We didn't have Target, but we did have other stores: K-Mart, Zellers, even (a long time back) Woolco. Well, Woolco got eaten by WalMart. Zellers bought out K-Mart, and then got bought out by Target - who has now closed. So yes, there's a hole in the market. There's now really only one player in the lower-end department store, and that's Walmart. Sears or The Bay are higher end stores, different target markets. Given that Walmart is notorious for being the worst of all retail evils, how good do you think it will be for Canada to have them as the only option in a certain price range? Bloody hell.
Not surprised at all. They screwed the pooch on this one from the get-go, and every store has been absolutely hemorrhaging money since they opened. I know several people that are suppliers for these big box stores, and they've been saying for over a year that things are dire and to "just watch". That, and it's obvious anyway. Walk into virtually any Target here, and you'll be lucky to count 10 people at any given time. Outside of the new logo, they still look & feel exactly like Zellers.
I'd would guess you'd probably miss the exclusives the most. But now that I think about, the last Transformers related Target exclusive I bought, was Animated Sunstorm & the purple version of Animated Shockwave!
To any Target Canada employees who happen to be members here: you have my sympathy. Losing a job sucks like hell.
Yup. Between the mass layoffs that happened (and are still happening) with the Sobey's buyout of Safeway and the subsequent store closures, this complete Target shutdown, and the bottoming out of oil & gas prices that are also already causing mass layoffs both in and out of that industry (ripple effect), it's shaping up to be quite a shitty year for us. Looks like all the predictions of a full tilt recession happening this year were on the mark, unfortunately.
This sucks....but yeah you're right Target Canada was really a let-down. I just wanted it to get good. I had an amusing thought that the closest Target to where I live could become another Wal-Mart again after it closed and became a Zellers and then Target.
I wish I could say my Zelelrs was anywhere near that good at it's best. The bets it managed was semi-regularly keeping the Lego aisle full. And yeah, my Wal-Mart's not too different. Don't forget our wonderful dollar is down to $0.83 to the US dollar!
I'm sorry for everyone having a hard time out there. I hope it gets better for everyone, I really do. I'm praying for you all, really.
Oh fuck me, and now THIS is happening too... Sony to close all 14 Canadian stores within 2 months - Business - CBC News
^^This, +me One article contends that apparently Nordstrom has the right touch in Canada, FWIW: Woe Canada! Many U.S. retailers fail up north - Jan. 15, 2015 And this slowburn: Radio Shack is edging closer to bankruptcy RadioShack may be near bankruptcy - Jan. 14, 2015
RadioShack has been out of Canada for years. And no offense, but 14 Sony stores isn't nearly as big a deal. One Target probably has more employees than the entire Sony network. Plus, who the hell shops at dedicated Sony stores anyways? That formula NEVER made sense to me.
I predicted Radio Shack's bankruptcy a couple of weeks ago. It's pretty obvious really. My prediction. Canada's economy will crash hard within 2 years. With oil prices dropping like stone, the housing sector will be hit HARD, which would then feed into the banking and other sectors of the economy. After that, it's the US turn. We are all just buying Transformers on the deck of Titanic.
It's a sad and scary state we are in. Target needed to do much more. Their prices were worse then Walmart (in Canada Walmart sadly is king of low price) and there was never any stock on the shelves
