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

[Shwa Girl]

It's impossible, look at all USA stores here in Canada, we never had, and I would say never will get the same prices that those stores have in USA.

Hmmm. I got some great work out clothes at Marshalls Canada, at the same price as Mashalls USA. Plus I got some Clarks shoes for $39.99 at Marshalls Canada and the other Canadian retailers had the same Clarks starting at $89. Maybe I was lucky. Twice.

[GoJays]

Hmmm. I got some great work out clothes at Marshalls Canada, at the same price as Mashalls USA. Plus I got some Clarks shoes for $39.99 at Marshalls Canada and the other Canadian retailers had the same Clarks starting at $89. Maybe I was lucky. Twice.

hardly... i got a pair of not your daughter's jeans at winners for $30... they're almost $200 at the bay
it's not luck, that's what winners and marshall's do

[anisa]

marshall's is a liquidator right?

[Midnightly]

A bunch of us from work decided to go over a bit earlier to avoid the lunch time rush, turns out that it couldn't be avoided. I've never seen the parking lot so full not even at Christmas time when Zellers was there. Even the parking lot for the Canadian Tire next door was overflowing. Luckily we decided to walk over.

The layout of the store is somewhat similar to the Zellers that was previously there, minus the restaurant but now there is a Starbucks. There was no big promotion or sales happening. There was nothing that seems to be a great deal. I found their prices to be comparable to other places like Walmart, Food Basics etc. Some items were on a "Temporary Price Cut" but even this was not as good as what you would get on a regular sale price somewhere else. For example KD on a price cut was $1.33.

I overheard one sales person saying to a customer that they are not going to have any sales until their grand opening in April and that this was just a test opening to train their employees. 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.

I didn't see any tearpads or coupons of any kind. I didn't purchase anything. For now I'm just going to wait until April to see what the sales will be like.

i don't expect tear pads to be up yet those are usually put up by an indepdnant rep (unless they come in packaging and part of displays) i've been told from a walmart csm that company policy is only to price match a printed price they do not price match online deals (even if it's an online version of a printed flyer)

i'm actually surprised to hear they haven't worked out their policies on things yet (coupon policy, price match, rain checks) i've seen people post that they will be the same as the US but no official word stating what they will be

[Shwa Girl]

i don't expect tear pads to be up yet those are usually put up by an indepdnant rep

Looks like Tarjay is going with Smart Source for their coupons. Online, like RCSS is starting to do.
Walmart and Target have printable coupons like these on their US website.

[Aimz]

Oh man, the Facebook comments are hilarious (and ridiculous).

"It looks just like Zellers!" - Really, why? Because both of their logos and stores are red? People are saying it's just like Zellers but then complaining that it's another Walmart - well, which is it? And if I recall, Zellers didn't look like much of anything, and certainly didn't resemble a functioning store, for the better part of the last few years, so I'm sure it doesn't look just like Zellers.

Do appreciate those posting on FB and confirming that product selection is good and there are some products that were not previously available in Canada, carried by Target. Also nice to hear that their customer service is good, though I hope that extends into the future and isn't just a grand opening thing.

And the whole "the shelves were bare! it's too busy" gripe (on FB). Um, these are the first 3 stores in the province - pretty sure the crowds could have been anticipated.

[luckbealady]

Interesting comparison article of the new stores to the US and Walmart Canada from Global News.

http://www.globalnews.ca/feature/6442821839/story.html

Personally, I've never been to a Target, but I look forward to at least seeing what they offer. My local store doesn't open until the summer.

[Shwa Girl]

Interesting comparison article of the new stores to the US and Walmart Canada from Global News.

http://www.globalnews.ca/feature/6442821839/story.html

Personally, I've never been to a Target, but I look forward to at least seeing what they offer. My local store doesn't open until the summer.

Yes. The comparison story is interesting. As posted before, Canadians have been taken advantage of at the store -- both with prices and with customer service. Sometimes the customer service is poor or even awful and they expect us to pay full price for being treated badly.

Target coming may help a little with price and with customer service.
Other US retailers are watching closely and may come after Target is established here.

[justamy]

in comparison, i saw a story on CTV news last night where they went and bought identical products at both Target & Walmart (only Canadian ones, however) and Target came out on top. the items were Tide, Listerine, KD & Campbell's soup, if i'm not mistaken.

my husband is in a similar business and due to our high minimum wages here, high taxes etc it is just not possible for us to ever have the exact same prices as those in the US.

[FallenPixels]

Tide was definitely more expensive at the Milton store, KD prices fluctuate so much but as mentioned above, $1.33 is hardly an amazing price for it. Their books and nailpolish prices are great though. I got a huge jar of Nutella for $5.xx since he called and told me we were out as I was passing the nutella. Most items were comparable to Walmart, some quite more expensive - but hey, we know the deal - it works in cycles and there are weeks we wouldn't pay Walmart prices too

As far as it looking just like a Zellers, apart from the red (and they are hardly changing their company colour to distance themselves from the red) it looks nothing like a Zellers I have been into - as much as any store is really all that different. The stores are bright, displays well designed, staff are politer (although that isn't hard). I have been in a newly opened Zellers and it was still a disaster zone. My only real complaint about the actual store is that the aisles are just big enough for a cart going each way - they almost touch. So if someone stops to look at something (or Target have 2 helpful employees in each aisle) it is impossible to move.

As far as the shelves were bare - if you were in a store, it was a legit complaint. It wasn't shelf clearing or pure amount of people. They did not have all the stock in before the opening date. There were lots of signs up saying item was on order / still to come / whatever else which annoyed people.

[FallenPixels]

The grocery section is all Sobeys food.

They don't have any Sobeys brands, they are just buying Kelloggs etc from Sobeys (which may in fact help drive down some of Sobeys prices since they will get a larger bulk discount). The prices were more FreshCo than Sobeys in general but they do have a lot of their own brands which are cheaper

I overheard one sales person saying to a customer that they are not going to have any sales until their grand opening in April and that this was just a test opening to train their employees. 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.

I didn't see any tearpads or coupons of any kind. I didn't purchase anything. For now I'm just going to wait until April to see what the sales will be like.

I was told the same on price-matching by a manager, has to be a physical flyer from a local competitor (no PMing some random flyer from across the country). i did see the PM policy and it states matches a printed price.

SmartSource sent SC an email last night confirming they will be hosting Target's store coupons starting in April so don't expect to see many store coupons. Since it is a soft opening, i wouldn't expect any reps to be in there but no idea if they will have manu coupons too. Since RCSS started to have more manu coupons when they went with SmartSource for printed, fingers crossed!

exactly~!.. just hope the rumor I heard is true that ours is opening next week.

A staff member said some in 2 weeks, most in about a month

[ericaraina]

thanks for the info fallenpixels

[Aimz]

Tide was definitely more expensive at the Milton store, KD prices fluctuate so much but as mentioned above, $1.33 is hardly an amazing price for it. Their books and nailpolish prices are great though. I got a huge jar of Nutella for $5.xx since he called and told me we were out as I was passing the nutella. Most items were comparable to Walmart, some quite more expensive - but hey, we know the deal - it works in cycles and there are weeks we wouldn't pay Walmart prices too

As far as it looking just like a Zellers, apart from the red (and they are hardly changing their company colour to distance themselves from the red) it looks nothing like a Zellers I have been into - as much as any store is really all that different. The stores are bright, displays well designed, staff are politer (although that isn't hard). I have been in a newly opened Zellers and it was still a disaster zone. My only real complaint about the actual store is that the aisles are just big enough for a cart going each way - they almost touch. So if someone stops to look at something (or Target have 2 helpful employees in each aisle) it is impossible to move.

As far as the shelves were bare - if you were in a store, it was a legit complaint. It wasn't shelf clearing or pure amount of people. They did not have all the stock in before the opening date. There were lots of signs up saying item was on order / still to come / whatever else which annoyed people.

Thanks for the details, FallenPixels. And ah, to the bare shelf explanation - okay, I retract the part of my statement about bare shelves being anticipated. But I guess that's part of being a pilot store - they're still working things out, including logistics and inventory supply.

[PurpleBunny89]

I know everyone is going to flame me for this but I ALWAYS thought Target was just a cleaner version of Zellers. I first had this thought when I went to Target in the states a year and a half ago. I had to do a double take again because I thought I was back in Canada.

Maybe I'm silly but I thought a lot of American stores were comparable to Canadian stores AND I couldn't understand the big craze about shopping over the border because I personally find I can get so much better deals on grocery items and free products here at home. Then again I'll be the first to admit that I am a horrid american couponer and rely 99% on my aunt who I always go with. I really only ever go for clothes because the selection for plus size is so much better and cheaper there as opposed to Additionelle who charge you an arm and a leg for a hideous looking shirt.

anyways, back to Target - the pictures sure look pretty now but I'm sure it won't be long before all the product isn't all lined up and pretty faced.

[Poirot]

I was hoping Target in Canada was going to have some US food brands like Progresso soup,Cookie Crisp cereal,Juicy Juice juice,Hungry Jack pancake mix etc.Since Target isn't going to give any different stuff I'm sticking to the store are already here where I can get Airmiles,points,Aeroplan miles and CT money and Walmart and Superstore.