WATCH: Target stores in Canada have begun to permanently close their doors as the U.S. big box retailer winds down its operations north of the border. And as Nadia Stewart reports, many shoppers were not sad to see it go.
Target left Chilliwack today as it entered 16 months ago – understocked and leaving shoppers underwhelmed with their prices.
“I don’t know if it’s going to leave a big void,” said one of the few shoppers who checked out the location on Cottonwood Mall on its final day of operation.
“They came in, saying ‘oh we’re going to have all these great deals.’ And it wasn’t. Walmart had better deals,” she said.
READ MORE: Here’s why Target failed in Canada
The store in Chilliwack, along with one in Cranbrook, were two of 12 locations that shut its doors today. Three others closed on March 18, and the remaining 118 are scheduled to be closed by mid-May.
Target’s two-year foray into Canada, which began with much excitement from consumers but ends with 17,000 layoffs, should serve as a warning signal to other American retailers, says David Ian Grey, a retail expert with Dig 360 Consulting.
“When they came in, they rushed it,” he said.
“We have plenty of choice, more and more every year. We value a lot of the good American retail, we do patronize the good ones, but it’s a good reality check that you can’t take the consumer for granted.”
Grey said the biggest impact of the closures will be felt in small towns, where the loss of a big retailer offering plenty of jobs will be keenly felt.
“Some of these big boxes like Target, like Walmart, they’re actually very important to those communities in terms of employment.”
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