In an article released by CBC today, Target Canada will be starting off its liquidation of all products on Thursday February 5, 2015. There will be a media blitz with banners and advertising. Discounts are expected to rival those that are usually reserved for Black Friday. The actual confirmation will take place on Wednesday, and should only be held up if the court decides not to allow the liquidation to proceed, a highly unlikely scenario.
The Oakville location is in South Oakville Centre formerly known as Hopedale Mall, which is located at the corner of Rebecca and 3rd Line. The store has already shuttered the in-store Starbucks, and staff have been re-assigned to the store. Already Shopper's Drug Mart has billboards trying to get the Pharmacy clients to sign up with them. The unfortunate issue is that the pharmacies located in Target stores are franchises, which means that their employees are not covered by the employee compensation program. Also the franchise owners will be holding the bill for the start up costs.
According to one recent visitor to Oakville's Target, staff were busily unpacking large numbers of boxes. One employee stating that the Barbies he was unpacking had not even been released in the store. One of the big issues that faced the US retailer in Canada was their inability to properly stock the shelves. Customers often remarked that the shelves were empty. The US controls its own distribution; however, in Canada management started off by outsourcing distribution. It appears that was a major mistake.
In total 133 stores will be closed in Canada, putting 17,600 individuals out of work. The good news is that the retailer is well known for their staff training, so those employees will find many major retailers' doors open for them. Already, Sears Canada has done a hiring blitz for employees. Hopefully, this will ease the transition for many of Target's employees.
The corporation is expecting the liquidation of stores and distribution centres to be complete by the end of May 2015. Store closings will happening over the next few months, as product is consolidated and stores become redundant. So if you've received one of their gift cards, you'll need to use them or you'll lose them. They have made it clear that the US will not accept Canadian issued gift cards. However, if you owe money on your their Credit Card - well, you are still expected to pay up.
So on Thursday, if you have been looking for something in particular at a major discount, you'll likely find at TARGET.