Target's Decision to Pull Out of The Canadian Market

Hey Everyone!

I can be quite opinionated and often times, decided to NOT voice my opinions on the internet. However, this time, I cannot be quiet. I feel as though I have a lot to say, both good and bad. I just want to be heard out and to have a voice on this breaking news topic which is Target closing down 130+ stores in Canada and over 17,000 employees losing their jobs.

I feel as though this decision made by Target did shock most people as it came out of the blue, but other people had seen it coming for a long time. Some consumers expected Target to close a few select stores, not to pull out of the Canadian market entirely.

I personally love Target and had been shopping in the U.S. before it even came to Canada. I was living in L.A. for a short period of time and would frequently shop there. Like most Canadian shoppers, when Target came to Canada, I immediately went into my local Target and began comparing not only the prices, but also the products. The brands I had fallen in love with in the U.S. were no where to be seen at my local Target in Canada.

I felt as though the product selection was so much better in the U.S. and that they had items we Canadians wouldn't be able to get here. Not to mention that the prices were cheaper in the U.S. as expected. However, that deterred consumers from shopping at the Canadian locations because they figured that they might as well wait until their next cross-border shopping trip to get what they need from Target because they will save money in the U.S.

Not all of us can get that time to go cross-border shopping whenever we wish as it takes a decent amount of preparation as well as planning. Also, with the snow that Ontario gets as well as Buffalo, making that commute to New York isn't always possible as there are set-backs such as the driving ban in Buffalo had a few months back. There is also a bridge most Canadians take to get to the U.S.A. and when there are high winds, that bridge gets closed because it is seen as too dangerous to drive over. Target: if you wish to not lose the business of Canadians entirely, then you should really look into letting us shop online on the American web site! You just need to adjust your prices to Canadian dollars which is really not that hard and the least of your issues/worries at this time.

Another point that I want to make which really bothered me for SOME TIME is that you COULD NOT shop on the target.ca web site! I do most of my shopping online just because that is my preference and I never understood why Americans can shop on the American web site but Canadians can't shop on the Canadian web site. Also, on the American site, it clearly states that there is no international shipping. Now that they have pulled out of Canada, will Target be willing to make an exception?

One issue that has not been addressed anywhere is what will happen to all the Target locations that implemented a Starbucks store into their retail location? I am not quite sure if the baristas work for Starbucks or Target. If they DO work for Target then disregard this point that I am bringing up completely. I wonder how Starbucks feels about this situation and if they are taking a huge loss from it?

I understand that Target was in Canada for a short period of time, about 2 years give or take, but wouldn't they have thought to not expand so quickly and to open a handful or so of store to 'test the waters' so to speak? I think that they blew up and expanded way too quickly only to fail in the end. I know they lost a lot of money here, but they were overly ambitious in my opinion. The market is very saturated and that's something Target should have considered before taking great measures for expansion.

Does anyone remember when Target had their 'soft openings?' I remember that they received a lot of negative feedback about them. It wasn't quite the response that they were anticipating. They have had their fair share of struggles and would it be fair to say that these opening were foreshadowing the future? I know often times the shelves were left bare and that just created frustration for shoppers. I had too been in those shoes at one point or another at my local Target when shopping for a specific item. Since I was used to shopping in the U.S. for my items from Target because I was living there, when Target first opened in Canada, I would see the EXACT same items I had purchased over there and right away noticed the price difference; it was always a lot cheaper in the U.S. for obvious reasons.

Also, if you are holding on to a Target gift card, make sure you use it before they are expected to close down within 4-5 months time. I am not sure if you can use a Canadian gift card in the U.S. You obviously can't use it online but hopefully things will change and make that exception.

A lot of consumers have grown accustom to doing most of out shopping here as Target can be seen as a one stop shop. Now our business will have to be taken elsewhere which is an inconvenience to us. 

I do applaud the CEO Brian Cornell for adding 70 million dollars into a fund for Target employees so that most of them are entitled to severance pay at the end of their journeys with Target Canada. This package will be for a minimum of 16 weeks.

I also heard on the news today that Target hired a person or a few people today in Canada and I would question why they would  do such a thing? Unless of course the management team was not aware of this situation until today when the media broke the news. They wouldn't be at fault in that situation. I find that to be terrible! I find that to be happening more frequently today which isn't right. They leave it up to management to tell employees that the business/store has come to an end. That is probably one of the hardest things that they have to do. They either hear it first from the media or their management team.

The big question NOW is: what will be replacing Target? I've been in maybe 4-6 different Target locations and the space they occupy has been quite large. Target replaced Zellers and before that, Zellers replaced KMART in Canada.

What will come next?   

Well that just about wraps it up. Like I had said previously, these are just my opinions. You are entitled to have your own that is completely fine. I just wanted to fill the empty blog post with words to let out my frustrations - to have a voice.

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@BeautyByBerrz

Until next time,

STAY CLASSY.

Berrz <3  

P.S. This blog was written just to get all my thoughts out and is not formatted in a very structured way. I do realize that. Focus less on the structure of it and more on the points I am addressing.