Sep 26 2012
God Bless America
Roughly 2 years ago, Target bought Zellers for almost $2 billion dollars. Why is this so shocking? Well, if you live in Canada, you know that Zeller’s is our 2nd largest chain of discount, mass merchandise, department stores. And it hasn’t been doing so well.
Why is it that brands like Zellers eventually fail, when retailers in the same market such as Costco, Wal-Mart, and Target flourish? What do these primarily US based business have that Canadian-based retailers don’t?
What is the difference between Zellers and Target? Essentially, they share many, of not all, points of parity and points of difference in their marketing scheme. Why is it that Target has been so successful in the states and Zellers is on its last legs? Lets consider:
– Logo
– Marketing
Walmart has catchy commercials. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zellers commercial, and I’m Canadian. Additionally, even with the rumours of Walmart’s use of child labour, it is consistently one of the largest brands in the USA. Why?
Can Target turn this $1.8 investment into an economic success?
References & further reading:
http://business.financialpost.com/2011/01/13/what-target-can-do-with-zellers
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/01/13/target-zelles-takeover.html