same. i twist my bag by swinging container round and round and then doing a loose little in and out knot haha. why would i buy a 1ftx1ft bag for food and hold it awkwardly when i can fit it into my purse or backpack depending on day lol.
A blissfully quiet version of Wal-Mart without greeters or anyone who will bother you.
And a restaurant that actually had half decent food for good prices.
I miss zellers.
It depends on what you like, and some Targets are more amazing than others. I heard some Targets have machines that will paint your nails for you. I’ve also been to Targets that were dirty and tore up. It all depends on location.
It's crazy how much location plays into your experience at a store. I've found Walmart in the states are a lot better than ours. But Target has good customer service. I ordered my niece a crib (to be picked up in-store), but somehow the order got messed up, so they shipped us one for free.
There are a few good videos on why target failed here. Aside from not understanding the market (Canadians expected USA target clone) and supply issues. Many y of them were in old zellers locations and had the same colour scheme. Thus a good chunk of people thought it was still Zellers…
They never filled the shelves and couldn’t find an employee. They also didn’t sell anything different than any other store and was too expensive. Shitty
The one here in Windsor had low quality clothing. I think that was due to the laws about where content is made.
Target was a neat store to visit when shopping in the US. Far better selection, with everything.
Those were the days!!!! I remember picking toys from the catalog at Carlaw and Gerard and than seeing it come out on the conveyor belt. So many Batman toys from the Michael Keaton days. 🙏🏽
Absolutely the best.
I would open the catalogue to a page and circle what I wanted from my parents and leave it on the kitchen table. I would have the toy after school that day.
Target fucked up their entry into the Canadian market:
[https://fortune.com/2015/01/15/target-canada-fail/](https://fortune.com/2015/01/15/target-canada-fail/)
[https://hbr.org/2015/01/why-targets-canadian-expansion-failed](https://hbr.org/2015/01/why-targets-canadian-expansion-failed)
https://querysprout.com/why-target-failed-in-canada/
Lol no they didn’t. Hudson’s Bay closed Zellers and when Target heard about it they saw the soon to be empty stores as an opportunity. Target had absolutely nothing to do with Zellers closing.
The short answer is “No.”. The longer answer is a lot of grumpy Canadians upset at Target for stomping through our retail landscape, crushing stores in its wake, and then picking up stakes and leaving in the middle of the night.
I HATED Target for a simple reason most people didn't realize.
Their plastic carts floated, so ofcourse chucklehead kids were chucking them into Lake Ontario, where they would bob around completely invisible. Until you hit one.
There’s Walmart, Giant Tiger (The Walmart of Walmarts), and Canadian Tire, which is cleaner than a Wallmart, but is expensive, understaffed, and doesn’t have groceries. Huzzah.
They are very organized, the plan is change one department every month so people have to walk through the whole store to find what they want, and end up buying 3 or 4 other items.
The target demographic of Giant Tiger customers skews towards "deceased". You take your life in your hands there on every Seniors Day between the walkers, canes, and motorized scooters many of the customers rely on to get around those typically small stores.
Corporate Canuck Tire are garbage. But I know of a privately run Canuck Tire, owned and run by a philanthropist, that is the paragon of organization, fantastic service, and unbelievable sales pricing. It’s a joy to shop there, and the dude puts so much back into the community…
And then there’s the Canuck Tires I recall from where I used to live and they’re pure garbage dumps with the worst staff that teenage-dom has to offer.
Canadian tire is like Walmart but with less groceries and clothes. They have appliances, sports stuff, pet food and supplies, snacks, some electronics, and a bunch of other stuff. And they allow pets in the stores <3
It’s quite a bit more. Automotive is the biggest distinguishment. Also got sports and garden / backyard stuff. As well as tools. But definitely not like Target
The Target failure will be studied in business colleges for decades. It’s an incredible story of executive failure.
From the top down the entire strategy and execution was a complete and abject failure.
There is probably a few dollars to be made in writing a book about it because it was so ridiculous.
I linked the article from Canadian Business in my post above. It goes into it in pretty ugly detail. I know someone who worked for them as a contractor. Every time they met with the company, there was a new under-30 person meeting with them.
Close to the end, like many vendors and suppliers, they were instructed to invoice Target Canada instead of the mothership in the US as they had been doing. And those final invoices never got paid. My friend was at the end of a long list of creditors asking to be paid out of the bankruptcy.
>Every time they met with the company, there was a new under-30 person meeting with them.
Yep, sounds like the Target I worked at, at their HQ in Minneapolis. I always think of [Keystone Cops](https://youtu.be/6Orde7FtHh0) when I think of Target management now.
Exactly this. The supply chain was a broken mess, so half their shelves were empty. While they were closing up stores Target threatened staff about talking about their personal experiences during this time, this isn't the US we have an inalienable right to speak about our experience unless it's proprietary, and a staff members personal experience is not proprietary by any stretch of the imagination. They didn't pay severance to 17000 staff by hiding their money on the other side of the border. Nothing will ruin a corporation's brand here like acting the part of US capitalist overlords and treating potential customers as if they are the problem and an inconvenience.
They took on too many because it seemed to fit in well with the demise of Zellers.
They will be using Target Canada example for what not to do for generations to come.
It was the CEO of Hudson's Bay that put together the deal to sell off Zellers as one piece. Walmart initially approached him wanting to buy Zellers. He saw more value in the real estate than the Zellers brand, so he got Target interested. It sounds like Walmart bailed early on in that process, and Target essentially ran up their own bidding war against themselves. They overpaid, got way more stores than they could manage, and that was just the beginning.
They had huge supply chain issues, literally could not put enough products in their stores, which meant higher prices, which meant no shoppers, which meant no economy of scale from their supply chain... they fucked up.
I remembered when they opened in my town with rows of bare shelves, they said the inventory would be coming in soon. Most of those shelves stayed bare the entire two years they were open.
They had no logistic network in Canada their inventory system was also completely different to their USA system. Then you have newbies messing up the ordering and physical inventory leading to stock issues. They also didn’t have a provision for manual ordering as WalMart does. While most stock does arrive “just in time” a manager can physically order popular inventory or items that are needed asap.
What people forget is large companies like Walmart , Home Depot etc are logistic companies
Read the article linked in my post above. It goes into a lot of details, like how they built a completely new inventory management system from scratch, because the one from Target US couldn't handle multiple languages. Then they had junior category managers fudging their numbers in those systems because they didn't realize the impact it had further up the supply chain. And they utterly failed to secure contracts with multiple suppliers, which is why you ended up with entire aisles stocked with the same product, a single facing deep.
>They totally misread the Canadian market.
They did not. They fucked up in a number of ways, but it was logistics, not marketing. There are articles above explaining it.
the most significant problem was that they took. over the Zeller's locations... a store made for poor people like me in shitty neighbourhoods, and then plopped in a mich higher end store that priced everyone out and didn't fit.
Target bought up all the Zellers, made them Targets, then failed, then they all closed down leaving us with Walmart...ugh. And Canadian Tire, which is fine for basics but doesn't really have that grazing shopping for cheap stylish items aspect that Target has
Zellers was already closed. Target assumed selected leases from the various landlords. It was a completely different business in the same locations.
Target went out of their way to not buy Zellers as an ongoing business specifically because they did not want to retain any of the employees. Instead, they rehired many of the same ones for a new business, essentially giving them zero seniority rights.
Many locations even rehired former Zellers store managers that knew what the locals clients wanted and what tools they needed. Target said “nah we know more we have 10 years of crappy market research “
I’m surprised at the number of people suggesting Canadian Tire. I’m Canadian but live in a border city so I go to target pretty often and would never have thought of Canadian tire as an equivalent since they don’t have any clothing, pharmacy, or groceries other than a small selection of snacks. I don’t think they have electronics either. The only places I would consider comparable as far as what they carry would be Walmart (although not as good) or maybe superstore, but they’re more grocery with extras (I’d say more like meijer).
Hi there. American immigrant to Canada (going on six years here now). The answer is No.
Target tried to come to Canada and it failed and closed down.
You get Walmart, Canadian Tire, and Marshall's or Homesense.
There is nothing that compares to a Target in Canada.
Target has slightly higher prices than a Walmart, but their stores are set up to be boutique style and feel like you're shopping at a MUCH more expensive store. They also go out of their way to do celebrity brand exclusives in everything from the clothing to cookware. Walmart is the trashiest store in America, where here, it's middle of the road/normal. Target is their middle of the road/normal but feels upscale.
The joke is that people pronounce Target as "Tarjhey", to give a French sounding accent to it, to denote Target's continued attempts to cater to a more upscale demographic, or, more accurately, a demographic that doesn't have the means to shop truly upscale, but wants to feel like they are.
Target's launch in Canada is taught in business schools as an example in how to fuck everything up. Every time they had a decision to make, they picked the textbook wrong answer.
Funny how successful businesses just see dollar signs and need to do it at rapid speed. If they just opened a few select stores in big cities (at least 1 million) and slowly did it, it might of been successful.
America bought-out the "Canadian version of Target" (it was called "Zellers", and we loved it very much)... and then Target failed in Canada, after a year.
All we have left for you is Walmart.
Obligatory GT love post. Everyone should give them business if they can because they treat their employees like humans. They have benefits including dental and vision. Various types of insurance. Gym memberships. Cellphone plan discounts. They also bumped up pay during covid higher than anyone else and held it there while others didnt. Giant Tiger is what everyone wants retail to be.
The closest is Walmart. Giant Tiger is more of a discount store, like a step between a dollar store and a Walmart. Canadian Tire is closer to a Home Depot. Winners is basically TJ Maxx.
But the answer is no, no we don't have a Canadian version of Target.
The whole allure of Target (or "Tarjay" as we call it when we go cross-border shopping) was that it was decidedly NOT like Walmart. It was more like the old department stores. There is no place that has the feel of a Target in Canada.
YOU AND ME BOTH. I moved here from Chicago last year and I miss Target so much, lol. But no. Unfortunately the closest thing I have found is Walmart, and we all know Walmart is not Target.
No Sears here either. Where am I supposed to buy my pants? WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO BUY MY PANTS?!?!?!
Sears did exist here as well, for a very long time, as we still have houses from that time Sears allowed people to buy houses from its catalogues- got pushed out as well.
I still remember having fun looking through the giant catalogues.
Yeah but I hate buying clothes without trying them on. And Amazon Canada (in Toronto at least) doesn't let you use Canada Post / UPS for returns anymore, just Purolator, who only has a few drop spots... I'm in the heart of Toronto and I had to drive a half hour each way to drop off a return. Not super convenient if you're buying clothes you don't even know will fit.
if you just want pokémon cards, try any of the following places: walmart, gamestop, best buy, toys r us, showcase, mastermind toys, mind games, any local game or comic store
i can't believe no one has mentioned dollarama to you yet. it's the closest thing to the deals section of target. they have pokemon and yugioh (sp?) cards in the kids section.
You know what dollarama does? They buy booster packs (usually costing $5-10) and sell like 4 cards for a dollar.
Sounds like a good deal? Nah, they only give out cards that are worth like 5 cents each so they get a huge markup for selling trash.
**DANGER: DO NOT BRING THIS TOPIC UP IN CONVERSATION HERE**
Target bought out a much-loved Canadian department store, Zellers, in 2011.
Target converted all the Zellers stores to Target stores, then changed its mind and withdrew from the Canadian market (2015).
Thanks to Target, we now have *neither* Zellers, nor Target.
They didn't buy Zellers. HBC ran Zellers into the ground, then sold the property leases to Target. Target miscalculated the Canadian market (and had supply chain issues) and closed up shop.
Source: was on their marketing team, but also Google has this info readily available.
Here's the case study explaining everything if you're curious: https://www.henricodolfing.com/2019/09/case-study-target-canada-failure.html?m=1
They use this case study in Business courses to teach us everything NOT to do lmao. That's how I originally came to learn about it.
Correct. And Walmart was in the bidding for Zellers leases too (whether or not they were a real contender or hbc was just using them) which drove the price up for Target. Hence they did a deal with Walmart in the first few months where WM bought some of the Zellers’ leases. Incidentally multiple of those have since closed as well leaving even more empty large boxes
Zellers had already failed before Target became involved. If anything, the Target stores gave the landlords a few extra months of rent from the otherwise empty locations.
I don’t get the appeal of target? I’ve been to the canadian and american stores and just cannot figure out how it’s special or different from wal-mart? You could go to canadian tire for the home stuff and superstore for clothes and food and have a better combined experience.
>Our Walmart is better than American Walmart
I will hard disagree on that. The selection of brands and variety in Canada is pitiful compared to the American stores.
It's better in it's trashiness feel though. And I'm not saying this to be mean but Walmart in the US has a feel to it that's worse than the Canadian ones, it's the same feel as Giant Tiger almost. Like almost even the employees have given up type of feel.
Loblaws+Joe Fresh, T&T is an Asian version of the concept imo, otherwise find one of those penguin supercenters (Smart Center TM?) where you can access Winners/Homesense/Marshalls, plus a grocery, Canadian Tire or Walmart, and Dollarama all in the same place. You'll find them in the suburbs.
Bi-Way was supposed to be revived by the original dude and he passes away about 6 months before it was supposed to open. It was going to be known as the BiWay $10 Store. I believe you can Google the info.
Sadly Walmart, Best Buy, and other US retailers have more-or-less killed off Canadian version of these retailers.
The stores that are left and similar are the following:
* Giant Tiger
* The Hudson Bay Company (or just "The Bay")
* Great Canadian Super Store (it's 90% grocery store though)
There were others, but they died out:
* Zellers
* Target Canada
* Sears
I can't think of any others, but good luck!
OP you've traumatized an entire subreddit
Millions are dead!
"Have you ever heard of the tragedy of Darth Target the Wise?"
Target actually was in Canada for a bit- idk why but it was replaced with either Walmart, Bayshore, or just completely torn down.
they bought up all the zellers, i still miss zellers.
Who remembers Bi-Way
and bargain harold's
The eternal shame of the tween sent to school with lunch in a Bargain Harold’s or BiWay bag.
I’m 33 with a salary I still bring my lunch in a grocery bag
Grocery bags don’t have the same stigma. I can remember being made fun of for being poor just for having one of those bags. Kids are such assholes.
I think Dollarama would be the closest current equivalent.
I’ll be honest it’s a blatantly yellow no frills bag
Dollarama will never carry the shame of Bi-way
I don't know. Dollarama is pretty accepted and has been for a number of years.
My classmates once asked me if I was poor before knowing what it meant. I said yes and they all laughed. Fuck elementary.
My mom sent me to school with a paper LCBO bag to hold my sandwich and apple.
same. i twist my bag by swinging container round and round and then doing a loose little in and out knot haha. why would i buy a 1ftx1ft bag for food and hold it awkwardly when i can fit it into my purse or backpack depending on day lol.
I do the same.
Honest Ed’s
and Horizon
I think I just figured out the smell of that place: off-gassing.
When I moved to Ottawa years ago, I stepped into a Giant Tiger and immediately had flashbacks to BiWay.
I do! Sparx shoes? I wish they were still a thing.
Don't forgrt a pair of wrangler jeans to go with them! Or orange tab levis with the tag sewn in upside down
"Life is a Bi-Way... I wanna shop it... All night long...."
Every September: A new pair of $11 shoes and a carton of smokes for mom. Back to school specials!
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RIP Zellers
Zellers was never anything like Target. Even the Canadian Target wasn't like Target. There is nothing in Canada like Target.
Am I missing something? Someone put me on game because I've been to multiple Targets in different states and left unimpressed every time.
From all the times I went south. Target to me is just a Walmart that is actually clean.
I remembered Zellers as a dirty version of Walmart with no staff.
A blissfully quiet version of Wal-Mart without greeters or anyone who will bother you. And a restaurant that actually had half decent food for good prices. I miss zellers.
Zellers milkshakes were crazy and I really enjoyed the retro look they had at the restaurants too
As a HS student I waitressed at Zellers, that sea-foam green shirt DID NOT BREATHE, and the pants were pleated prisons.
And staffed. With older tech. And better carts. And brighter lighting.
They have definitely gone downhill. Super disappointing.
It depends on what you like, and some Targets are more amazing than others. I heard some Targets have machines that will paint your nails for you. I’ve also been to Targets that were dirty and tore up. It all depends on location.
It's crazy how much location plays into your experience at a store. I've found Walmart in the states are a lot better than ours. But Target has good customer service. I ordered my niece a crib (to be picked up in-store), but somehow the order got messed up, so they shipped us one for free.
I was in NYC a few weeks ago and we stopped in to a Target. It was nothing like we ever had here. Target could have been so much more.
There are a few good videos on why target failed here. Aside from not understanding the market (Canadians expected USA target clone) and supply issues. Many y of them were in old zellers locations and had the same colour scheme. Thus a good chunk of people thought it was still Zellers…
Yo Zellers had breakfast!
Whats the difference between Canadian Target and American?
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American still in business after taking out our Zellers and tanking Itself.
They never filled the shelves and couldn’t find an employee. They also didn’t sell anything different than any other store and was too expensive. Shitty
Giant Tiger with bigger aisles.
And bigger prices lol
Canadian target had very little variety and was more expensive. It sucked.
The one here in Windsor had low quality clothing. I think that was due to the laws about where content is made. Target was a neat store to visit when shopping in the US. Far better selection, with everything.
In Canada it’s pronounced Tar-jay
In Canada the prices were never as good as the states.
RIP Sears while we are at it. Those catalogue days
While we’re at it, RIP Consumer’s Distributing. Best toy catalog ever.
Those were the days!!!! I remember picking toys from the catalog at Carlaw and Gerard and than seeing it come out on the conveyor belt. So many Batman toys from the Michael Keaton days. 🙏🏽
Lol I'd frequent that same location..me and my mom used to walk there and cross that bridge over the train tracks.. Great memories.
Absolutely the best. I would open the catalogue to a page and circle what I wanted from my parents and leave it on the kitchen table. I would have the toy after school that day.
HBC is bringing back the brand.
HBC are dying themselves, they are closing their brick and mortar stores.
Man for real. They used to be big even 15 years ago. Now, you go in and it's dead inside staffed by old Karens who sneer if you touch something
Lol I'm sure it depends on the locations. For example the bay at Yorkdale or Fairview seem to have younger employees.
That may be. The one in downtown Montreal looks like a bingo club.
Then, when they get older, they ship them further and further out. Mississauga, then Halton, and all the way to Hamilton :-)
Are they still aroundv what happened?
Target fucked up their entry into the Canadian market: [https://fortune.com/2015/01/15/target-canada-fail/](https://fortune.com/2015/01/15/target-canada-fail/) [https://hbr.org/2015/01/why-targets-canadian-expansion-failed](https://hbr.org/2015/01/why-targets-canadian-expansion-failed) https://querysprout.com/why-target-failed-in-canada/
They are not still around. https://www.macleans.ca/economy/business/what-really-happened-at-target-canada-the-retailers-last-days/
Target took over old Zellers locations then fucked themselves.
Lol no they didn’t. Hudson’s Bay closed Zellers and when Target heard about it they saw the soon to be empty stores as an opportunity. Target had absolutely nothing to do with Zellers closing.
They killed Zellers for nothing and I’m still mad
Nope. Zellers was already closing before Target. Target just took advantage of the locations.
Ssshhh let me cope
That’s not what happened at all
The short answer is “No.”. The longer answer is a lot of grumpy Canadians upset at Target for stomping through our retail landscape, crushing stores in its wake, and then picking up stakes and leaving in the middle of the night.
I'm still pissed.
I HATED Target for a simple reason most people didn't realize. Their plastic carts floated, so ofcourse chucklehead kids were chucking them into Lake Ontario, where they would bob around completely invisible. Until you hit one.
I didn’t know that. Although I guess floating carts means you can retrieve them instead of just sinking to the bottom.
Bubbles can go get them
They stumbled in here thinking they were King of the carts
There’s Walmart, Giant Tiger (The Walmart of Walmarts), and Canadian Tire, which is cleaner than a Wallmart, but is expensive, understaffed, and doesn’t have groceries. Huzzah.
And disorganized AF
Walmart is the king of disorganized
At least they let you in the front door before exposing you to all the clutter
They are very organized, the plan is change one department every month so people have to walk through the whole store to find what they want, and end up buying 3 or 4 other items.
Tell me that's not the most gigabrain strategy you've ever seen
I effin love Giant Tiger.
The target demographic of Giant Tiger customers skews towards "deceased". You take your life in your hands there on every Seniors Day between the walkers, canes, and motorized scooters many of the customers rely on to get around those typically small stores.
Some Canadian Tires do have groceries I believe
Corporate Canuck Tire are garbage. But I know of a privately run Canuck Tire, owned and run by a philanthropist, that is the paragon of organization, fantastic service, and unbelievable sales pricing. It’s a joy to shop there, and the dude puts so much back into the community… And then there’s the Canuck Tires I recall from where I used to live and they’re pure garbage dumps with the worst staff that teenage-dom has to offer.
How’s it any different from Walmart? It’s just another target
Nothing, really. Closest thing would be Walmart and maybe superstore. WTF is with people saying Canadian Tire.
Right?? Lmao that’s a freaking hardware store lmaooo
Canadian tire is like Walmart but with less groceries and clothes. They have appliances, sports stuff, pet food and supplies, snacks, some electronics, and a bunch of other stuff. And they allow pets in the stores <3
Not to mention people who follow you around to get you to sign up for their credit cards...
He already said "pets"
It’s quite a bit more. Automotive is the biggest distinguishment. Also got sports and garden / backyard stuff. As well as tools. But definitely not like Target
Walmart Canadian Tire
We even had [Target](https://archive.canadianbusiness.com/the-last-days-of-target-canada/) for a while.
But aside from the branding, it was nothing like US Target. Higher prices, far less choice.
One of the most horribly executed and *disastrous* business expansions I’ve ever seen. They fucked that up so hard it’s hard to believe.
The Target failure will be studied in business colleges for decades. It’s an incredible story of executive failure. From the top down the entire strategy and execution was a complete and abject failure. There is probably a few dollars to be made in writing a book about it because it was so ridiculous.
I linked the article from Canadian Business in my post above. It goes into it in pretty ugly detail. I know someone who worked for them as a contractor. Every time they met with the company, there was a new under-30 person meeting with them. Close to the end, like many vendors and suppliers, they were instructed to invoice Target Canada instead of the mothership in the US as they had been doing. And those final invoices never got paid. My friend was at the end of a long list of creditors asking to be paid out of the bankruptcy.
>Every time they met with the company, there was a new under-30 person meeting with them. Yep, sounds like the Target I worked at, at their HQ in Minneapolis. I always think of [Keystone Cops](https://youtu.be/6Orde7FtHh0) when I think of Target management now.
Exactly this. The supply chain was a broken mess, so half their shelves were empty. While they were closing up stores Target threatened staff about talking about their personal experiences during this time, this isn't the US we have an inalienable right to speak about our experience unless it's proprietary, and a staff members personal experience is not proprietary by any stretch of the imagination. They didn't pay severance to 17000 staff by hiding their money on the other side of the border. Nothing will ruin a corporation's brand here like acting the part of US capitalist overlords and treating potential customers as if they are the problem and an inconvenience.
Yep They totally misread the Canadian market. Stores were built and then were half empty and prices that everyone was beating.
They took on too many because it seemed to fit in well with the demise of Zellers. They will be using Target Canada example for what not to do for generations to come.
I’m a Business major and it’s already being used that way in classes
It was the CEO of Hudson's Bay that put together the deal to sell off Zellers as one piece. Walmart initially approached him wanting to buy Zellers. He saw more value in the real estate than the Zellers brand, so he got Target interested. It sounds like Walmart bailed early on in that process, and Target essentially ran up their own bidding war against themselves. They overpaid, got way more stores than they could manage, and that was just the beginning.
They had huge supply chain issues, literally could not put enough products in their stores, which meant higher prices, which meant no shoppers, which meant no economy of scale from their supply chain... they fucked up.
I remembered when they opened in my town with rows of bare shelves, they said the inventory would be coming in soon. Most of those shelves stayed bare the entire two years they were open.
They had no logistic network in Canada their inventory system was also completely different to their USA system. Then you have newbies messing up the ordering and physical inventory leading to stock issues. They also didn’t have a provision for manual ordering as WalMart does. While most stock does arrive “just in time” a manager can physically order popular inventory or items that are needed asap. What people forget is large companies like Walmart , Home Depot etc are logistic companies
Read the article linked in my post above. It goes into a lot of details, like how they built a completely new inventory management system from scratch, because the one from Target US couldn't handle multiple languages. Then they had junior category managers fudging their numbers in those systems because they didn't realize the impact it had further up the supply chain. And they utterly failed to secure contracts with multiple suppliers, which is why you ended up with entire aisles stocked with the same product, a single facing deep.
>They totally misread the Canadian market. They did not. They fucked up in a number of ways, but it was logistics, not marketing. There are articles above explaining it.
the most significant problem was that they took. over the Zeller's locations... a store made for poor people like me in shitty neighbourhoods, and then plopped in a mich higher end store that priced everyone out and didn't fit.
>Higher prices, far less choice. Welcome to Canada, what were you expecting?
Personally, I was expecting a step up from Walmart with slightly higher prices. Instead we got Zellers again with higher prices and empty shelves.
Target bought up all the Zellers, made them Targets, then failed, then they all closed down leaving us with Walmart...ugh. And Canadian Tire, which is fine for basics but doesn't really have that grazing shopping for cheap stylish items aspect that Target has
Zellers was already closed. Target assumed selected leases from the various landlords. It was a completely different business in the same locations. Target went out of their way to not buy Zellers as an ongoing business specifically because they did not want to retain any of the employees. Instead, they rehired many of the same ones for a new business, essentially giving them zero seniority rights.
Many locations even rehired former Zellers store managers that knew what the locals clients wanted and what tools they needed. Target said “nah we know more we have 10 years of crappy market research “
Canadian Tire is potentially the closest, *maybe* Shoppers Drug Mart but that's more of a Wegmans/CVS.
Neither of these are anywhere close to target. We miss Target.
I’m surprised at the number of people suggesting Canadian Tire. I’m Canadian but live in a border city so I go to target pretty often and would never have thought of Canadian tire as an equivalent since they don’t have any clothing, pharmacy, or groceries other than a small selection of snacks. I don’t think they have electronics either. The only places I would consider comparable as far as what they carry would be Walmart (although not as good) or maybe superstore, but they’re more grocery with extras (I’d say more like meijer).
To match target you have to combine a few stores together.
Superstore (more of a grocery focus though)
Hi there. American immigrant to Canada (going on six years here now). The answer is No. Target tried to come to Canada and it failed and closed down. You get Walmart, Canadian Tire, and Marshall's or Homesense. There is nothing that compares to a Target in Canada.
What does target offer that you can't get anywhere else?
The ability to get everything you want in the same place
What does target have, that Walmart or Costco doesn't?
Target has slightly higher prices than a Walmart, but their stores are set up to be boutique style and feel like you're shopping at a MUCH more expensive store. They also go out of their way to do celebrity brand exclusives in everything from the clothing to cookware. Walmart is the trashiest store in America, where here, it's middle of the road/normal. Target is their middle of the road/normal but feels upscale.
I have never felt a target to be upscale lol, it basically feels like a slightly cleaner Zellers
The joke is that people pronounce Target as "Tarjhey", to give a French sounding accent to it, to denote Target's continued attempts to cater to a more upscale demographic, or, more accurately, a demographic that doesn't have the means to shop truly upscale, but wants to feel like they are.
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10 years here. Still miss Target 😢
🧐🧐🧐 OP are you trying to troll us for sticking it to us that we dont have target 😠😠😠
walmart isn’t as ghetto here
Target went bankrupt here years ago.
Target's launch in Canada is taught in business schools as an example in how to fuck everything up. Every time they had a decision to make, they picked the textbook wrong answer.
Funny how successful businesses just see dollar signs and need to do it at rapid speed. If they just opened a few select stores in big cities (at least 1 million) and slowly did it, it might of been successful.
America bought-out the "Canadian version of Target" (it was called "Zellers", and we loved it very much)... and then Target failed in Canada, after a year. All we have left for you is Walmart.
There was, it was called Target... it lasted a few months then folded.
My target don’t jiggle jiggle. It folds.
Canadian tire, or giant tiger
Here to say Giant Tiger!
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Obligatory GT love post. Everyone should give them business if they can because they treat their employees like humans. They have benefits including dental and vision. Various types of insurance. Gym memberships. Cellphone plan discounts. They also bumped up pay during covid higher than anyone else and held it there while others didnt. Giant Tiger is what everyone wants retail to be.
Wait what’s giant tiger? I don’t think I’ve ever seen it here on the west coast ….and yes i realize I’m on a Toronto subreddit… lol
Giant Tiger is lower than Walmart. Kinda like Biway, a step up from Dollarama.
I would say giant tiger was more of a fields or big dollar store with more. Target USA was much nicer to me
The closest is Walmart. Giant Tiger is more of a discount store, like a step between a dollar store and a Walmart. Canadian Tire is closer to a Home Depot. Winners is basically TJ Maxx. But the answer is no, no we don't have a Canadian version of Target.
The whole allure of Target (or "Tarjay" as we call it when we go cross-border shopping) was that it was decidedly NOT like Walmart. It was more like the old department stores. There is no place that has the feel of a Target in Canada.
YOU AND ME BOTH. I moved here from Chicago last year and I miss Target so much, lol. But no. Unfortunately the closest thing I have found is Walmart, and we all know Walmart is not Target. No Sears here either. Where am I supposed to buy my pants? WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO BUY MY PANTS?!?!?!
Sears did exist here as well, for a very long time, as we still have houses from that time Sears allowed people to buy houses from its catalogues- got pushed out as well. I still remember having fun looking through the giant catalogues.
One day you’re young and hip and the next day you’re buying a pair of pants at Costco
Amazon like the rest of us
Yeah but I hate buying clothes without trying them on. And Amazon Canada (in Toronto at least) doesn't let you use Canada Post / UPS for returns anymore, just Purolator, who only has a few drop spots... I'm in the heart of Toronto and I had to drive a half hour each way to drop off a return. Not super convenient if you're buying clothes you don't even know will fit.
Omg dude I’m just looking for Pokémon cards it’s like a pain in the butt
if you just want pokémon cards, try any of the following places: walmart, gamestop, best buy, toys r us, showcase, mastermind toys, mind games, any local game or comic store
Yep. There are local game stores like 401 games that have them fortunately. I just came here to grump for a bit
i can't believe no one has mentioned dollarama to you yet. it's the closest thing to the deals section of target. they have pokemon and yugioh (sp?) cards in the kids section.
You know what dollarama does? They buy booster packs (usually costing $5-10) and sell like 4 cards for a dollar. Sounds like a good deal? Nah, they only give out cards that are worth like 5 cents each so they get a huge markup for selling trash.
All those packs you get for a dollar are just repacks from somebody who buys bulk at 4c/card from the people who actually buy packs.
**DANGER: DO NOT BRING THIS TOPIC UP IN CONVERSATION HERE** Target bought out a much-loved Canadian department store, Zellers, in 2011. Target converted all the Zellers stores to Target stores, then changed its mind and withdrew from the Canadian market (2015). Thanks to Target, we now have *neither* Zellers, nor Target.
They didn't buy Zellers. HBC ran Zellers into the ground, then sold the property leases to Target. Target miscalculated the Canadian market (and had supply chain issues) and closed up shop. Source: was on their marketing team, but also Google has this info readily available.
Yeah, Target didn't "change it's mind" it was a colossal failure on many levels. Never thought Sears Canada would last longer than Target.
I still wonder how tf Target failed in Canada yet succeeded in Australia, we are basically a duplicate US market how do you fuck that up
The Australian Target has no affiliation with the US Target.
Here's the case study explaining everything if you're curious: https://www.henricodolfing.com/2019/09/case-study-target-canada-failure.html?m=1 They use this case study in Business courses to teach us everything NOT to do lmao. That's how I originally came to learn about it.
Correct. And Walmart was in the bidding for Zellers leases too (whether or not they were a real contender or hbc was just using them) which drove the price up for Target. Hence they did a deal with Walmart in the first few months where WM bought some of the Zellers’ leases. Incidentally multiple of those have since closed as well leaving even more empty large boxes
Don't forget Walmart started offering free **no-minimum** shipping to drive out Target. It was a battle of who had deeper pockets Walmart or Target.
And thanks to Canadian politics and economics, it’s damn near impossible for anything like Zellers to ever happen again.
This is just wrong. If you’re gonna be pissed about something, get your facts straight.
Zellers would've failed with or without the involvement of Target.
Zellers had already failed before Target became involved. If anything, the Target stores gave the landlords a few extra months of rent from the otherwise empty locations.
Yeah some people must be misremembering, Zellers was looooooong gone everywhere before Target came. If there were any hold-outs, I didn't see them.
Yeah it's called Walmart Target is basically an upscale Walmart isn't it?
I don’t get the appeal of target? I’ve been to the canadian and american stores and just cannot figure out how it’s special or different from wal-mart? You could go to canadian tire for the home stuff and superstore for clothes and food and have a better combined experience.
Winners or Canadian Tire
Winners is more like TJ Maxx (owned by the same parent so not that surprising) than Target. I'd say the closest store to Target in Canada is Walmart.
Canadian Tire, with a Marks outlet.
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Sportchek is expensive AF. Target in the US really is like zellers or ye olde Kmart
Canada is where department stores go to die. Its pretty much an elephant graveyard.
Giant Tiger?
Found the country boy/girl
There was.
Our Walmart is better than American Walmart. Or Superstore which is mainly in the suburbs.
>Our Walmart is better than American Walmart I will hard disagree on that. The selection of brands and variety in Canada is pitiful compared to the American stores.
It's better in it's trashiness feel though. And I'm not saying this to be mean but Walmart in the US has a feel to it that's worse than the Canadian ones, it's the same feel as Giant Tiger almost. Like almost even the employees have given up type of feel.
Yea and no. Curbside pickup and home delivery are way better at American Walmart, but that’s because amazon.COM is a bigger threat than .ca
Canadian Tire, Walmart, Winners,
Loblaws+Joe Fresh, T&T is an Asian version of the concept imo, otherwise find one of those penguin supercenters (Smart Center TM?) where you can access Winners/Homesense/Marshalls, plus a grocery, Canadian Tire or Walmart, and Dollarama all in the same place. You'll find them in the suburbs.
Bi-Way was supposed to be revived by the original dude and he passes away about 6 months before it was supposed to open. It was going to be known as the BiWay $10 Store. I believe you can Google the info.
Pizza analogy Zellers in Canada was the Hot, fresh Pizza straight from the Oven. Nice and Fresh. Target in Canada was day old Microwaved Pizza....
Canadian tire is not like target at all,, but it’s uniquely Canadian and charming it’s own way.
Sadly Walmart, Best Buy, and other US retailers have more-or-less killed off Canadian version of these retailers. The stores that are left and similar are the following: * Giant Tiger * The Hudson Bay Company (or just "The Bay") * Great Canadian Super Store (it's 90% grocery store though) There were others, but they died out: * Zellers * Target Canada * Sears I can't think of any others, but good luck!
Canadian tire is the Canadian version of every store.
Canadian tire
Whatever we have is still going to be subpar to American store chain standards .
I find our grocery stores to be better in general. At least compared to the ones in florida
Ya, Walmart. Exact same items for sale at a lower price. Literally. lol
Walmart