Target liquidation sales could begin this week
Black Friday-style prices may start Thursday: reports
Bargain-hunters will be on their game this week as Target Canada liquidation sales are expected to begin, with some reports suggesting sales could start this Thursday.
The company announced in January it will close all of its 133 stores — including the 19 outlets in B.C. — in a “fair and orderly” exit after only two years of operation in Canada.
“If approved by the court, liquidation would likely begin within a few days,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder wrote in an email on Tuesday.
Snyder would not comment on a CBC report citing an internal email informing employees that liquidation sales were set to start on Thursday, and that the company expected sales to be similar to Black Friday events in the U.S. According to the email, the company predicts discount shoppers will rush the stores on Thursday, and staff will need to be prepared.
“Typically, the company doesn’t comment on team member communications or agreements with vendors, so I really don’t have anything to share,” Snyder said.
At the Target store at Metrotown in Burnaby on Tuesday, several employees said they didn’t know when the liquidation would start. One cashier said management planned to have a staff meeting after a court ruling to discuss how the liquidation sale would be staffed.
Mitchell Chau, 22, who has worked at that location since November, said employees had not received an email informing them when the sale would start, adding that they will find out at the same time as the rest of the public.
He said he had heard there were problems with low morale at other Target locations, but said in Burnaby spirits were pretty good among staff.
“I think some people are worried about finding work, but I think most people here are content with how management is handling everything,” he said.
Unlike some of his fellow employees, Chau isn’t concerned about losing his job, saying he was going to take some time to relax before going back to college.
Target, headquartered in Minneapolis, paid Hudson’s Bay Co. $1.8 billion in 2011 to take over the retail footprint of the former Zellers chain.
Last month, the company announced it was pulling out of Canada after racking up more than $2 billion in losses.