Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013 - 18

TARGET IMPACT

Retailers across the country are raising their games in an effort to wow the Canadian customer.

open a Canadian location at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre,
even before it has moved into the U.S. Canada is also about to see
major development of U.S. premium outlet malls. And then there
is the long list of American retailers that have either announced
plans to expand north or started sniffing for retail space, including
Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, J.C. Penny, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and more.
Customer satisfaction

The person who matters most to all of these retailers is, of
course, the customer. People like Keri Young in Whitby who travels south frequently both for wider selection and lower prices.
Arifuzzaman says the changes coming to retail in Canada will
be good for consumers, for the most part. After all, competition
drives down prices. And Target, like their competitors, will be required to maintain a sharp focus on its product offering and acute
attention to customer service.
The challenge, he says, will be managing expectations. Canadians are used to flocking south for deep discounts, discounts
they didn’t find when Target opened its doors here in March.
“They’ll be fine tuning their pricing but they’re not going to discount prices,” he says, especially after its investment in real estate, people marketing and everything else that’s gone into their
expansion efforts.
Doucette notes it would be difficult for U.S. retailers to offer
the same prices on both sides of the border, even if the dollar is
close to par.
Arifuzzaman agrees. “The question is how much do you want to
compete? No one wants a price war.”

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Raising the competitive bar

There was a time when price was the game, according to Danahy, but not anymore.
“It used to be that a new competitor would
start a price war,” he says. “Now they have to
bring their ‘A’ game.”
And that’s exactly what Target is doing, according to John Torella, senior partner with J.C.
Williams Group.
He gives Target points for its bright, clean,
easy to navigate and well-signed stores but says
it’s the marketing side where the retailer really
raises the bar.
“They have great stuff on television. They
have designer events. They have a website that’s
exciting, contemporary and fresh. It’s all very
contemporary, new, now,” he says.
Target is also omni-channel poised, tapping
into multiple forms of media, from TV and flyers
to pop-up stores and social media. It brings designer labels and strong Canadian associations,
from the Toronto pop-up store featuring a line
by Vancouver designer Jason Wu to its collaboration with Roots Canada. Target also attended
Fashion Week in Montreal to get to know Quebec designers.
“I don’t see any downsides. It’s a win-win all
around,” says Torella, adding that Target will

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Canadian Retailer - Spring 2013

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