@rose-dee wrote:
I'm happy to hear that HBC isn't part of the Target ship that's going down. After all, we can lay claim one of the oldest (if not the oldest) continuously operating corporation in history.
Unfortunately, there isn't much Canadian-ness left in HBC these days. A lot of the decisions seem to be made in New York and some operations have moved South. HBC is now only a part of a larger entity. No matter what kind of PR spin is put on it.
I am not at all surprised by Target's demise. I know people who went to work for them and (in my field at least) they were offering wages that were 30% above market. I went to the store nearest me a couple of times, looking for items that they should have had lots of. Both times, the shelves were basically empty. Not just for the items I was looking for, but throughout the store. I never went back, because I don't like wasting my time.
I think that what happened here is that the Target people did not properly analyze the market they were getting into. Canadians are not Americans. The company came here with a lot of arrogance, thinking that the Target brand was already well-established and that they had nothing to prove.
I don't know how "poor" those locations were. Target were offered 200+ locations and they picked and chose the ones they wanted. If they picked poorly, then that is part of their deficient analysis of the market.
I feel bad for all those people who will soon be losing their jobs. I also feel bad for all the landlords who will find themselves with a lot of empty space, at a time when there are already a lot of "For Rent" signs up. As for Target, they got their comeuppance. And they will now provide a case study on how NOT to do an international expansion to business schools everywhere for years to come!
