Target's adventure in Canada

Hi, I’m a student from Ahuntsic College in Montreal Canada. I’m studying business management. It’s a great pre-university program where you can study economy, accounting and marketing. I choose this program because later, I want to be maybe an accountant or a businessman. Today, I will explain you Target’s history in Canada.

 First, Target is an American retailer that operates large retail across North America. Target offers a multitude of goods and it is the second largest discount retailer in the United States behind Wal-Mart. It was found by George Dayton in 1902, in Minnesota. At this time, the retailer was called Goodfellow Dry Goods and not Target. It’s from 1962 that we know this retailer as Target. 

In January 2011, Target announced that he wanted to take over the old Zellers places to enter the Canadian market. Zellers closed all his shop in Canada because he went bankrupt. So, Target opened quickly 133 shops in 2013. Sadly, in early 2015, Target closed all his shop in Canada as quick as he opened them. At the beginning of his adventure in Canada, Target envisaged a quick profitability by the end of the first year. But, after two years, they realized that they will be profitable only by the end of 2021. So, with all the concurrence in Canada, with among others Wal-mart, Sears, Loblaw’s, Metro and Sobeys, and their poor profitability, they decide after only two years to all the Targets in Canada. Target declared that one the main reason that they won’t be able to make profit quickly in Canada is because their quick opening in Canada would have hurt their reputation. Their adventure in Canada cost them more than 2G$ and they leave 17600 employee without a job.    

Reference:

http://m.radio-canada.ca/regions/ontario/2015/04/11/004-target-fermeture.shtml

http://m.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/economie/2015/03/29/001-fermeture-devancee-target.shtml