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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Target stirs excitement
U.S. retailer's first Canadian outlet opens in Ontario
Dave Chidley / The Canadian Press Employees welcome the first shoppers who lined up for the opening of the new Target store in Guelph, Ont., Tuesday. (CP)
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GUELPH, Ont. -- The Canadian launch of discount retailer Target attracted a mix of bargain hunters, curious shoppers and even a few pranksters on Tuesday as the company opened three locations in southwestern Ontario.
Just before dawn, a handful of locals had lined up at the Guelph, Ont., store, each with different plans for what they'd do once inside. Some people had mental shopping lists, others wanted to weigh it against Walmart, and one group of friends said they would turn the hyped event into a funny YouTube video.
For a department store famed for stocking everything under the sun, the crowd outside seemed just as diverse.
"Our one friend convinced us yesterday, but then she decided not to come. Too early and too cold, I guess," said Tamara Valenti, a student at the University of Guelph as she huddled alongside the few of her friends in the cold.
They showed up at 5:30 a.m. and were first in line. Their goal was to find printer-ink cartridges at a cheaper price than the competitors.
Behind them was Rhonda Weatherall, a local resident who remembers when Walmart launched its first store in Guelph several years ago.
"I was the first one in," she said, "so I kind of wanted to come and compare."
But after a walk through the aisles of the Target store she "wasn't overly impressed."
"There wasn't a lot of great deals that I saw," she said.
"There's lots of employees in there to help... but it's no different than any other. I mean, it looks like a Zellers but it's got the name Target."
Proving it's more than just another department store could be one of Target's biggest challenges as it rolls out stores across most of the country this year after more than two years of hype. The company acquired most of the real estate assets operated by Zellers for nearly $2 billion in late 2010.
The U.S. retailer opened the three stores Tuesday as part of a test program for its phased rollout of the brand. The first locations are in Guelph as well as surrounding communities Fergus and Milton while others will follow across the province later this month.
Working in the retailer's favour is a high level of curiosity. In Guelph, by the time the doors officially opened at 8 a.m., there were already 100 people in line outside and several hundred more followed in the hours afterwards.
The first ones inside the door were greeted by a line of enthusiastic Target employees who cheered, clapped and high-fived the shoppers, playing up the event.
"C'mon everybody, grab a cart!" one employee shouted, before noticing one customer who followed her encouragement. "Woo! She grabbed a cart!"
Target plans to open another 21 stores throughout Ontario this month, although dates haven't been announced. Overall, the company is expected to open between 125 and 135 locations in Canada.
After the Ontario rollout, Target will begin moving into western provinces throughout the year and eventually into Quebec.
A Target spokeswoman said the first of five stores planned for Manitoba will open in May, although she wouldn't specify the exact date. They are located in the former Zellers outlets in the Kildonan Place and Southdale shopping centres in Winnipeg and in the Shoppers Mall in Brandon.
That will be followed in the fall with the opening of a store at the Grant Parking Shopping Centre.
Elson couldn't say when the fifth store, slated for the Polo Park area, will open. The company is considering two options there -- taking over the former Zellers space in the Polo Park shopping centre, or building a larger, stand-alone store on the former Canad Inns Stadium site, where a major new commercial/residential development is being planned by Cadillac Fairview (owner of the Polo Park shopping centre) and local real estate developer Shindico Realty Inc.
-- The Canadian Press, with files from staff
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 6, 2013 B6
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Updated on Thursday, March 7, 2013 at 11:14 AM CST: Corrects that Brandon outlet will be opening in the spring, not the fall
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