Target's incoming rewards program making Cdn. stores rethink theirs

If I really wanted to be an "American", I would have moved there. The slow influx of American comapnies into Canada has not been a good thing for Canadians. If they try to "Americanize" us Canadians any further, my family & I may have to look for another country to live in outside of North America.

Yawnie, do I ever agree with you. If the government decided to "privateize the health care" in this country, and no more "freebies", they'd stay home to shop and spend their winters. I lived in "America" for a few yrs., and believe me, it's not all "greener grass south of the 49th".

Hey Yawnie you can pack your shit and get out anytime don't wait another minute.

Hey Yawnie, I hear that Vietnam is looking for new residents. Let`s see how you make out there.
I`d rather have the U.S. Companies coming here with jobs for Canadians then have the Chinese buying up our natural resources.
Oh yawnie South Africa needs new blood too. You might also consider moving there too.

@Yawnie
If a retailer expanding into our rapidly growing, commercially competitive cities makes you want to defect from your country, I say more power to you. I don't understand how people are so xenophobic that they can't see that for Canada to stay competitive in a global free market we have to welcome competition like Target. It's not like Canada, as a whole, can be viewed as a "small town" where we fear that big box is going to drive small businesses out of town. We live in a country where Wal-Mart is king of the mega stores, and where our established department stores like The Bay and Sears can't seem to find a sustainable business model and remain in the black.
Do you think American's are thinking of crying foul and fleeing their country in self-imposed exile because Tim Horton's (Coffee and Bake Shop as it's known there) expanded rapidly in recent years? Probably not.

Yawnie, you can leave. I'm loving the competition finally coming to this side of the border. I finally get to enjoy Target here. Now, I'm expectantly waiting for cracker barrel. :)

Its about time we get with the times , only wish the cell companies would come here too because we are raped when it comes to cell service and costs as well as banks we pay through the nose in service charges where in the states THEY bendover backwards to win you over not the other way around!!!

Stop picking on yawnie and do some research instead of flaming him/her. where do you think most of the profits from american stores go to? Not cananda that's for sure so wake up. every day canadian retailers shut down like the recent spat of zellers closing and being replaced by walmart...or was that cheap chinese made crap that falls apart in a week. As for new jobs are you kiding? As i just said, zellers are closed so all that's going to happen is the people who lost those jobs will simply be reshuffled to the new walmart and target stores. On paper the government can then say "see? we opened up the market to new us brands and it's helping our unemployment!!!"....WRONG.

Yawnie, If you have a job now and you want to leave please do so. It will leave an opening for a true Canadian to have a job. I am 70 years young and was born in Canada. Quit your bellyaching and get back to work.

Companies don't sell at a loss or they don't stay in business. If they can offer a disount of any kind, it is simply a matter of the product being overpriced by at least that amount. There's nothing for nothing in this world. BTW, aardvark1 is absolutely right and beyond that, always remember, if the economy goes down the drain, foreign companies always think of the home front first. They will cut staff and close stores in foreign holdings before they will do it on the home front. Also, the people at Zellers have to compete for a job at the Target and S**mart stores. They do not have a first right of refusal. Those "new" jobs at S**mart are paying half the wages and little to no benefits. Those of you who are anti-union will be happy to hear that, I'm sure.

Woo hoo, thanks for basically waving the gst. I'd be more impressed if it were 6%. I'll check out the store when it gets here. But, I'm not expecting anything different then what we've already got.

YouMustBeCrazy Tim Horton's has been owned by the Wendys(US) corporation for years, although it has moved its headquarters back to Canada to expidite foreign expansion.

You might want to check that out bj. Seems to me there was a change back in 2009 as per following:

What is the effective date that Tim Hortons became a Canadian public company, and at what price did the shares in the new public company start trading?
The transaction to make Tim Hortons a Canadian public company became effective on September 28th, 2009, and the close prices on September 25th, 2009 were $30.60 on the Toronto Stock Exchange and $27.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.

I'm looking forward to shopping at Target because it's way better than Zellers. However, I agree that it's ridiculous how US companies are coming up here, AND how many foreign investors there are in Canada.

If coming in and creating a bunch of minimum wage jobs while shutting down Canadian companies is a good thing, I'm confused. Wal-Mart already paved the way by putting so many Canadian companies out of business. From small local shops to giant Canadian companies. I'm in favor of a free market, but I would like to see more global laws on unionization, fair wages, etc. No company is doing the economy any favors if it throws small business owners out of their jobs and into minimum wage ones working for them. That isn't helping the economy, that is helping a select few get rich off what is essentially a slave wage.

Will I still shop at Target? Occasionally, but I will continue to make an effort to shop mostly at Canadian companies like the Bay (one thing I do have to say it that the Bay needs to step up and have better customer service. Perhaps some kind of shareholder benefits for employees would make them more invested in the company).

Ive been shopping at Target for years. The selection and price are better. Maybe its time to get new buyers for the canadian stores so we can get the selection. I saved $550.00 off a patio set a couple of years ago and i couldn,t even finde the quality of it here. So worth the drive to the States. I can hardly wait.

i pass a sign every day on the fence at Ford Union hall. It reads keep buying foriegn and we will have no jobs here. But waite Ford sends there cars to China and other countries. If its good for them its good for us. I think Ford Canada has a plant in China.So Ford wants to sell to the Chinese but dont want us to buy from them. Hm. Caterpillar general Moters are heading south. So why be upset if an American company comes here.

it's time Canadian companies began to realize the border is a non existing line which goes across; I shop mostly in the U.S. either online or in person for the savings for my family. Canadian companies and consumers/employees alike must realize you compete or roll over and die; such as companies like Zellers,Eaton's and soon Sears. K-Mart is still doing well but Stedmans lays under a big rock somewhere out there. Wake up on both sides of the border, the only one's we need to be afraid of is China and Pakistan for consumer take-over's..... it is coming unless we do defend our border's and economy.

Tracy, all the companies that you mentioned are american. I would be surprised if Ford makes a car in Canada and sells it in China. Any company that wants to sell in China must partner with a China based company. They cannot set up shop on their own. This is the law there. China only cares if its good for them and don't care about the rest of the world except when it comes to taking your money from you. We need to bring ALL manufacturing back to the level from the 1970's and also need many more large Canadian business in this country. Believe me when I say that foreign companies take as much of their profits out of the country to avoid paying taxes here. I worked for an american company for 15 years so I know what I'm saying. When things got tough in the U.S. they laid off many employees in foreign counties first and then in the U.S. when they had to.

It would seem Yawnee is one of the few commenters on this story with any knowledge or education.

Target is a mainly French company, not American. As far as supporting your community, as we always expected and received from Zellers, K-Mart, Towers, and local independent merchants, forget it.

This continued infiltration of big American (or psuedo-American) retailers is just another rip in the fabric we used to call Canadian culture. The sad part is the number of people too stupid to see it.

I too am tired of watching American companies come up here and put Canadian stores out of business. It's unfortunate that wealthy Canadian investors don't do something to create Canadian stores that can compete with places like Target and WalMart. And yeah, it's nice to get things really cheap - but at what cost. As said by some above, the American companies don't give a tinkers damn about the communities they set up in (despite the image they like to create to the contrary). When times are tough, they will pull out without a thought leaving many people jobless. They are about making money, period. I support Canadian stores whenever possible, although it's becoming harder to do so, as we continue to sell out to American interests. I originally come from the U.S. and I can tell you that they are not at all interested in Canada except for what they can get from us. And any trade deals are designed to protect their interests at all costs. You may enjoy the cheap American goods; hopefully it will never be you or your family member out of a job because of it.

Congratulations on slowly coming out of the 1970's, Canada! Now lets get with the other civilized countries and have mail deliveries on Saturdays, too!

Because i live close to the border I already have a red card, and yes i do use it, i make my purchase, get my savings then go to the curtisy desk and pay off what i just spent. Not only do i save 5 percent, Target prices are much lower than the Canadian grocrery stores, sometimes as much as one dollar or more lower. My last trip I saved over 100 dollars by buying at target. and I had to prove it at the border when i returned, he got half way threw my list and saw i was already at 100 dollars savings , so he handed back my reciete and told me to go.

Useful discussion, but a few points I hope are accurate: 1) Employment in retailing in Canada will rise at Target over Zellers. 2) Zellers was on its way out of business--did anyone here actually shop there regularly? 3) Very few small, general merchandise retailers actually pay above minimum wage now; they never did. 4) The real threats to retail employment are internet shopping and self check out automation; retail sector permanent employment has been falling in the US unrelated to the great recession. 5) Sears is on the verge of bankruptcy in both the US and Canada; the same is true of its better off owner K-Mart. 6) Canadian retailers can enter the US market anytime they wish--Canadian Tire tried and failed; Tims has struggled--not really retail; Couto Pharmacies failed miserably with its Rite-Aide purchase; only the Yoga apparel maker has had great success, and it is in a niche market. 7) Canadians pay higher prices and have less selection at retail primarily due to having far less competition. 8) Lower competition is reflected in the fact that retail space, measure in square feet per person, is three times greater in the US than in Canada. 9) Regulation and urban development patterns impact on the square footage. 10) The reduced competition results in much reduced efficiency in supply chain management, inventory management in general, sensitivity to sales per square foot of retail space, and employee/management development programs. 11) Regulation in the dairy and poultry industries result in inflated prices to consumers and massive transfers of wealth from Canadian consumers to quota owners in those industries--this reinforces consumer views that costs are just higher in Canada for some reason and encourages general apathy; in addition, this undermines the ability of industries that use product from the industries as inputs to be competive on a golbal basis and offer efficient, cost based prices in Canada. 12) Lower competition at home in large part accounts for the failure of Canadian companies to be able compete down south--they simply are not prepared for the rigors and fast change and need to be super sensitive to consumer wants and changes in their tastes and preferences--ask RIM.

one tme canadian tire was resonable but no more they need competion.glad to see target coming

loblaws is cutting wages and benifits in most stors a woker earning $15.94 will be making $12.84 when the wage cuts start the co. isbuying off the union contract seting up under a new name so it can cut wages most of this is to get in line with what the us stores are doing the union is going along with it or they will be out of the stores lablaws controlles

I remember not too many years ago, the closing of Woolco stores as Walmart was invading Canada from down south ! There were a lot of people belly aching about the American invasion, many claiming they refuse to shop at any Walmart stores - funny how now no matter what day of the week you go, or what time of the day you go - there is never any damn bloody parking at a Walmart store and the line ups at the cash are always about 6 - 10 people deep !!! If Target promises to help us save our hard earned pennies where is the problem - maybe if the Canadian stores did the same rather than trying to make their own profits higher - they wouldnt close as often.

NEWSFLASH... KMart (that "Canadian" store) was originally called S.S. Kresge Company, based out of the USA and listed on the NY Stock Exchange in 1918. It was re-named K-Mart in 1977 and became part of Sears Holding Company. BTW, Simpson's (aka Simpson-Sears, aka Sears Canada) was merged with Sears (Roebuck) back in 1952. Sears Holdings (USA) owns 73% of Sears Canada. Many K-Mart stores were also sold to Hudson Bay in 1997. Hudson Bay (that other "Canadian" company)... along with its Zellers stores has been American owned since 2006. And speaking of quality merchandising Canadian companies, just think about how much "stuff" at Zellers, K-Mart, Woolco and Towers were also manufactured in China. It's called a global economy, only the strong (and adaptable) survive... wherever they are.

BTW... don't let the (Canada) after a name fool you. Ford (Canada) = USA owned, GM (Canada) = USA owned, Chrysler (Canada) = Italy (Fiat) owned (62%), Molsons = Coors (USA) merger, Labatts = owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (USA). Seagrams = owned by Vivendi Universal (France). The list goes on and on and on.