A few things went wrong. (And no, Target wasn't and isn't anything like Zeller's, which was more of a "dollar store" environment.) First, Target never fully understood how Canadians would perceive a retail outlet whose in-store prices were drastically different from (US) online prices. (Canada is a BIG country and even without all the taxes and tariffs, it adds to the price of a widget when you have to truck it from China to [Los Angeles to] Montreal to Edmonton...) Second, Target never properly differentiated itself in the mind of the Canadian consumer from Wal-Mart. I am a professional marketer and was watching this very serious positioning problem from the beginning. Finally, frankly, Canadians do not like Americans and American things. They simply don't. They do not like you. Period. No matter what you think is going on, no matter about your "friend in Montreal," they do not like you. To be a Canadian is to not be an American. Frankly, all of this could have been avoided with a few more maple leaves plastered here and there, fewer loud, fruity Madison Avenue creatives, and an effort, like the Hudson's Bay Co. and others made, to hire men like me to help guide public perception.I don't disagree with anything you've said. I just find it hard to understand how a company like Target could misjudge the Canadian market so badly. Target has been hugely successful in the U.S. market for decades, with thousands of stores and billions in sales, so it's not like they're some start-up business with little experience in retailing. You'd think they would have done sufficient due diligence before entering the Canadian market in order to avoid or minimize the obstacles you've identified in your narrative. This is no small misstep. Some senior management heads should roll over this epic failure.
I disagree with a lot of what he said. Canadians don’t hate Americans or American businesses. Value for money. Same as anywhere. 133 stores in two years is insanity. Consider Nordstrom’s will be opening its fist 3 stores in Canada in the next year. This was five years in the making. They will do it right and won’t need to pay somebody a bunch of money to plaster Canadian flags on their stores. His client, the Hudsons Bay Co, will be a big victim. Take that to the bank.