Target heads to Winnipeg

A store very familiar to cross border shoppers is moving north.

Target Corporation said Thursday it is investing $1.825 billion towards the purchase of more than 200 Zellers stores across Canada, including Winnipeg.

"This transaction provides an outstanding opportunity for us to extend our Target brand," said Gregg Steinhafel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Target Corporation.

It’s still not known where or how many stores will pop up in Winnipeg.

"I’m going to guess we’ll get 3 or 4 stores in Winnipeg," said Rob Warren from the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba.

Possible locations in the city include the Grant Park Shopping mall and Kenaston Boulevard.

Warren said Winnipeg is an ideal market for the American retail giant because of the high number of cross border shoppers.

"It’s going to cut down dramatically on people running down to the United States to visit Target but it won’t eliminate it entirely," said Warren.

He also said prices may still be lower in Grand Forks and many of the products sold in the American stores may not be available in Canada

Kristen Jackson-Dockeray said she’s thrilled she soon won’t have to drive to North Dakota to shop at her favorite store.

"I’m excited, we shop so often at Target so it means we don’t have to drive quite as far," she said.

"They have super cute kids clothes at reasonable prices."

Target said many of the Zellers store will continue to operate under the Zellers brand for quite some time.

But business experts say the Zellers brand under the Hudson’s Bay Company will eventually fade away.

At least 150 new Target stores are expected to open across Canada in 2013 and 2014.