Target is shutting down its Canadian operation.

Michael Hardner · January 18, 2015

They also want U.S. Netflix, Amazon, and Walmart. Tough crowd...

They don't see the link between the system we have and the prices we pay maybe ?

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

They don't see the link between the system we have and the prices we pay maybe ?

I am clearly not qualified to say or know, but something is out of whack for expectations and behaviours.

Don't they know that "free healthcare" ain't free ?

Bryan · January 18, 2015

Canadians expected to get an American Target, not a Canadian Target. They also want U.S. Netflix, Amazon, and Walmart. Tough crowd...

It's not either/or. It's both. Canadians want their Canadian stuff, AND they want to be able to get whatever else they want without protectionist agencies interfering. I use both the Canadian and the American versions of those services you listed (I would add iTunes to that list as well). Canadian MOST of the time, but American ones when there's something I can't find. That's all Canadians want, is to not be told what they can and can't have.

All of that is completely unrelated to the problems with Target Canada though. What they did just didn't bring anything of value to the retail space, Canadian or American.

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

It's not either/or. It's both..... Canadian MOST of the time, but American ones when there's something I can't find. That's all Canadians want, is to not be told what they can and can't have.

OK...but that doesn't mean Canadians can always get what they see in a foreign country's retail space. Canada is not the U.S. and vice versa.

All of that is completely unrelated to the problems with Target Canada though. What they did just didn't bring anything of value to the retail space, Canadian or American.

I disagree...Canadians have specifically expressed that they expected the American version, with American prices and wider variety...the very same reason they drive across the border to shop. How else would they know what the hell an American Target was like ?

Bryan · January 18, 2015

That's what they are suppose to do...is it different in Canada ?

As Michael said, it's less common in Canada because we ALWAYS have to fight off the ten ton gorilla from the south trying to take everything over, but it certainly HAS happened. Eaton's is a prime example. They were so big for so long, and the great-great-grandsons of the founder didn't have a clue how that happened or how to keep it going.

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

As Michael said, it's less common in Canada because we ALWAYS have to fight off the ten ton gorilla from the south trying to take everything over,

Fight off ? Somebody took the money. Simpson's sure did.

....so stop taking the American money. Problem solved !

Edited January 18, 2015 by bush_cheney2004

Bryan · January 18, 2015

OK...but that doesn't mean Canadians can always get what they see in a foreign country's retail space. Canada is not the U.S. and vice versa.

Yeah, it does. We can and do get anything we want. Brick and mortar stores either give us a reason to spend our money at home, or they die.

I disagree...Canadians have specifically expressed that they expected the American version, with American prices and wider variety...the very same reason they drive across the border to shop. How else would they know what the hell an American Target was like ?

Nobody expected the SAME pricing as in the US. What shocked us about Target Canada, was that for the most part, they brought prices that were significantly higher than what was already being charged in the local market. The different range of products, Canadians absolutely did expect, and Target brought none of it.

Bryan · January 18, 2015

Fight off ? Somebody took the money. Simpson's sure did.

....so stop taking the American money. Problem solved !

Not everyone took the money. Those that didn't, are left to fight for their lives against an apex predator.

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

...Nobody expected the SAME pricing as in the US. What shocked us about Target Canada, was that for the most part, they brought prices that were significantly higher than what was already being charged in the local market. The different range of products, Canadians absolutely did expect, and Target brought none of it.

Nobody ? I doubt that....expectations of any and many kind were not realized because of a failed expansion. Target was doomed from the Zellers 'git go.

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

Not everyone took the money. Those that didn't, are left to fight for their lives against an apex predator.

Enough did to impact the retail market and other sectors. See GM, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, and Toyota in Ontario !

Bryan · January 18, 2015

Enough did to impact the retail market and other sectors. See GM, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, and Toyota in Ontario !

It's a matter of inertia. When surrounded by predators, in many cases, you end up with no viable choice. You can either take the offer, or they will deliberately kill you off.

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

It's a matter of inertia. When surrounded by predators, in many cases, you end up with no viable choice. You can either take the offer, or they will deliberately kill you off.

That's still a choice....and they take the money. If they were not vulnerable in the first place, they could compete.

Bryan · January 18, 2015

That's still a choice....and they take the money. If they were not vulnerable in the first place, they could compete.

Anyone is vulnerable to something 10 times it's size with malicious intent.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Bryan

bush_cheney2004 · January 18, 2015

Anyone is vulnerable to something 10 times it's size with malicious intent.

Yeah...that's what First Nations said about the Hudson Bay Company.

Bryan · January 19, 2015

Yeah...that's what First Nations said about the Hudson Bay Company.

Good analogy, it's not all that dissimilar.

guyser · January 19, 2015

Then why didn't these small, oh so successful Canadian retailers gobble up the cheap Zellers floor space ?

They werent as stupid as Target.

Ha! I love this...."Zellers customers were old and cheap"....Target couldn't duplicate the Zellers experience !

You're right. They spent $5B trying and stupidly failed.

Why didn't Canadian big box retailers compete with Target for the space to begin with if it was so easy to make a buck in Canada ?

Gosh, theres a pattern here. Sure you dont work for Target?

Anyways, big box guys here weren't......so stupid and knew it was a stupid move.

Target was working with crappy Zellers locations and spaces, not purpose built super-stores.

I guess stupidity was mistake number one?

No wonder Target failed...it couldn't replace the Zellers suck:

Hmm...someone stupidly paid $1.8B for the leases....I wonder who that was.

And yet...Target will have $75 billion in gross revenue this year..

Wow, imagine if they had another $5B more on the bottom line.

Maybe then analysts would say Target was good , instead of what is now being said.

All of this in one day too!

Tip of the hat for making it obvious how stupid Target was thinking their arrogance would win over some other country.

GostHacked · January 19, 2015

It's not just Target. Sony has announced they are closing all Sony stores in Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sony-to-close-all-14-canadian-stores-within-2-months-1.2902094

I guess that is all that is remaining. As I've seen the Sony mall locations in Ottawa vanish over the past year or so.

Wilber · January 19, 2015

MEXX as well.

bush_cheney2004 · January 19, 2015

MEXX as well.

Yep...on this FP list of closures. I guess the difference is that Target failed on the expansion, but is still profitable.

http://business.financialpost.com/2015/01/15/canadas-retail-exodus-heres-whos-closed-up-shop-in-canada/

I am seeing "dollar stores" displace a lot of vacated retail spaces in U.S. cities as well, including former big box stores.

Bryan · January 19, 2015

It's not just Target. Sony has announced they are closing all Sony stores in Canada.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sony-to-close-all-14-canadian-stores-within-2-months-1.2902094

I guess that is all that is remaining. As I've seen the Sony mall locations in Ottawa vanish over the past year or so.

Sony stores were pretty much gone for years already. This is just the last few. They were an odd concept from the start. Just a show-room of the various Sony products available, all at 50-60% higher prices than anywhere else. They weren't really there to sell, just to showcase the product lineup. That was a bad enough strategy when Sony was a major player in electronics, but now they don't even have the prestige factor.

overthere · January 19, 2015

Sony used to be reliable, high quality merchandise that people would pay a premium to own.

That advantage has been gone for many years.

They try to sell average products for far too much.

Buh-bye.

kimmy · January 20, 2015

When a local Future Shop location closed, the vacant space was eventually filled by Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitters. It would be pretty cool if the empty Target here was taken over by Cabela's.

-k

Wilber · January 20, 2015

Sony used to be reliable, high quality merchandise that people would pay a premium to own.

That advantage has been gone for many years.

They try to sell average products for far too much.

Buh-bye.

They have lost their edge in several areas buI still like their TV's. The best I have ever owned. My 60" Sony flat screen has the best picture of any TV I have ever had. I have a 55" projection screen HD LCD that's still going strong with a great picture and outlived Samsung and LG flat screens that were bought after. Edited January 20, 2015 by Wilber

overthere · January 20, 2015

They have lost their edge in several areas buI still like their TV's. The best I have ever owned. My 60" Sony flat screen has the best picture of any TV I have ever had. I have a 55" projection screen HD LCD that's still going strong with a great picture and outlived Samsung and LG flat screens that were bought after.

OK. Millions of purchasers disagree on the value of their products, your experience may differ. There are specific reasons why their ship is sinking on thses goods, and price vs quality is at the heart.

And Sony itself disagrees, they are steadily moving out of many areas of consumer electronics. The reason is what I said above- they no longer make products that consumers are willing to pay a premium to own. Many makers now sell high quality TVs for very little money. They cannot compete in that arena.

Where their consumer goods future probably lies is in products like Play Station. They'll end up basically giving them away to entice people into paying endlessly for games.