Canadian here. I'll tell you why Target failed. Target was given a big welcome in Canada with a lot of fanfare. I've shopped Target in America and I was looking forward to it. They took over Canada's Zeller's stores, so they had pre-existing markets with customers ready and eager to spend. Why they failed was because the stores were stocked with garbage. We walked in, looked around, and walked out. What items that were available you could buy at the dollar discount stores for one tenth of the price. Shelves were bare, and after going back for several weeks, waiting for things to improve, we gave up. We got the feeling Target was shipping all of their junk north, thinking Canadians were stupid enough to buy anything. Wrong. Canadians are savvy consumers and expect value for their money. With Target replacing Zellers, Canadians expected mid/high quality goods for fair prices. That was not what Target offered. Once word came Target was closing, except for the thousands that lost their jobs, Canadians were glad to show them the door. No worries for Target though, as they probably got a great tax write off for the failure.

As a Canadian, my opinion the reason Taget failed in Canada was because Canadian walked into those stores expecting to see products and Brands we found when we were in the US stores but instead we walked in the stores seeing the Exact same thing we already had in our store, specifically Walmart.

As usual this misses one important factor. After you went to target once, you noticed the item prices seemed high. So you would google it, find the Walmart listing, which was usually the store next door, and find the exact same item cheaper. After that, Target became an expensive place to buy cheap stuff, when literally every other store sold the same thing but at a lower price. This got worse when people learned target's price for the same item in the states was cheaper even after including exchange rates. I believe W5 even did a report on how retailers (with an accidental focus on target) were purposely marking up Canadian prices with the idea that the market would take it anyways. And Walmart took over everything. Like many companies, target came in thinking Canadians are just a bunch of Americans with more money. By the time the truth was learned, it was too late.

As a Canadian who went to a target in the us and in Canada. We got none of the deals and they refused to stock what we wanted. They made no effort to compete with anyone else. So we just kept going to Walmart. Target rode in with the middle finger or demanding that we just give them money when the same thing was available down the street for a lower price. Also the American staff training the Canadians often came across as being very abrasive.

As a Canadian, one of the other biggest flaws that I would say was the selection of items. Whenever we cross the border into the United States and go to Target, it's because they have alot of stuff that none of the stores in Canada sell not to mention the much lower prices. The items prices and sizes of products are actually quite different when you compare Canadian products to American ones and Target didnt seem to bring any of the products or low prices to Canada and what they essentially had was a low quality copy cat of a Walmart.

When I was living in Palm Springs, we had a lot of Canadian snowbirds come down to escape the winter. They were delighted with the local Target and said that the Canadian Target stores were horrible--one lady asked "Why can't we have stores like this?" Whoever was in charge of the Canadian expansion really screwed up.

Sounds like the issue was they were so focused on opening 124 stores instead of maybe 20-30 as a stepping stone

A big part of the downfall in Canada was the Zellers takeover. In my city Zellers was very popular meaning Target had large shoes to fill. I can recall being very underwhelmed at my first visit and some lady laughing loudly for all to hear "I want my Zellers back!" From our local perspective, Target bought our beloved Zellers, gutted it and then left town. After Sears Canada collapsed it has left us in a huge hole with only ONE true dept store to cross shop at: Walmart. Yeah, still feelin' it.

As a Canadian the issues I noticed: -Canadians expected a rival to Walmart and hoped this translated to lower prices. This didn't happen. Target's prices were higher than Walmart. -Target did not have brand loyalty in Canada. Without at least starting with lower prices, many Canadians went once and not again. -Target had problems keeping shelves full. The consumers that did shop at Target soon found empty shelves. -Products Target did carry were not different from anyone else. Again without establishing brand loyalty. There was no reason to shop at Target when Walmart was cheaper

Nova Scotian here. One of the reasons Target failed in Canada: our geography. Canada is a massive country that by any standard is sparsely populated. We are only 38,000,000 in the second largest country in the world. California has more people than all of Canada. Instead of focusing on larger urban areas like Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, they opened stores literally everywhere. Our consumer preferences in Canada are basically a carbon copy of the United States. Let's be honest, we are very similar people. In Nova Scotia we have just over a million people. They opened 3 stores here immediately, 2 of which were in Halifax with a population of only 500,000. One of their stores was in the Sydney area with a population of less than 100,000 with 3 existing Wal-Mart stores. I went to Target a lot locally. By comparison, Halifax has 5 Wal-Mart stores, one for about every 100,000 people. The Target stores were either half empty, or bare. They had zero distribution network as they were trying to fill way too many stores. They should have focused on the big markets first, and let it grow organically. People were turned off with the quality and availability of products. There was definitely an opportunity for a mid-level department store in Canada, and Target fit the bill. They simply tried to expand too quickly and didn't realize just how damn big Canada is.

As a former worker during those times working at a supply chain that handles product for Target in Canada, I can confirm that it was indeed a mess. What was even more embarrassing was the fact that the labels we were putting on the outer box (that was used to locate items in the warehouse) were displayed in store. Target should’ve focused on a handful of stores and test the market instead of rushing everything nationwide..

They didn't hire Canadians to run the operation, and American executives didn't understand Canadian idiosyncrasies. It was sheer ignorance and arrogance on the part of Target. The market was theirs for the taking. Like many others, I was excitedly anticipating the opening of their stores, and could not believe the bare shelves and unexpectedly high prices. I never returned.

Target advertised a Remembrance Day sale in Canada (Veteran's day in USA). This went over like a lead balloon. Remembrance day in Canada is a somber day, the backlash against Target was severe, and they apologised for the sale.

Note: I loved Zellers. Not all shiny like the Target store but a comfy place to shop with reasonable quality products. I miss those stores.

I clearly remember the first thought I had when I walked around Target “Do they think us Canadians are idiots?” The products were really cheap and the prices were really high. I went once and never went back

Target failed in Canada because they had none of the deals they had in the US. They were also over ambitious by taking over Zeller's leases and opening many stores at once, which led to logistical problems.

Target didn't do their homework a dived in head first without seeing how deep the water is. This resulted in logistical nightmares causing shelves to be chronically empty (and this happened before the pandemic which is pretty sad). Walmart on the other hand took their time and started slow by acquiring Kmart Canada & Woolco for starters and grew steadily over the years. Target thought they could do the same thing in months that Walmart took decades to accomplish.

In the US, Target is seen as a slightly more upscale version of Walmart. In Canada, where frankly I think Walmarts are of a higher quality than in the US, Target was simply seen as just an unnecessary duplication of Walmart.

I used to visit my cousins in Illinois every summer and loved going to target. Years later they opened in Ontario and I was excited. I eventually got around to checking the stores out just to be majorly disappointed. It was more or less a glorified dollar store. The market is here if companies (like Walmart) actually care to invest in it. Sending a bunch of junk that nobody in the US wants isn't the way to go about it.

One of the biggest reasons Target failed in BC was because people were expecting the same selection of goods found in US Target stores to be in the Target stores in the Lower Mainland.

Not mentioned in this piece is that when Walmart took over the Woolco stores in Canada in 1994, the stores were kept open during the remodelling. Target, on the other hand, closed down the old Zellers stores they took over for months during a complete renovation, letting customers develop other shopping habits. Another problem was pricing. Canadians were expecting US Target prices when instead they were inflated, even with the currency exchange taken into account.

My wife and I loved Target in the USA. We moved to Canada in 2007 and were very pleased when Target announced their rollout in Canada. They just never had any amount of stock in any stores so we just stopped going. No surprise it failed.

I remember that people were super-excited about Target coming to Canada. One of my friends had even been hired as a manager at one of the stores, and he'd drunk the kool-aid DEEP on Target culture and how it would be the best thing that had happened to the Canadian retail market in years. And then it was just SO DISAPPOINTING when they actually opened.

Target is yet another example of the American company failing to do their homework when attempting to set up shop in Canada or messing up an acquired Canadian company. Doing business in Canada isn't that easy.

Here in Canada it was a disaster. Horrible clothing labels, ridiculous prices. I went to a couple different Tagets and walking around was like being at a funeral. No music playing, shelves looked full in some places but it was an illusion because behind the first row there was nothing. Target came here thinking Canadians would just accept thier messy inconsistent business but learned quickly. In Canada if you are not consistent, organized, professional and have the product and labels you are done.

As someone who never heard of Target until it opened in Canada and finding it extremely lack luster, I was always curious why I was always seeing these videos in America about people loving the store. This video explains it, thanks!

As I Canadian I can say people were mostly disappointed with the prices when compared to Walmart which had stores in basically every city that Target did but had been there already for many years. Also by taking over Zellers stores, which had a bad reputation for dirty and disorganized stores, and then opening with bare shelves made people think of Target as Zellers with a different name.

Logistics is Targets great weakness in the states too. Many times I’ve had to leave Target and go to a competitor due to empty shelves at Target.

My kitchen had a better selection of products than our Target did. Sure they had 8 stand mixers but they were the same model and just in different colors. Prices were outrageous and it really felt like we got all the American rejects. I counted down the days until our Target opened and when I went I walked out of there empty handed, it was almost like a bargain bin but at premium prices for garbage.

I’m a Canadian. In our city we got a target but my family didn’t go there after the buzz wore off. IMO they sold clothes which I’m not going to wear what I perceive to be Walmart level clothing. They had groceries, but Walmart had more. I didn’t understand the point of the store, seemed like a random smattering of products. I had no reason to go there as Walmart already had every product I could need.

I used to work with Canada’s largest consumer electronics distributor, we were barely able to get any product loaded into Target from what I remember. The relationships weren’t there.

REAL REASON: Walmart period…..Walmart is viewed DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT in Canada then in the US. In the US middle class people don’t dare go to Walmart. When we visited our cousin in the US and said we wanted to go to Walmart, she said, “We don’t go to Walmart!” In Canada, everybody goes to Walmart, from rich to low income. That’s why we have Walmarts right in the middle of our rich neighborhoods also. Walmart had a 20 year head start in Canada (no Target), which allowed them to get a massive foothold in Canada and to create a “Canadian” perception of Walmart. So knowing all this….why would ANY Canadian consumer go to Target when the prices were A LOT more than Walmart?!?

Something that shouldn't be ignored also is that fact that, although they said they wanted to focus on the physical stores instead of online retail, they simply disregarded their website pretty much entirely. I used the Wal-Mart website all the time just to see if a certain product was being sold by Walmart and if they had any in stock. When I tried to go on Target Canada's website to do the same, I realized it was just a PDF image or their weekly discount flyer... No way to know if they would sell whatever I was looking for or to know if they had it in stock. So I had to go to the store in person to see if they sold what I was looking for and that's when I saw how empty it was. That was the first and last time I went there, they closed not long after.

They closed Zellers, ripped down stores and re-built them. Windsorites, travel to Detroit MI to shop at Target and seeing prices that were not good like the US and just not being Zellers was a turn off. I could go into Zellers and usually find things that were what I wanted and priced well. I just couldn't find what I wanted from Target Canada.

Excellent piece, my comment about Target Canada when I visited a local store here in Montreal, is that they were not offering anything different than any other local retailer. And the pricing was similar. I was hoping a US retailer was going to have some exclusive products on their shelves like bbq sauce from Texas, herbal supplements from California, ready frozen philly cheese steak from Philadelphia, and brands that are not available here, extra large muffins that I can only buy at Price Chopper when I go to Vermont. Canadians like me where looking for something special, when I shopped, I only saw the same sold in all the other stores, there was no difference!

Canadians wanted the shopping experience they had, when crossing the border to shop in Target in the US. What they got was what was already sold at Wal-Mart, and empty shelves. There was SO MUCH enthusiasm when Canadians heard that Target was coming to Canada! I don't know what we got, but it certainly wasn't what we wanted. There was literally no reason to shop there. Target had to work hard to fail here.

I went to Target in Calgary three times. The first time I thought they were still getting their feet under them. The second time was worse. The third time was the 90% closing sale.

Why didn't they just build a few stores to test the market? I mean 124 stores in a market they obviously didn't research very well? Dam!😳 I live in Toronto and though I was born in the US the culture here is not exactly the same.

It's simple, target offered budget products at a premium price. They took over Zellers, the budget chain from the Bay Stores and introduced prices much higher that Zellers. Zellers was failing due to high prices and could not compete with Walmart. When Target was introduced to Canada as a better Walmart, but it was way more expensive for similar products Canadians were not impressed.

Don't forget Loblaw and Canadian Tire. But honestly, did you think these retailers were going to stand back while Target entered Canada? Heck no! Walmart aggressively added stores all over the country (even building one in my district a block away an existing Target store; opening literally weeks after Target shut down). Also, these established retailers fought back with enhanced digital offerings and loyalty programs to entice shoppers, and boy did it work! You could thank Target for giving power to the consumer.

Canadian here. I was expecting a competitor to Walmart. What we got was empty shelves and higher prices. It fails because there was NO point going to Target instead of going to Walmart.

Another reason it failed… WALMART. Canada used to have a vast array of department stores, Kmart, Eaton’s, Woodward’s, Sears, Zellers, Army and Navy, Consumers Distributing, Woolco. While some of these are U.S. companies that also went out of business (Kmart, Sears) I’d say one of the biggest problems the big department stores across North America is how Walmart has taken over everything. And people seem to be fine with it, which really sucks.

Choosing to go with SAP software to run its stores was the first and biggest error Target made. SAP is popular, but notoriously finicky and unforgiving to set up. Target was not familiar with SAP, but still chose to go it without acquiring the necessary expertise. The 2nd mistake was forcing themselves to go live even though SAP wasn't ready and people were not trained properly. They entered all their product data without validating it, the sheer stupidity of this would make any IT professional cry. The result was all the internal supply chain issues described: basically you had an inventory management system that did not recognize the product codes being ordered by stores to replenish their shelves. Result: warehouses were overflowing to the point of having to rent extra space while store shelves were empty.

1:35 by no mean was Canadian retailer Zellers a failure. Up until Zellers started liquidation, we were setting sales records Canada wide. Zellers closed because it’s parents company HBC didn’t want to be associated with a “discount” store anymore. Zellers was an icon in Canada and even right now it’s struggling parent company HBC is still trying to profit from the Zellers brand. Targets mistake was purchasing the leases from HBC. Instead they should have purchased the zellers brand as a whole. Along it’s main distribution centres.

As a Canadian who has had the American Target experience, I was so excited when I heard that Target was coming up here. Unfortunately it was a major disappointment. The store I went to had a lack variety and selection and the goods just didn't have that "discount chic" aesthetic that Target is know for. What a missed opportunity. 😕

I remember Target originally only planning 40 stores, in the most primely-located Zellers locations (mostly free-standing stores and those few locations in the top-tier shopping malls), with another 40 Zellers being bought by Wal-Mart and the rest planning to continue operating as Zellers. A somewhat last-minute decision expanded the number of openings to 133 with only enough merchandise to stock 40 stores. Had they have started with just the 40 stores and then added very slowly, they might have been able to adapt to the market.

Target's problem is they forgot Canadians travel. We shop at Target when we go to the States. We wanted the same quality and products when it came here. We got a cheap knock off

As a Supply Chain Director for many years in Canada, it was obvious that the chain would fold from the first time I laid eyes on it. The set up of merchandise was poorly done. The inventory selection was terrible. The prices were considerably higher than its competitors. Its inventory levels were not analyzed properly. They didn't investigate and analyze their markets by location. Americans ran it for a Canadian market. I could go on and on about why it was doomed for failure.... By the way, Walmart is starting to slip and I foresee it continuing to slump over the coming months and years. The only factor that will keep it afloat is that it has no real competition except for the internet.

There's one fundamental in retail: You can't sell the man empty shelves, and the man is buying! They needed to expand slower and have broad leadership who understands logistics over merchandizing. You need a few people to decide what to carry and sign contracts with manufacturers. You need many to utilize proper operations of inventory control.

as someone who specializes in business. I think everything they did was on purpose. they milked all the business laws here. from day 1 everyone gave them millions of dollars in loans. from the bank to Distribution companies trusting them. what people don't know (unless you're on the other side) is that target would buy things and then charge half the price day 1. how were they able to? because they were never planning on staying or paying anyone back. they want to become richer quick. make quick (free) profit. they damaged so many distribution companies. and now, we as buyers from distribution / wholesale are still suffering the consequences. they paid nothing back screwed everyone. after them, distribution companies feared giving out product and until this day we are all paying for it.

Former Target Canada employee; I was being trained with a gentleman who had an extensive background in logistics and warehouse distribution; he took one look at the way Target was implementing its warehouse to store supply chain and went straight to the GM; he was adamant that this system would cause more nightmares then it was worth. He walked away halfway through training.

All I remember Target Canada were not selling the same stuffs as American Target, their products were cheap and higher prices than many other places, and there were not many options to choose, very limited stuffs to buy.

I remember going to Target for the first time when it opened in Montreal. I disliked it right away. The agressive red colors were driving everyone crazy. It looked worse than Zellers did. It was Zellers on steroids. It was a weird experience. And it was expensive.

I remember the Canadian Targets always made pricing mistakes‼️So I got so many deep discounts & freebies. The USA Targets are such a fun vibe! 🎉

Reasons why Target failed in Canada (From a Canadian perspective): 1) Lousy selection of products. The Target stores in the USA have many, many products and things to look at/buy, while the Canadian stores only had crap that we already had here in other stores. 2) Prices. The prices at Target's Canadian stores were way out of line, and it caused a lot of us to go to Walmart, or Canadian discount stores such as Giant Tiger. 3) A lack of staff. In an American Target, you see staffers everywhere. In the Canadian stores, you had to hunt down a staff member, and there was no guarantee you'd actually find one. 4) Lack of stock. Half-empty shelves were the norm here in Canada at Target. When I walked into the local Target (where I lived at the time) three weeks before Christmas and saw empty shelves, I cringed. I also saw only a handful of shoppers, most of whom ended up (like I did) at the other end of the mall shopping at Canadian Tire. 5) Bad experience overall. I always looked forward to crossing the border and stopping at a Target in the USA, but not the ones here in Canada. After you stopped in once, you didn't want to go back. Because my local store was so close, I went twice, but never again after that.

At first I was anticipating that they failed in Canada because there's a significant cultural difference in the Canadian market. But it just sounds like Target tried to move in too fast and half-assed their operations. They basically shot themselves in the foot.

I had the exact same reaction as many other comments. I walked in had a quick look around and I mean a quick look, then walked straight out. To say I was less then impressed would be an understatement. To me Target was depending solely on their name sake and hoping that was enough for the Canadian consumer and that was a fatal mistake for Target in Canada. I can assure you that Target is not missed here in Canada.

There is a Target Canada ghost store 2 blocks from me. The location is really convenient for our area but it’s not a shopping destination and that is part of the reason many Zellers failed in the first place. In addition to supply chain issues and empty shelves there are things I love at Target in the US that did not make it across the border. Most of the cute affordable home decor was not available, same for many of the Target clothing “brands”. They had so much insight about the market using their online presence to know what Canadians were ordering and looking at on their American site even if they didn’t want to have an e-commerce channel immediately. Really poor strategy and even worse execution.

As a Canadian, I was disappointed that Target failed. Not that I have any great love for Target but some good, honest competition for Wal Malt would have been nice.

By the time Target was here, Sears was not competition. Canadians were also tired of the poor experience that Walmart was/is now providing Canadians, after stealing most of the market. The stores were nice, but usually empty. It was so bad, that xmas decor would show up in the spring. And camping equipment showing up in the winter. Customers will not continue to visit, if they don't have anything you want to buy. It is sad, Canada needs more competition in this area.

Most shoppers in Canada expected Target Canada to be an extension of Target US and to be competitive with Wallmart and as an alternative source for well priced products. For some unknown reason Target Canada's marketing heads decided not to compete with Wallmart and instead followed a Target branding model with prices higher than Wallmart for similar merchandise. Canadian shoppers didn't buy into their marketing ploys and instead flocked back to Wallmart stores in droves. The fact that new inventory control Target systems failed resulting in lack of merchandise on the shelves only exasperated the situation that already existed.

Lot's of line up and excitement, then people found out everything was expensive (unlike the US stores), they deserted Target. Target think Canadian are rich shoppers, but the reality is the reverse 😭😭. Unfortunately Target never blame themselves for using worng marketing strategy, but blame everything else. Walmart, Costco, Canadian Tire were all successful, Target could never understand the reason for that 😰

Good video. I remember bring a kid in Edmonton when target was around, it just felt like a smaller and more posh Walmart. It was completely alien to me but it was pretty fun to walk around. The store gave me fun memories. Eventually around late 2014, the target in my mall started to close down, so the isles where sadly getting cleared out. It was kind of melancholic, there weren't many people anymore and the place was mostly empty of inventory. I still came in to play the smash 4 kiosk. I remember 1 day, I left to go home, and never went back since. Kinda sad they closed, it was a nice store

Another Canadian here, and although store stock was a huge problem, I think they missed another huge reason in this video. Unlike Walmart which took on the existing Woolco employees, Target purchased only the Zellers locations. All of the employees were let go and told to reapply for their own jobs. Target destroyed livelihoods and families. They effectively tore up collective agreements for any Zellers locations that had been union. It was a betrayal of Canadian values, and there was no way I was going to spend a loonie in Target no matter how good the store was and I suspect I was not alone. As much as Zellers had been in decline in the 2000's, it was part of Canadian culture and its workers deserved better. I'm not surprised Hudson's Bay has been experimenting with Zellers pop-up stores: there are a lot of fond memories from the 80s and 90s.

I won’t lie. As a former Zellers employee I was beyond angry to have lost my job for essentially no reason. The few times I went into Target I walked out empty handed.

Had they just done test stores of 10 or so stores in major Canadian Metros (Toronto, Ottawa/Gatineau, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, etc.) They would of fared better and have ironed out the kinks of logistics and store format to cater it to Canadians

Wal-Mart used the exact same strategy when they came to Canada in 1994, and their store leases in a lot of cases were in rundown locations or in shopping malls. I won't speak for all cities, but Target got prime locations in Edmonton and Calgary when they opened, including the two busiest malls in the city, as well as a solid footprint across the capital region. As a non-border shopper, I knew about Target, but wasn't expecting the same low prices as they have in the USA, because I knew shipping, duties, taxes, etc. are different here. I think where they failed was in using a Canadian company to handle logistics instead of setting up their own, which meant their stores carried mostly the same products as their competitors, and it wasn't always cheaper than those competitors I found Target to be okay, but not spectacular, but had hoped they would stick it out and stay in Canada.

Zellers was not a failed retailer, they were also victims of flawed Target takeover. In terms of their logistics and lack of product....they are the victims of their own making. They never should have opened all 200+ Canadian store in the same weekend. I also would argue that they were shoe horning themselves into existing locations. While yes they used existing stores they also renovated or had communities renovate to meet their requirements. There are some municipalities even now that were NEVER paid millions of dollars owed to them by Target when they filed bankruptcy.

I remember at the time they were having a big collaboration with Isaac Mizrahi and the advertisements were all over American TV, but NONE of the Isaac Mizrahi products were available in Canada. It's weird how many of their inhouse brands weren't available in Canada.

Also Target did not respect Canadian labour laws. When I worked for Target in the US they kept scheduling me during days and times when I had class. I can only imagine the bs Canadian employees had to put up with. After having to chase HR around to get them to try and fix my schedule they fired me. They sat me down and said you need to choose between college or Target.

As a Canadian who lives a half hour from the Buffalo NY border, I had shopped at Target in the U.S. and was expecting a similar setup here in Canada. What they gave us was dramatically less and crappier selection, at WalMart quality OR WORSE that cost more. We could cross the border for a day of shopping, find better items at the Buffalo Target, and even after paying any duty, be less ripped off than shopping at a Canadian Target. Target thought Canadians were suckers. We clearly showed them we are not, and it cost them dearly!

The funny thing is that Zellers is trying to make a slow comeback. Pop up stores in HBC stores, and trying the online presence first. Then hopefully opening brick and mortar stores in the coming years, if all goes well. Bring back Zeddy 😁

Zellers in Canada (owned by Hudson Bay Company/HBC) closed up shop in 2013. Target took over most of those store leases after. Sears Canada then ends their business 5yrs later in 2018. Maybe the comeback of Zellers in 2023 will work out? I would definitely shop with them again if it's set up like it was before. I had no problem with their awesome deals/sales that were a big help for those living off a low income... and with that being said... Before that, Woolco (a division of Woolworth Canada) was purchased by Wal-Mart which became the big competitor when it took over in 1994 and things went downhill for most Canadian department stores after.

We Canadians want our god damn Zellers back. I was excited for Target but they forgot how to target their Canadian consumers. Now we have thousands of stores empty all across our country. Some have been re used others torn down.

I think Canadians were thinking it would either be like the ones in thr States. Especially for me who lives in a boarder town. I could fine the things in Walmart for cheaper than in Target. I can go down to the states for a day and get things cheaper than in Canada. I think I stepped into the store twice. Once for some underwear really badly and once when it was liquidating its assets at the end of its run.

As a Canadian that attempted to shop at Target, it was overpriced garbage. I could buy the same quality for cheaper elsewhere, so why would I spend ten or fifteen extra dollars on an ugly sweater at Target? It looked like they gave us all of the leftovers from what didn't sell in the States. Even their "clearance" prices when they were closing were pathetic.

As a Canadian I was bored going into one I had such high expectations, also I was angry losing Zellers a store I grew up loving so there was some animosity!!

That was my experience with Target in Canada, the one time I went. I was really perplexed, at the time, as to why Americans love Target so much, but it makes sense now.

Everyone in Canada expected US Target Merchandise, but when you walked through the door, what you found was just high priced garbage.Whomever they hired to fill those stores with the Merch, was completely out of touch with reality. Target failed because the missed the mark (or Target) on what the consumer wanted and expected. If your going to bring in a highly successful american store into Canada, you better provide that same business model for success.

Another factor not mentioned in this video was Target Apparel, which was an entirely separate company that applied for the Canadian trademark to the “Target” brand in 2001 and opened its first store in 2005, a full 8 years before Target moved into Canada. When Target announced its opening of (initially) 200 stores in Canada, Target Apparel opened 10 at the same time (for a total of 15 stores, mostly in the same areas as Target locations). Target Apparel figured they could leach off the success of the Target brand and confuse customers into thinking they were shopping at the American Target. This strategy largely worked because of the red and white branding of both stores and the fact both were selling discounted clothes. Before entering Canada, Target filed for an injunction to get Target Apparel to stop expanding, and Target Apparel filed a $250M CAD trademark infringement countersuit. The two parties settled in 2012 and Target Apparel agreed to stop using the brand name for new stores by 2013. The problem was that Target Apparel purchased lots of inventory in the gamble that their expansion would pay off, so they weren’t able to close their stores on schedule. They had better and more affordable clothing selections than Target did, so the stores were quite popular and didn’t actually close until a year after Target’s Canadian launch. That confusion hurt business in the 15 Target stores that were near Target Apparel locations.

i worked at one of the targets when they were in canada here in hamilton. Target was not cheap i can tell you that even with my employee discount. There was too much competition around, literally you can go down the road to like a wal mart or another store and get the same items even cheaper. Not all locations had a grocery or even a pharmacy section. In my area some days were like a ghosttown. The surrounding areas where i worked were predomaniately occupied by seniors and most of them were outraged of the prices Target had. I worked in the mobile department and because it was owned by a 3rd party company, we werent allowed to assist guests in the electronic section and the electronics employees werent allowed in our tiny section. if someone wanted even like one of our phone cases or something and we were on break, the guest was SOL until we got back and the electronic employee could really do anything

One of the biggest issues that was not mentioned that added to it's inventory issues was that Targets executives thought that they could ship inventory to Canada and sell it. They didn't look into the local laws regarding packaging. I remember going into one of the local stores, an over hearing an employee telling the manager that they couldn't put up the inventory as the packaging wasn't in both English and French. There was an attempt to add stickers to fix this issue, but it ended looking sloppy and there were errors as proof reading wasn't done.

Canadian here. I think Target was so busy opening over a hundred stores that they failed to take into consideration local traffic patterns. The Target that opened in my neighbourhood made that basic mistake before it even opened. They revamped the old Zellers store and created the main entrance in the corner away from the main parking lot and foot traffic that had been used by Zellers customers. Making people walk all the way around the store to get in didn’t give a good first impression. It went downhill from there.

With Target taking over leases to Zellers stores, I ended up shopping in a mall that had both a Walmart and a Target. I did some comparison shopping and found that Target was not even trying to price match the Walmart. At that point I knew Target was dead. I never went back.

The biggest problem Was too much too fast. Even when Walmart came into Canada in the 90’s they started small, in one province and grew from there.

Was looking forward to the comments after a ‘Why Starbucks failed in Australia’ video awhile back since as an Aussie I utterly loved the national pride in those comments and the comments from the locals on this video did not disappoint!! The video was also a great explainer but the comments are what make these types of videos, both working together to show such awesome national pride and culture differences which are great to see. Keep the videos coming.

The biggest issue I see , and not many have spoken about is this .... under the NorthAmerican FreeTrade act , an American company CAN NOT buy a Canadian competitor and eventually close them out ! Target bought Zellers ... changed the Zellers stores over to Target’s then eventually went outta business ... everyone lost their jobs That’s a direct violation of NAFTA agreement !

Very disappointed when Target didn’t remain in Canada. In our city of 100,000 they closed the Zeller’s store which offered different merchandise than Walmart and opened it with a second rate Walmart poorly stocked and managed. The Target was opened in a town of 60,O00 about 50 miles away ???? We are now left with no Target, a second rate Walmart in Zellers place and no competition or choice. The consumers were the losers and it was almost like the Target was set to fail from the start. I remember driving the 50 miles to shop at the new Target and it stunk so bad when you went in the door you could hardly stand it.

I just remember thinking it felt so ugly inside, too red and didn’t feel right The one in our city used to be a zellers A very much loved store that I still miss So there was always a hole they could never fill.

Target Canada just felt like a watered down version of Zellers from what I remembered, their stock wasn't too interesting and the prices could not really compete with Walmart are some reasons as to why I see it failing.

I was one of the first people that worked at the Canadian headquarters. I can tell you from the inside, it was the most toxic environment I have ever worked in. The place was run by narcissists and they were ageists and hired mostly fresh grads. I was considered very old at 29 years old. No one had a clue what they were supposed to be doing, because the people with actual retail experience were given lesser roles than the young kids who never had a job before. The managers were abusive and the toxic culture was supported by HR. I quit before the stores closed in tears and I had a major breakdown. I should have sued for harassment. Lesson learned.

There is Target in Australia and it's doing pretty well, however has no affiliation with Target USA

I remember Target in B.C, they barely had any good sales and it was beyond stupid for them to open over 120 stores instantly when they saw Zellers was failing.

I went into Target in Medicine Hat after it opened. It was stocked at the time, but the problem for me was the feeling that I didn't want to be there. It felt sterile and lifeless. Stores have personalities, but the Target store had none. It was clean, orderly, staffed...but both times I went there, I walked the perimeter and left. Just didn't want to be there.

Canadian here. Biggest fail of Target was lack of its own store labels in Canada. That's all I buy when I go to Target!!

Price is key. All of the competition that is mentioned in the video, save Giant Tiger, exists in the US now. Also, Giant Tiger didn't have the footprint in that Canadian market that it does now. Canadians who had experienced Target in the US were expecting the great deals that were just not present in their Canadian stores.

The Canadian stores looked like rebranded Zellers (which they were, although better renovations could have covered this up). Zellers was a discount retailer with similar branding, and Zellers' poor brand image immediately poisoned the well on the Target launch.

The fatal flaw was the decision to use an entirely new warehouse management system rather than using the one that Target USA was already using. Couple that with huge numbers of data entry errors (like entering the dimensions in the wrong spot - width where length should have been, and wrong units of measure, for example) and the computer couldn't figure out how to "cartonize" product into orders. Orders came in, the system couldn't ship so they put that product on back order and the store stayed empty; rinse and repeat. I used to work in a distribution warehouse for a large retail chain and what happened at Target became a closely studied cautionary tale.

Another Canadian with its two cents. We in Vancouver basically lived less than an hour from Target in Bellingham WA. As soon as Target was set to come I was sceptical. The 2 main reasons why Canadians went to target was because of the selections and pricing. I knew the pricing would not be the same and I wasn't optimistic that the Canadian stores would have the same stock. What made it worse was (at least in my area) they took control of the old Zellers location which was too small and they did not adjust to this. The killer though was the lack of stock. Bare shelves killed it for them. One last nugget. I have worked for an American company in Canada that tried to treat their employees as they would in the States. Target did that as well. Doesn't work. Canadian workers are better protected. The location is now the home of Walmart and they are thriving. They utilzed the space well. No supply chain issues, great pricing.

Target didn't have that many deals and few original products, the 2 things that Canadian shopper were hoping to find from Target. Walmart does have those and that is why they are successful.