. What a complete and udder blunder. The CEO should have his head on a platter and all the board members replaced.

[@fesswah]

udder blunder eh? like cows much?

[@TheEnergeticDuoOfficial]

133 stores?!

[@diskman3001]

Target was crap in canada! I can vouch to that.

[@sheteg1]

This is why it didn’t work. They took over all the Zellers locations. Those locations where in economic poor areas. Whoever decided that was the person responsible for it not working. I never went to Target because no location was close to my house, where people had $ go spend. Poor location manager.

[@epicscy]

i want target back because i went to there many times than walmart

[@unluckylance]

No popcorn and hotdogs at our Canadian ones

[@thehotelandelevatorsfan2007]

I'm glad that USA Targets Didn't Failed

[@boris2342]

Target didn't want low income people shopping there so they made them remove the bus stop outside the store

[@toweleyboy]

target in Canada was bad prices and I know in Hamilton.On and saint john nb they opened up in most old zellers stores witch both were beside walmart in Canada walmart well at least these to city isn't trashy its clean and better prices I remember trying to shop at target I went in it once in Hamilton.On and once in saint john nb prices were so much higher then walmart and sobeys

[@toweleyboy]

i would shop at the America target but not Canada target

[@Bugs3232]

Target never tried because if they had they wouldn’t have leased some of the most expensive lots like tourist attractions which is what West Edmonton Mall don’t get me wrong West Edmonton Mall is a great place but with rent in the thousands they wouldn’t have made much there WalMart is the worst for clothes poor quality almost always out of stock for for sizes both in leg and waist The last I heard WoolCo went out the same way as ZELLERS It’d be great if K-Mart came back to Canada

[@leng.]

The consoles were probably like $30

[@fernandocordovam]

Stop shutting down stores I don't like the bankruptcy stop bankruptcy 😡😡😡😡😡

[@fernandocordovam]

I'm not talking to the comments 😇😇😉😉🙂🙂

[@toddsmith1687]

Wow! target Canada looks like Walmart america! Lol.

[@quintintheskateboarder4851]

That's the one I go to in the first pic

[@KeemySmith122]

Zellers did a better job at stocking than target!!

[@curiousgeorge3735]

Lol, canada is just a poor investment. I left years ago with no regrets

[@fernandocordovam]

But before toys r us shutting down I will tell them to make it so much cheaper so it doesn't shutdown 🤔🤔🤔🙂🙂🙂

[@sicilianotoronto]

Influenced more by Europe, thanks.

[@anastasiagirl1342]

GOOD RIDDANCE!

[@shaneinkster]

Target should have waited until 2021

[@Andreas4696]

+Shane Inkster Why? They should waste 500-600 million dollars per year until 2021 to just make a profit then. If this was on a linear scale it would still take ages for Target to make up all those billions of dollars wasted just waiting.

[@shaneinkster]

+LegendMeadow I'm just saying target should have waited until 2021 to open their doors in Canada

[@Andreas4696]

Shane Inkster Why?

[@str8cndian]

target couldnt do business in canada,, because nobody can do business in canada!

[@zammmerjammer]

+str8cndian Tell that to Shoppers and Dollarama. If all of the Shoppers Drug Marts in the country shut down, all of Canada would turn into an episode of The Walking Dead overnight.

[@str8cndian]

ah ha! did you know that big businesses just threatened to close the doors in Ontario outlet stores this week cause the skyrocketing hydro rates? Get a grip pal,, it ain't a great situation over here,, far from it.

[@heavenmehorangediscos3675]

OFFENCED.

[@sicilianotoronto]

We thought target was trying to show us what the recession in the U.S was like or how the shops might look in Russia lol

[@orringoat]

I want target backkkkkkkk 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@dougtaylor2803]

+ingenious_orange I want Zellers back.

[@zammmerjammer]

+Gary Taylor I want BiWay back.

[@jorgegaytan3012]

they made and easy target out of themselves that's for damn sure

[@hedilou9369]

I MISS U TARGET 🎯

[@Rieleyhunt]

It's not loblaws XD! It's dominion

[@TheGamingCanadian]

Loblaws owns Dominion

[@0neofthem]

I work at target and this is just too funny

[@TRINITYADAMS69]

0neofthem I feel so sorry for you that you have to work at Target; but hey at least your working.

[@Joe402]

ARRET

[@josmond41]

Bring back WOOLCO!!!

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

+Jason Osmond Woolco is dead! Dead in the US since '83; Dead in Canada since '94!

[@TheTinkerbellTinkerbell]

it got replaced by shopko

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

TheTinkerbell41358 // Tinkerbell 41358 Shopko was established in 1962 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA, and was the first discount store to have an in-store pharmacy and optical lab. Shopko also merged with Pamida recently, and converted all the Pamida stores to Shopko Hometown stores. Shopko also purchased stores from the defunct ALCO discount store chain (originally a division of Duckwall-ALCO) and like they did with Pamida, Shopko also converted the former ALCO stores to Shopko Hometown stores.

[@95thRiflesOCI]

Cya crap company. GG brazil.

[@shaynnah1]

Hi

[@princessmarlena1359]

I hope it closes in the USA as well. My brother and I used to work there (different locations and dates). Shitty employer.

[@Lunarainne]

rest in piece my part time job

[@josmond41]

Bring back WOOLCO!!!

[@Justin-Hill-1987]

+Jason Osmond Or introduce them to Shopko or Meijer.