RE: Target, a threat?
This post is a response to Carmen Lee’s blog post which can be found here. Her blog is in turn another response to the original post by Derek Kwan which can be found here.
Target: An American Retail Invasion?
Despite the constant speculation regarding the dangers of another “retail goliath” entering Canada, I don’t really feel that the general populous should really be concerned about their appearance. As a major supermarket which is replacing Zellers, many domestic stores fear that Target may further tense up the competition and create an even more heated battleground for the general goods market which is already teeming with big fish fighting for space in the small pond.
However, it strikes me to hear that corporate giants such as Superstore, The Bay, Sears, and Wall-Mart are actually scared of Target’s entrance. Of course, they will be another substitute that the consumer can turn to, but what part of their entrance have we not seen before? In fact, in many cases, they are simply replacing the Zellers stores which already pre-existed, and their locations remain constant. Their prices are also subject to Canadian tariffs and their brand is less constructed compared to the domestic names. I do not think that the Canadian retailers have anything to fear in the near future.
References:
https://blogs.ubc.ca/carmenlee/2012/11/18/target-a-threat/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/dkwan/2012/10/08/target-new-entrant-to-the-canadian-market/