Target Canada
Encyclopedia
Target Canada Co. is the Canadian
subsidiary of United States
-based discount department store chain Target Corporation
, formed in 2011 to oversee the company's Canadian operations.
Target announced on January 13, 2011 that it would be purchasing the leaseholds of up to 220 locations currently operated by Hudson's Bay Company
's Zellers
discount store chain, and that it planned to open Target stores in Canada using many of these sites starting in 2013.
's Canadian operations in 1994. Its own 1998 acquisition of Kmart Canada
did little to stem this tide.
Beginning in the early 2000s, the chain attempted to reposition itself as a more upscale discount department store, trying to emulate the successful approach of Target in the U.S. However, these efforts were mostly seen as a poor imitation of Target, and did not reverse the trend.
Around the same period, regular rumours would surface suggesting that Target was interested in expanding into Canada by acquiring Zellers outright. In January 2010, Target publicly indicated long-term plans to expand internationally, likely including Canada, but that those plans would not take effect until 2013 at the earliest.
On January 2011, Target announced that it would purchase the lease agreements of up to 220 Zellers stores for C$1.825 billion. Under the agreement, Zellers will initially sublease the properties, and continue to operate them as Zellers locations until at least January 2012 and at latest the end of March 2013.
In late May 2011, Target announced its first 105 selections, including at least one selection in each province. The company has stated that the vast majority of locations in this first group will be converted to Target. In September 2011, Target announced 84 additional selections, bringing the total number of leases, including an initial group of 105, to 189. The first store opening cycle will be in March 2013, followed by four additional cycles later that year. For locations that will be converted, the majority will be closed for at least six to nine months as they undergo significant remodeling.
After the Zellers stores at these locations close, Target will renovate between 125 and 135 of them, and reopen them under the Target banner. Target expects to transfer the remaining acquired locations, numbering between 70 and 120, to other retailers, including 39 which are slated to be resold to Walmart Canada. It has been speculated that the remaining locations could be acquired by one or more additional U.S. chains seeking to expand into Canada, such as Kohl's
or J. C. Penney
.
Target is not purchasing the Zellers chain outright. Approximately 50 to 60 existing locations will be retained by HBC. HBC's current announced plans are to operate the remaining locations as part of a smaller Zellers chain operating in specific communities.
Target Canada's head office will be located in Mississauga, Ontario
at the AeroCentre V complex.
Target plans to hire thousands of new employees to support its expansion into Canada.
Target Canada's food and grocery items will be supplied by Sobeys
.
A number of landlords, including RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, Primaris Retail REIT, Ivanhoe Cambridge
, Homburg Canada REIT, and the Redcliff Realty Group, claim to have received assurances that all of the selected locations on their properties will open as Target locations, and will not be resold to other retailers. Concurrently, Cadillac Fairview
also claims that the Zellers location at the Galeries d'Anjou in Montreal
will definitely become a Target store, but has yet to make a statement on any of its six other shopping centres affected by the transaction. The store directory on Promenades Saint-Bruno
's official website has replaced Zellers with Target, possibly suggesting that it will undergo the change as well. Finally, RioCan has announced that a flagship newly-built Target store will be constructed just west of midtown Toronto
, on a RioCan-owned parcel at the intersection of St. Clair Avenue
and Weston Road
in The Junction
. At present, none of these claims have either been publicly corroborated, or challenged, by Target Canada.
operated under the Target banner during the 1980s and early 1990s. There has also been a liquor store
named Target Liquor in Alberta
, and a Target convenience store
chain based in Toronto.
In advance of its entry into Canada, Target Corporation has attempted to solidify its rights to the "Target" brand name in Canada by buying out the Canadian trademark
rights of some these existing users, in addition to filing new applications of its own. However, Target's expansion into Canada could still be threatened by one other party that claims the Canadian rights to "Target" with respect to clothing.
The Canadian trademark "Target Apparel" was registered in 1981 by Dylex Ltd., a now-defunct Canadian retailer, covering "[m]en's clothing, namely suits, pants, jackets, and coats." The rights to the mark were acquired in 2001 by Fairweather Ltd., part of the INC Group of Companies owned by Isaac Benitah. It appears that Target Apparel originally served as a private-label clothing brand, and not as the name of a retail store; Fairweather would not apply to extend its trademark to cover retail services until April 2011.
INC Group opened a small Target Apparel retail store adjacent to the company's head office in December 2003. In late 2010, soon after Target's announcement that it planned to expand into Canada (but before the Zellers announcement), INC began expanding the banner to other higher-profile locations, including conversions of some of its existing Labels stores. Target has challenged INC's rights to the Target Apparel trade name on numerous occasions; INC has thus far succeeded in retaining those rights, but faces a further court challenge with a trial set to start in 2012.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
subsidiary of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based discount department store chain Target Corporation
Target Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
, formed in 2011 to oversee the company's Canadian operations.
Target announced on January 13, 2011 that it would be purchasing the leaseholds of up to 220 locations currently operated by Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
's Zellers
Zellers
Zellers Inc. is Canada's second-largest chain of mass merchandise discount stores, with locations in communities across Canada. A subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company , it has 273 locations across the country....
discount store chain, and that it planned to open Target stores in Canada using many of these sites starting in 2013.
Background
During the 1970s, '80s, and early '90s, Zellers had performed relatively strongly on the Canadian retail scene. However, the chain's market share declined after Wal-Mart's expansion into Canada, starting with the acquisition of WoolcoWoolco
Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in the city of Columbus, Ohio, by the F.W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its peak, Woolco had hundreds of stores in...
's Canadian operations in 1994. Its own 1998 acquisition of Kmart Canada
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
did little to stem this tide.
Beginning in the early 2000s, the chain attempted to reposition itself as a more upscale discount department store, trying to emulate the successful approach of Target in the U.S. However, these efforts were mostly seen as a poor imitation of Target, and did not reverse the trend.
Around the same period, regular rumours would surface suggesting that Target was interested in expanding into Canada by acquiring Zellers outright. In January 2010, Target publicly indicated long-term plans to expand internationally, likely including Canada, but that those plans would not take effect until 2013 at the earliest.
Acquisition of Zellers leaseholds
| Target Sale Timeline |
|---|
|
On January 2011, Target announced that it would purchase the lease agreements of up to 220 Zellers stores for C$1.825 billion. Under the agreement, Zellers will initially sublease the properties, and continue to operate them as Zellers locations until at least January 2012 and at latest the end of March 2013.
In late May 2011, Target announced its first 105 selections, including at least one selection in each province. The company has stated that the vast majority of locations in this first group will be converted to Target. In September 2011, Target announced 84 additional selections, bringing the total number of leases, including an initial group of 105, to 189. The first store opening cycle will be in March 2013, followed by four additional cycles later that year. For locations that will be converted, the majority will be closed for at least six to nine months as they undergo significant remodeling.
After the Zellers stores at these locations close, Target will renovate between 125 and 135 of them, and reopen them under the Target banner. Target expects to transfer the remaining acquired locations, numbering between 70 and 120, to other retailers, including 39 which are slated to be resold to Walmart Canada. It has been speculated that the remaining locations could be acquired by one or more additional U.S. chains seeking to expand into Canada, such as Kohl's
Kohl's
Kohl's Corporation is an American department store chain headquartered in the Milwaukee suburb of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, operating , 1,089 stores in 49 states. In 1998, it entered the S&P 500 list, and is also listed in the Fortune 500...
or J. C. Penney
J. C. Penney
-External links:*...
.
Target is not purchasing the Zellers chain outright. Approximately 50 to 60 existing locations will be retained by HBC. HBC's current announced plans are to operate the remaining locations as part of a smaller Zellers chain operating in specific communities.
Target Canada's head office will be located in Mississauga, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
at the AeroCentre V complex.
Target plans to hire thousands of new employees to support its expansion into Canada.
Target Canada's food and grocery items will be supplied by Sobeys
Sobeys
Sobeys is the second largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,300 supermarkets operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than $14 billion CAD in 2009...
.
Proposed locations
Contrary to some media reports, Target has only stated so far that the vast majority of these locations will be converted to the Target banner. The company has not yet confirmed which specific locations will or will not become Target stores.A number of landlords, including RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, Primaris Retail REIT, Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge
Ivanhoe Cambridge is a property management and development company that formed from the merger of two former companies, Ivanhoe and Cambridge, in 2001.-Ivanhoe Corporation:...
, Homburg Canada REIT, and the Redcliff Realty Group, claim to have received assurances that all of the selected locations on their properties will open as Target locations, and will not be resold to other retailers. Concurrently, Cadillac Fairview
Cadillac Fairview
Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited is a North American investor, owner, and manager of commercial real estate.The name "Cadillac Fairview" came into existence in 1974 as a result of the merger between Cadillac Development Corporation Ltd and Fairview Corporation...
also claims that the Zellers location at the Galeries d'Anjou in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
will definitely become a Target store, but has yet to make a statement on any of its six other shopping centres affected by the transaction. The store directory on Promenades Saint-Bruno
Promenades Saint-Bruno
Les Promenades Saint-Bruno is a shopping mall in Saint-Bruno, Quebec that broke ground in 1976 and completed in 1978, making it the youngest of the four self-branded "Fashion centres" operated by Cadillac Fairview. Les Promenades Saint-Bruno is the largest mall in the Montérégie and part of its...
's official website has replaced Zellers with Target, possibly suggesting that it will undergo the change as well. Finally, RioCan has announced that a flagship newly-built Target store will be constructed just west of midtown Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, on a RioCan-owned parcel at the intersection of St. Clair Avenue
St. Clair Avenue
St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road , north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street....
and Weston Road
Weston Road
Weston Road is a north-south street in west end Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The route is named for the former Village of Weston, which was located near Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West....
in The Junction
The Junction
The Junction is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is near the junction of four railway lines in the area known as the West Toronto Diamond. The neighbourhood was previously an independent city called West Toronto, that was also its own federal electoral district until amalgamating...
. At present, none of these claims have either been publicly corroborated, or challenged, by Target Canada.
Trademark issues
In the absence of the U.S. chain, a number of Canadian retail companies, without any affiliation to the American company, have made use of the "Target" name for various purposes. For example, a regional variety store chain in Newfoundland and LabradorNewfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
operated under the Target banner during the 1980s and early 1990s. There has also been a liquor store
Liquor store
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a liquor store is a type of store that specializes in the sale of alcoholic beverages. In South Africa and Namibia these stores are generally called bottle stores....
named Target Liquor in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, and a Target convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
chain based in Toronto.
In advance of its entry into Canada, Target Corporation has attempted to solidify its rights to the "Target" brand name in Canada by buying out the Canadian trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
rights of some these existing users, in addition to filing new applications of its own. However, Target's expansion into Canada could still be threatened by one other party that claims the Canadian rights to "Target" with respect to clothing.
The Canadian trademark "Target Apparel" was registered in 1981 by Dylex Ltd., a now-defunct Canadian retailer, covering "[m]en's clothing, namely suits, pants, jackets, and coats." The rights to the mark were acquired in 2001 by Fairweather Ltd., part of the INC Group of Companies owned by Isaac Benitah. It appears that Target Apparel originally served as a private-label clothing brand, and not as the name of a retail store; Fairweather would not apply to extend its trademark to cover retail services until April 2011.
INC Group opened a small Target Apparel retail store adjacent to the company's head office in December 2003. In late 2010, soon after Target's announcement that it planned to expand into Canada (but before the Zellers announcement), INC began expanding the banner to other higher-profile locations, including conversions of some of its existing Labels stores. Target has challenged INC's rights to the Target Apparel trade name on numerous occasions; INC has thus far succeeded in retaining those rights, but faces a further court challenge with a trial set to start in 2012.