TARGET’S REAL FANS
To the sound of bagpipes, mourners will mark closing of the Stockyards location on Saturday,
One of the first customers Target served in Canada is holding a funeral for the retail chain outside its Stockyards location on the weekend all its remaining outlets are shuttered.
“It’s really sad to see what happened and we need to have a proper send-off,” said Harrison Jordan, a 22-year-old law student who is organizing Saturday’s event.
Target indicated it would be closing all133 stores when it filed for creditor protection in January, leaving 17,600 employees without work. Thirtyseven stores are still open across Canada, with 24 closing Wednesday and the remaining over the weekend.
On Wednesday morning, the Stockyards outlet was quiet as shoppers looked for bargains, shuffling through remaining products strewn on shelves, and digging through clothing and housewares dumped into shopping carts. Large sections of the store were already empty and cordoned off, while some remaining fixtures were up for sale.
Jordan, who briefly wrote for the Star in 2011as a youth columnist covering the federal election, expects 20 or so people to turn up for the ceremony. Black attire will be expected and a bagpiper will play.
He started shopping at Target on family trips south of the border and will never forget his first time. “You know how when you go into casinos and they pump oxygen? That’s how I felt when I stepped into a Target for the first time in Cheektowaga, (N.Y.),” said Jordan.
That’s what led to his enthusiasm when the chain announced it was moving up north. Jordan said he burst into Target when it opened in Guelph two years ago, grabbed a peanut butter Snickers bar and ran to the returns counter, asking if he could make a purchase there.
As he was being rung up, he said he excitedly told the cashier this was the first purchase at a Target in Canada. The cashier responded in a less excited tone: “Oh, cool.”
“I slowly brought up my wrist and did a fist pump, just to myself,” Jordan said.
He never felt quite the same way in a Canadian Target and admits he seldom returned. But he says there’s still a “special place” for the retailer and its exit from Canada should be mourned.
“This funeral is to tell Target it’s not its fault,” he said. With files from Francine Kopun