Shoppers take aim at Target
OPEN: American chain has a soft launch in three small Ontario communities
GUELPH, Ont. — Eager shoppers filed into the new Canadian Target stores early Tuesday morning as the retailer opened three locations in southwestern Ontario.
It began with a few locals, who showed up at the Guelph store just before dawn, but by the time the doors officially opened at 8 a.m., there were already a hundred people in line outside, despite the chilly temperatures. “Our ... friend convinced us yesterday, but then she decided not to come. Too early and too cold, I guess,” said Tamara Valenti, a student at the University of Guelph who huddled alongside a few of her friends who decided to brave the weather. They showed up at 5:30 a.m. and were first in line. Both hoped to buy print ink cartridges at a cheaper price than the competitors. Behind them was Rhonda Weather all, a local resident who remembers when Walmart launched its first store in Guelph several years ago. “I was the first one in,” she said. “So I kind of wanted to come and compare.”
But after a walk through the aisles of the Target store she “wasn’t overly impressed.”
“There wasn’t a lot of great deals that I saw,” she said. The U.S. retailer opened the three stores as part of a test program for its phased rollout of the brand across much of the country throughout the year. The first locations are in Guelph and nearby Fergus and Milton.
In the industry, it’s called a soft launch.
Target plans to open another 21 stores throughout Ontario this month, although dates haven’t been announced.
Overall, the company is expected to open between 125 and 135 locations in Canada.
After the Ontario rollout, Target will begin moving into western provinces throughout the year and eventually into Quebec. None of those opening dates have been announced.
The company has said Canadian customers will likely see a difference in pricing compared to items carried in its U.S. stores, with the company focused on being “competitively priced” with retailers in Canada.