[Saint John] Retail Thread

[thefishingnut]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

I must agree, I'm a big fan of Target and we were quite loyal to them in my household when they came here. I don't think anyone gave Target Canada a chance; Canadians consumers, suppliers, the media and obviously rival retailers. There is no competition in Canada and existing retailers and suppliers wanted it to stay that way. Target was getting squeezed alright. We say we want variety and competition in Canada... but in reality ''no we don't'' is essentially what we said to Target Canada during their short existence. We have Loblaws, Costco and Walmart case closed.

I'll always remember going to Target in early December to buy snow boots for my son for Xmas. They had only 3 styles, all were hideous in functional design and style, and they didn't have a single pair in his size (9 years old). Went a few more times when I had things to buy and left disappointed almost every time. I'd have thought an experienced retailer would have had a much better strategy than to roll out 100 stores with no inventory. Just bizarre.

[Gnarly]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

the Canadian suppliers to Target purposely squeezed the supply lines shut, just to screw Target over
> = (

That is a total fabrication, and has no basis in truth.
Target had serious issues with newly designed software for their Canadian supply chain, that did not work. They eventually reverted to the software they were using in the US, but it did not work well for the Canadian model.

Research it on Google.
http://www.canadianbusiness.com/the-...target-canada/

[OUIR@random]

Originally Posted by thefishingnut

I'll always remember going to Target in early December to buy snow boots for my son for Xmas. They had only 3 styles, all were hideous in functional design and style, and they didn't have a single pair in his size (9 years old). Went a few more times when I had things to buy and left disappointed almost every time. I'd have thought an experienced retailer would have had a much better strategy than to roll out 100 stores with no inventory. Just bizarre.

Maybe it was just certain locations that were like that, or perhaps most stores were like that I don't know. Our Moncton location was always nicely stocked and fairly busy, they always had what we needed at a good price. I heard that the Moncton store was one of their best performing store and perhaps well stocked because of that, who knows.

[UptownJeff]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Maybe it was just certain locations that were like that, or perhaps most stores were like that I don't know. Our Moncton location was always nicely stocked and fairly busy, they always had what we needed at a good price. I heard that the Moncton store was one of their best performing store and perhaps well stocked because of that, who knows.

The article posted earlier is a fascinating read. The Saint John store was a joke - empty shelves and no shoppers. A shame really.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by UptownJeff

The article posted earlier is a fascinating read. The Saint John store was a joke - empty shelves and no shoppers. A shame really.

Fredericton was the same. Lots of empty shelves and it was never busy.

[michael_d40]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

Maybe it was just certain locations that were like that, or perhaps most stores were like that I don't know. Our Moncton location was always nicely stocked and fairly busy, they always had what we needed at a good price. I heard that the Moncton store was one of their best performing store and perhaps well stocked because of that, who knows.

Huge Target supporter here as well. My family were huge fans of it, and liked the Red Card. They had what we needed and feel the Stock issues (at least at the Saint John store) were grossly over exaggerated. Then again - half the store could have been empty and the prices doubled, and I Still would have supported it. They had nice men's clothing, and home decor. Really miss the Threshold,and Nate Burkus line.

This my sound bad, but it's my honest feelings. Going to a place that's not filled with the great unwashed, a store that doesn't look like the city dump, actually had amazing customer service, and offered a nice experience overall is something I appreciated. We haven't stepped inside a Walmart in years, and don't plan onto anytime soon. Regardless of price.

Until then - Sears, Gap, and Marks for clothing, Loblaws, Sobeys, or Costco for food, Pier 1, Homesense, Sears, and Wicker Emporium for home decor.

More running around now that Target is gone. But it still beats Walmart.

[OUIR@random]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

Huge Target supporter here as well. My family were huge fans of it, and liked the Red Card. They had what we needed and feel the Stock issues (at least at the Saint John store) were grossly over exaggerated. Then again - half the store could have been empty and the prices doubled, and I Still would have supported it. They had nice men's clothing, and home decor. Really miss the Threshold,and Nate Burkus line.

This my sound bad, but it's my honest feelings. Going to a place that's not filled with the great unwashed, a store that doesn't look like the city dump, actually had amazing customer service, and offered a nice experience overall is something I appreciated. We haven't stepped inside a Walmart in years, and don't plan onto anytime soon. Regardless of price.

Until then - Sears, Gap, and Marks for clothing, Loblaws, Sobeys, or Costco for food, Pier 1, Homesense, Sears, and Wicker Emporium for home decor.

More running around now that Target is gone. But it still beats Walmart.

I too had the REDcard. I dislike Walmart and I don't go there, even more so now that Target is gone. I'm in the minority because everyone shops there. I avoid it like the plague. I do my business with Sobeys, Shoppers Drug Mart, Canadian Tire, Sears and Winners. That's about it.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by michael_d40

Huge Target supporter here as well. My family were huge fans of it, and liked the Red Card. They had what we needed and feel the Stock issues (at least at the Saint John store) were grossly over exaggerated. Then again - half the store could have been empty and the prices doubled, and I Still would have supported it. They had nice men's clothing, and home decor. Really miss the Threshold,and Nate Burkus line.

This my sound bad, but it's my honest feelings. Going to a place that's not filled with the great unwashed, a store that doesn't look like the city dump, actually had amazing customer service, and offered a nice experience overall is something I appreciated. We haven't stepped inside a Walmart in years, and don't plan onto anytime soon. Regardless of price.

Until then - Sears, Gap, and Marks for clothing, Loblaws, Sobeys, or Costco for food, Pier 1, Homesense, Sears, and Wicker Emporium for home decor.

More running around now that Target is gone. But it still beats Walmart.

Agreed on the home decor, and the overall experience. We liked Target a lot too. But the problem is that stores of this size can't just rely on people buying clothing and home decor occasionally - they also need people shopping weekly for staple items. And that's where Target failed. You can't expect people to buy their milk and eggs each week if half the time those items aren't in stock.

[Ire Narissis]

I found Target very hit-or-miss.

I'm an AFOL and it was the best place to go in Saint John for the collectible LEGO minifigs... probably because so few people thought to go there to look for them that they never sold out.

Other things I'd go in there looking for, though, all I'd get were the standard "empty shelves".

[OUIR@random]

What I found funny or strange regarding the complaints about selection at Target is that Walmart, Home Depot and Costco doesn't have the same selection and PRICES as they do in the US, but somehow people accepted that. While Target was blasted and sent back packing for it.

[OliverD]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

What I found funny or strange regarding the complaints about selection at Target is that Walmart, Home Depot and Costco doesn't have the same selection and PRICES as they do in the US, but somehow people accepted that. While Target was blasted and sent back packing for it.

Yeah, people had unrealistic expectations on that front.

[Taeolas]

Originally Posted by OUIR@random

What I found funny or strange regarding the complaints about selection at Target is that Walmart, Home Depot and Costco doesn't have the same selection and PRICES as they do in the US, but somehow people accepted that. While Target was blasted and sent back packing for it.

I suspect it's all about managing expectations.

When those US chains came in, for the most part they managed to have similar experiences (or better in some cases) between their US vs Canadian stores; so while there is some grumbling about the selection or prices being different, the stores themselves are still worth shopping at.

Target messed up so much across the board, that the grumbling about the selection and prices are just the cherry on the sucky cake and often what people focus on since it was so in front of them. Target's supply chain problems as linked above meant that not only didn't they have their US brands; they had problems getting the Canadian brands of the same products in. Or the pricing they got those products in was out of whack even for Canadian pricing. Target simply failed by just about any criteria you can consider.

[Franco401]

Truth is, I think if they had put the Starbucks in the back of the Fredericton location, it might have succeeded. That was the only reason anybody entered and even then it was just full of FHS students weekdays at lunch.

[McKay]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

This pic makes me mad as hell, because, to me, the Canadian suppliers to Target purposely squeezed the supply lines shut, just to screw Target over the whole deal that left Zellers dead in the water.

That would have been a textbook example of cutting off one's nose to spite the face. Suppliers want a competitive market to sell to just as much as any consumers do. The more retailers there are to buy wholesale goods, the better off suppliers will be.

[WilJai]

I heard today from a very reliable source that the former SJ Target will be split into 3..
#1 being Dollarama ( relocating from Parkway Mall)
#2 Giant Tiger ( 2nd location for Saint John)
#3 to be determined..

Also heard the soon to be former Sobeys will become a Foodland or a No Frills..

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by WilJai

I heard today from a very reliable source that the former SJ Target will be split into 3..
#1 being Dollarama ( relocating from Parkway Mall)
#2 Giant Tiger ( 2nd location for Saint John)
#3 to be determined..

Also heard the soon to be former Sobeys will become a Foodland or a No Frills..

I see that former Sobeys becoming a No Frills...if you think about it, Loblaws has no regular full grocery presence in that part of the East Side, and it would be a great compliment to the SuperStore location on Rothesay Ave.

This would mean that the McAllister Regional Retail Centre would end up having 7 stores selling some kind of grocery products, either full line(Sobeys, Costco, Walmart Supercentre, and my guess of No Frills) or partial(Giant Tiger, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Bulk Barn) selections.

Tis a lot of stores that will be competing for the food dollar, and having both primary chains and discounters present will mean a dogfight in that area for that big green.

Oh, and No Frills and Shoppers would have a symbiotic relationship anyway, due to both being Loblaws chains.

It'd be kind of cool if the North End could get a FreshCo store at Lansdowne Place, to replace the Sobeys store. Having a FreshCo, which is a name I'm familiar with here in Ontario, would be a good compliment to the Superstore on Somerset St., and give North Enders a choice to help save a few pennies, and also hopefully sink Superstore's prices there.

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by WilJai

I heard today from a very reliable source that the former SJ Target will be split into 3..
#1 being Dollarama ( relocating from Parkway Mall)
#2 Giant Tiger ( 2nd location for Saint John)
#3 to be determined..

Also heard the soon to be former Sobeys will become a Foodland or a No Frills..

This all sounds very feasible. And I bet Dollarama has been itching to get out of Parkway for a while now. Only thing I ever go there for anymore is glasses at 20/20 Vision Care, which has somehow inexplicably managed to survive as the last remaining interior store in that mall for years.

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by Ire Narissis

This all sounds very feasible. And I bet Dollarama has been itching to get out of Parkway for a while now. Only thing I ever go there for anymore is glasses at 20/20 Vision Care, which has somehow inexplicably managed to survive as the last remaining interior store in that mall for years.

I thought there was a hairstylist in the mall too...Mary's or Sophie's or something like that?

[Ire Narissis]

Originally Posted by RaginRonic

I thought there was a hairstylist in the mall too...Mary's or Sophie's or something like that?

That's possible. I can't recall when I've ever had occasion to walk to the other end, so I could have easily missed it.

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by WilJai

I heard today from a very reliable source that the former SJ Target will be split into 3..
#1 being Dollarama ( relocating from Parkway Mall)
#2 Giant Tiger ( 2nd location for Saint John)
#3 to be determined..

Also heard the soon to be former Sobeys will become a Foodland or a No Frills..

That is all good news for the mall. Target was a large footprint so its nice to see they are getting the space filled up.