Post #268 - Target (USA) + Starbucks + Facebook = Free

[PammieD]

Thanks for sharing the opening day photos, ShwaGirl! Cart cup holders--not aware of anyone else offering them for shoppers.

Longos has a starbucks in their stores and cup holders built into their carts. GENIUS. People shop with coffee no matter what store you're in (just check out any aisle in any Walmart and you'll see cups from Timmies). For those of you concerned about coffee stained merchandise or coffee smelling clothes, think of it this way, coffee is less likely to spill if the cup has a proper and stable place to be held as opposed to being balanced in carts and in over burdened hands. As for the smell, McDonalds is now adding McCafes to their Walmart line-ups which look exactly like a McDonalds branded Timmies...donut/muffin trays included. Guess you won't be shopping at Walmart either soon enough.

Store looks clean but not for long

Even at my Walmart we have a McDonald and all you see is empty coffee cups either McD or Timmies on the shelves,i think people are 2 damn lazy to take the cups out and put them in the garbage can

Agreed!

I did. I went to USA Target many times. I was at Guelph Target today, ...it's funny, they didn't even change the line's layout. Look at pics 1 and 3, folks who are from our area can confirm, it's the way Guelph Zellers looked like. They only painted the store, put some new shelves, didn't even change the layout. I would say the only difference is a food section, definitely it looks quite differently.

I'm going to guess it's a $ thing. Zellers really didn't have a layout that was dysfunctional or broken. It was consistent with most retailers like it. Changing the layout or replacing the fixtures would just have cost a lot of unnecessary money. When Target bought these Zellers locations, they would have factored all of these fixtures into the sale. I think this is a cheap way and lower risk way for them to enter a new market. They could have taken the higher risk route and built new/started from scratch, but I suspect we would have been waiting a long time for them to come to Canada if that were the case.

Btitish food is imported in a small amount to a candy store and drug store.Dollar Stores get stuff from Middle East,South Africa,Pland and China it's cheap because they get huge quantities and those items in my post I mentioned are Progresso Soup and Cookie Crisp cereal are made by General Mills and Hungry Jack pancake mix is made by Pillsbury they are major food manufacturers so no reason they can't sell stuff up here at Target instead selling of Target selling us Sobeys food.

Target not selling or carrying brands that are sold in the Canadian market is not something you have to take up with Target, that's a grievance you need to bring up with the individual manufacturers and perhaps the government. Target does not dictate our food policies.

If a manufacturer is not currently distributing it's own products in Canada, then why is target being blamed for that?

they might be interested in offering the best selection they can, but is it reasonable to expect them to take it upon themselves to be the sole importer and distributer of certain products, out of the goodness of their hearts?

contact a manufacturer directly if you would like to see their products in Canada.

with specialty stores, those stores might be importing some products on their own, but sometimes those products end up being expensive. it happens, but this situation is usually pretty rare. it is done when there is a very small demand for a particular product.

more often there are specialty disturbers who bring in larger quantities of foreign foods, and retailers will get those specialty products from those distributers.

you are demanding that target play the role of distributor. it might not be as easy as you want it to be.

Agreed. On top of the bilingual packaging (not that HUGE a deal for most major manufacturers), there are other things manufacturers consider when bringing their products to canada. Walk down a walmart aisle in the US and then the same aisle in Canada and you'll see lots of different products. Thr different types of Pantene for example amazed me.

Pricing in canada will most likely always be higher than in the US. I suspect it's highly related to our lower population which leaves us with less buying power. It's an economy of scale. In time though, many products do come north of the border, it just takes longer.

The main unique thing Target brings to out market is their proprietary brands (housewares etc).

As for everyone complaining about the past coupke of days (inventory etc)...its a soft opening! Not a grand opening! They're not doing it to make some big "tah dah" into the market....they're trying to work out the kinks and give their staff a chance to deal with real customers rather than "training mode"...give them a break people.

Sorry if I sound frustrated, but I don't understand why some people think that the States is so much better. If you love shopping there so much, you have that option available to you. And if red and white are such offensive colours, shop somewhere else. Also an option. But...don't be surprised. Red and white are Target's colours in the glorious US as well. Although it may strike a familiar chord and remind you of Zellers, it's a totally different store.

[Shwa Girl]

Longos has a starbucks in their stores and cup holders built into their carts. GENIUS. People shop with coffee no matter what store you're in (just check out any aisle in any Walmart and you'll see cups from Timmies). For those of you concerned about coffee stained merchandise or coffee smelling clothes, think of it this way, coffee is less likely to spill if the cup has a proper and stable place to be held as opposed to being balanced in carts and in over burdened hands. As for the smell, McDonalds is now adding McCafes to their Walmart line-ups which look exactly like a McDonalds branded Timmies...donut/muffin trays included. Guess you won't be shopping at Walmart either soon enough.

Pricing in canada will most likely always be higher than in the US. I suspect it's highly related to our lower population which leaves us with less buying power. It's an economy of scale. In time though, many products do come north of the border, it just takes longer.

The main unique thing Target brings to out market is their proprietary brands (housewares etc).

[RonBC]

I'm going to guess it's a $ thing. Zellers really didn't have a layout that was dysfunctional or broken. It was consistent with most retailers like it. Changing the layout or replacing the fixtures would just have cost a lot of unnecessary money. When Target bought these Zellers locations, they would have factored all of these fixtures into the sale. I think this is a cheap way and lower risk way for them to enter a new market. They could have taken the higher risk route and built new/started from scratch, but I suspect we would have been waiting a long time for them to come to Canada if that were the case.

I don't think Target has used Zellers fixtures in the stores. The shelves/etc all look quite new to me.

Target are spending ~$10 million per store.

Ron.

[Cuckoobird]

Target missing the bull's eye...a stealth shopper shares her review Milton Target:

http://www.thestar.com/life/fashion_..._bullseye.html

[PammieD]

I don't think Target has used Zellers fixtures in the stores. The shelves/etc all look quite new to me.

Target are spending ~$10 million per store.

Ron.

Quite possibly. It was an assumption on my part as to why the layout/footprint would be the exact same as some people are saying. Not sure as I haven't been in one yet myself. Perhaps they refurbished stuff? Who knows. I still think there's likely some re-using in there because otherwise it's a HUGE waste.

[roseofblack25]

roseofblack25 wrote:
Marshalls is fantastic! That place is actually cheaper than Winners or Homesense I find most of the time. I get the fancy flavoured bags of coffee on clearance at Marshalls for $3. Then I will go to Winners or Homesense to try and find more, and the lowest they ever mark that stuff down is to $8 when it was $8.99 to begin with!

Which Marshalls did you see this clearance coffee at? I went to the Marshalls at John St and Richmond in Toronto and couldn't find any clearance coffee at all (was there last week, they didn't seem to have any coffee at all...maybe just certain Marshalls stock coffee?) Plus at this location most of the sticker prices seem identical to Winners and Homesense, so I'm not impressed with Marshalls at all.

Maybe I'm just shopping at the wrong one?

That's the one I go to They don't have it in all the time since they are like Winners they get certain things here and there, but when they do have it they will be in those check out isles. I was there on the weekend and could only find whole bean coffee and it was regular price. Doesn't matter since I have no way to grind whole beans at home! I don't think they have a dedicated food section anymore now that Christmas is over which is disappointing because they had some great mark downs that I didn't see at Winners or Homesense. I bought all of my coffee early last month so it could have just been the left over Christmas stock? I bought a ton of Christmas themed ones (ugly sweater coffee) a few weeks after Christmas for myself, mom and sister, and then found some caramel flavoured ground coffee in regular packaging on clearance around Feb for $3. They currently have the same stuff at Winners on sale for $8 which isn't fantastic since regular price is $8.99! I'm stalking them hoping they put it on better clearance eventually, but I have never seen it any cheaper than $8 there. I just pop in once in awhile and see what Marshall's has then wait for it to go on sale. I live a few blocks away so it's easy to just stop in on my way home from work then walk home.

[anisa]

a tenant that is leasing a space in the mall does not want to re-use the garbage left behind by the last tenant.

[Shwa Girl]

Looks like not all Zellers workers got to be interviewed for Target jobs, according to the United Food and Commerical Workers Union:

From the UFCW Canada Website
March 07, 2013 15:07 ET Target Snubs 25,000 Terminated Workers as First Canadian Stores Open




With the opening of the first three Target stores in Canada, more than 25,000 former Zellers workers continue to be left out in the cold by the American retail giant. On March 5, Target Canada opened their first-ever Canadian stores to the public - in Milton, Guelph and Fergus, Ontario. Since acquiring 189 Zellers stores more than a year ago, Target has consistently maintained that all Zellers workers would be terminated and their wage rates, benefits and years of service would not be recognized once their stores re-opened under the Target banner.

Due to mounting public pressure in 2012, Target announced that all Zellers workers would be granted a job interview. However, countless Zellers workers, many with decades of experience, report that they have been consistently turned down for employment without reason. Furthermore, many Canadians continue to feel that Target is a successor employer to Zellers.
"Promoting itself as the new friendly neighbour in Canada, Target has clearly failed to include the more than 25,000 Canadian workers who they threw out of work," says Kevin Shimmin, a UFCW Canada national representative.
UFCW Canada is a partner in the grassroots campaign Ask Target for Fairness, www.targetfairness.ca.
"The American corporation is also being extremely tight-lipped about how many actual full-time jobs will be created in their stores. Judging from the experience of Target employees in the United States, Canadians can expect mostly part-time, minimum wage jobs with little or no benefits at Target."
"With Target's total disregard for former Zellers workers," says Shimmin, "there will likely be just as little respect for new employees. Ask Target for Fairness will continue to build awareness about Target's treatment of Canadian workers."

[Darth Penguin]

Capitalism at it's best then....

[call me the couponlady]

I know our Zellers store got gutted on the inside and there were trucks driving inside.

[luckbealady]

I don't really understand that it's Target tossing Zellers employees out in the cold.

Target is not Zellers.
Zellers/Hudson Bay is the one that eliminated the jobs.

Target shouldn't be forced to hire Zellers employees. I'm sure they have specific things they look for in new hires, and perhaps they feel former Zellers employees would be too difficult to work with. But it's not their responsibility to hire these people.

[Midnightly]

I don't really understand that it's Target tossing Zellers employees out in the cold.

Target is not Zellers.
Zellers/Hudson Bay is the one that eliminated the jobs.

Target shouldn't be forced to hire Zellers employees. I'm sure they have specific things they look for in new hires, and perhaps they feel former Zellers employees would be too difficult to work with. But it's not their responsibility to hire these people.

double like! zellers is a completely different company from Target.. just because store A closes and store B opens in it's place after a full remodel (both locations in town have been completely gutted.. one the building has been torn down to a hole and is currently being rebuilt) does not mean employees from store A should be carried over into store B.. i could even see from the point of the new store that they would be hesitant to want to higher the previous staff due to staff loyalties and what they would expect (they cannot expect to start with seniority just because they worked at the previous store in that building location)

[moon18]

Target completely gutted the whole Zellers stores. Even new roof and new floors were put in by the contractors and then the store was handed over to the staff. The staff has then put up each and every shelf and other fixtures. So there is no way any target store will be using any of the Zellers fixtures. As of layout the store I have seen has a different layout from the Zeller that was there before.
you won't see any big sale yet. The 3 stores were open really to check the staff abilities. They were not ready yet though. And the opening of them earlier was announced all of sudden so definitely they will not get the same kind of response from some people as they were hopping. There is still not all stock at the stores yet. Still lots of deliveres expected in coming weeks so the 3 store opened earlier was just a test of employees and the system.
target has hired lots and lots of young people. It has created lots of job in Canadian markets. At 3 Zellers in our city there used to be usually 1-2 checkout open and you would see only a few people on sales floor. Whereas Target has hired more than enough people to have full check lanes open and have enough people on sales floor for replenishment and customer assistance. Nearly 200 people were hired for one store only. And out of them more than 25 ppl are from Previous Zeller Store that was there. So it seems a fair proption to me. They wanted new fresh faces. Even the mangers and team leaders are fairly young compared to Walmart etc which in my view is a positive change. I used to hate shopping at Zellers because of the temperament and attitude of the staff members. Any new company would not have wanted to represent them in the same / similar way through same people.
But of course everyone will have their own view point of looking at things

[moon18]

I asked one of the employees about price matching and he wasn't sure so he got his supervisor on the walkie talkie to ask. I specifically wanted to know about price matching an online price but the supervisor at the other end of the walkie talkie said that it will have to be a printed ad. I'm not fully convinced that this is how it will be. I think this is just one person's opinion.
.

Its not one person's opinion. that is actually true. No online price will be matched. Not even an online flyer on smartphone/ iPad etc. it has to be an actual flyer.
% off will be accepted as long as the advertised flyer says 20% off Kraft Peanut butter. But % off not accepted if it says % off all peanut butters/ % off all Kraft products. Has to be a specific product for percentage off.
there is also a nice added bonus for people who price match/ coupon in the Target price guarantee policy but that I can't tell yet. You will soon get to know about that.
happy shopping / browsing evryone

[Shwa Girl]

At 3 Zellers in our city there used to be usually 1-2 checkout open and you would see only a few people on sales floor. Whereas Target has hired more than enough people to have full check lanes open and have enough people on sales floor for replenishment and customer assistance.

This is what I was hoping for - more lanes to check out rather than long lines all the time. I hate yelling for more cashiers. It's not my job as a customer to see that the lines are long and stretching into the grocery aisles.