Hitting the Bulls-Eye: Target Arrives in Canada

                Target has finally arrived in Canada.  The first stores opened up on March 5, 2013 and since then, more locations have begun to open up.  A few weeks ago, one of the first Toronto locations opened up at the Cloverdale Mall (March 19, 2013) and I decided to check it out and see what Target has in store for the Canadian consumer.

Layout

                As you walk right into the store you see this sign:

Target <3 Canada

It's a huge sign hanging down from the ceiling and it's a great welcome to all the customers asit lets them know that Target has arrived in Canada.  One thing to note is that most Target stores in Canada will have a Starbucks within them.  The one at this location was tucked away by the entrance and a large wall was blocking the Starbucks sign when you enter and only if you walk in further do you notice the sign.  To help the customers navigate through the crowded store and the various sections, a store map is provided to the customers and I think this is a really nice touch to the Target experience.  Not only does the map tell you where each section is but it also provides more information to the consumer on their Red Card (allows consumers to save 5% on their everyday purchases).

They use the store map as a way to sell the Red Card to their consumer without really being too pushy.  Each section in the store is large and spacious enough for consumers to walk through it with a cart or small children.  Before going to the store, I watched a video Target posted on their site, previewing how their store would look and I have to say, they lived up to it. The aisles were wider, with baskets available throughout the store, it was a lot brighter and the space looked so much larger, even though no extension was added on.  Their layout at this location does look different to Target's I've seen in the US but they have definitely made the best use of the space available.

Products

               

As I walked through the store, I could see the different brands and styles, something that was promised from Target when they chose to open up stores in Canada.  It was refreshing to see some of the different brands now available in Canada, including Target's private label brand.  I was surprised to see that Target had a section of its electronics section dedicated to Apple products, allowing consumers to find just about anything, and that too for a lower price.  Now I personally am I child at heart so I had to check out the toy aisle and I was not disappointed.  I found some new games, such as Bejeweled Blitz and Temple Run game (which I later found in Wal-Mart a few weeks later). Overall, there was good mix of new brands, such as Calphalon, as well as the usual common brands in the Canadian market.

Price

                The products were priced competitively. They were lower by a dollar or two (when compared to Wal-Mart) but not substantially lower as you would find in the US.  I'm not surprised by this as the prices were adhering to the Canadian taxes and higher minimum wage rate.

Disappointments

                My only disappointment with Target is in their food section.  When going to the US, there are two things I enjoy doing: shopping for different and looking at the variety of different food products.  The different brands were present in the store but not the variety in food.  It was the same products and the same variety that can be found at any grocery store.  I was disappointed with that because Target had done such a good job in bringing different brands and products to Canada that I hoped it would the same with its food products but that was not the case. 

Overall Experience

                Overall, I found the first Canadian Target experience great.  When I went, the store was super crowded, with people flowing into and out of the store.  The retailer lived up to its promises to consumers with new products and a larger and brighter store.  Even though Target stores have opened up in Canada, they have yet to have their "official" grand opening sale (I found this out from one of their employees).  However, even without an official grand opening sale, Target is definitely drawing interest from Canadian consumers and this interest will continue to grow with each new store opening.  This is one sale that I definitely want to see.

Interesting Facts: 

• Looking for a calculator? Forget the stationary aisle, head straight to electronics.  I was really surprised to find calculators in the electronics aisle.  Something new? 
• A lot of red.  There is quite a lot of red throughout the store, from the walls, to the signs to the carts and the baskets. For some, it may be too much while for others it may not be a problem. 
• Price matching! Watch out Wal-Mart, Target also price matches.  This is bound to bring about fierce price competition between the two competitors.  We'll have to see what Wal-Mart does now. 
• Self scan checkouts.  At the mall entrance of the store, they have a few self-scan checkouts, with associated helping customers understand how they work.  I'm not quite sure how long these will last as I remember that Wal-Mart did experiment one time with self-scan checkouts but later got rid of them.