The following article appeared in the May 27 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
You know Walmart, now meet Target.
Long awaited news of where the second largest discount retailer in America would put its Canadian stores came Thursday. Guelph and Fergus are among the first 105 locations that are coming to 10 provinces — 45 of those locations are in Ontario.
The Zeller’s location at 175 Stone Road W. will become a Target, bringing another large-scale brand of department store to a retail environment that has been familiar with Wal-Mart’s offerings for several years. An average of $10 million will be spent to refurbish each location prior to opening.
“I’ve heard good things about Target as a retailer,” said Guelph city councillor Ian Findlay. “I think it’s a welcome inclusion to the complement of retailers that we have in Guelph. Certainly Stone Road is a centre of shopping, and we welcome Target to the area.”
The first of the over 100 stores are expected to start opening in early 2013 after major renovations, and will employ tens of thousands of Canadians, Target Canada president Tony Fisher said in media reports Thursday. Target is expected to employ up to 75 per cent more people than Zeller’s did because of its anticipated higher sales, Fisher told the Financial Post.
Target paid $1.8 billion at the beginning of 2011 for Zeller’s, a property of Hudson’s Bay Co. With 1,750 locations in the U.S., Target had long coveted entry into Canada, which has a strong retail sector. The company’s stores average 95,000 to 135,000 square feet. Target is based in Minneapolis, Minn.
The Fergus store will be located in the Gates of Fergus plaza, right on Tower Street South/Highway 6, at the present location of Zeller’s. There is a Canadian Tire store next door. A Walmart is expected to open next year in north Fergus.
Dave Rushton, Centre Wellington’s manager of economic development, said the announcement is very good news for a community that had worried that Target might orphan a Zeller’s store that had long been supported in Fergus.
“We’ve had several months now of not knowing if this store is continuing,” Rushton said. “There are a lot of people employed there and it is a valuable asset in our community.”
As a large international retailer, Target brings a new flavour and strength to the community’s retail sector, and contributes to fulfilling a goal of creating more shopping opportunities for local residents, especially the 7,000 or so who leave the community each day for work, Rushton added.
Karen Finlay is a professor of consumer studies in the University of Guelph’s College of Social and Applied Human Sciences. She is an expert in consumer behaviour, and said there is little doubt that Target will be a hit among local shoppers.
“Target just has it,” she said, speaking of the qualities that make the store a major consumer draw in the US. The Guelph store will far outpace Zeller’s for appeal and product selection, she said. Canadians have been visiting Target stores south of border for many years, she added.
“Their appeal is broad, and it’s something that just hasn’t been met by Canadian retailers like Zeller’s,” she said. “With Target, I think it is merchandise, low prices, the store lay out and the feeling that’s created. It is a lot more inviting. I think people are going to applaud it.”
Target’s massive department stores carry clothing, jewelry, health and beauty products, electronics, kitchen, hardware and automotive supplies, sporting goods, pet supplies, and much more.
Since the beginning of the year, when the Zeller’s takeover was announced, analysts have said Target will represent legitimate competition to Walmart in this country.
There will be 15 Target stores in British Columbia, 13 in Alberta, and five in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Nineteen stores are in the works for Quebec and six in the Maritimes.
A Target representative was not available for comment Thursday.