The Toronto Star: Sears aims for a new look – and new catalogue – ahead of Target’s launch

Sears aims for a new look – and new catalogue – ahead of Target’s launch

Written by:  Francine Kopun Retail Reporter

Shoppers across Canada are getting a peek at the new Sears today, between the pages of a glossy, 24-page fashion magazine featuring fedoras, caftans and maxi-skirts.

“It not only speaks to our refreshed sense of style, but also to the changes we are making throughout our stores. Today, when you come into Sears, you will notice these changes include a better, simpler shopping experience and finding exactly what you’re looking for, at competitive prices,” Calvin McDonald, president and CEO, Sears Canada Inc., writes in the premiere issue.

McDonald, who took the helm at Sears Canada last year, is trying to reposition the retailer to increase sales and profitability and meet the challenge of new competition from heavy hitter discount retailer Target, which plans to open up to 135 discount stores in Canada beginning in 2013.

McDonald is focused on improving customer relations with new training for sales associates, de-cluttering stores and improving merchandise.

“Great retailers have retail rhythm. We’ve lost that rhythm. We’ve got to get it back,” he says.

Especially since Target — as the name implies — is focused. The retailer of cheap and cheerful fashion and housewares is popular with an important demographic – new moms. Last fall, Target stoked a run on stores in the U.S. with a capsule collection of clothes, accessories, housewares and outdoor goods by the Italian fashion house Missoni.

In February, Target grabbed headlines with a pop-up store in Toronto’s fashion district, featuring a limited line of clothing by Jason Wu, the Taipei-born designer who made the chiffon dress Michelle Obama wore on her first night as First Lady.

The Sears book makes it clear that Sears intends to tangle with Target on the fashion front. The magazine is not your typical Sears flyer – it’s glitzy and large-format, more Holt Renfrew or Fashion Week than suburban-wear circa last century.

It includes fashion-forward looks put together with separates by Sears trend director Cynthia Florek, pairing floral scarves, coloured jeans and flats for chic soccer moms and maxi-skirts and fedoras for the younger crowd.

“There was a definite decision to separate it out from what we normally do,” said Vincent Power, divisional vice-president, corporate affairs and communications for Sears Canada Inc.

“We have great value, but we may not be doing a great job of communicating it to Canadians.”

Retail expert Wendy Evans, president of Evans and Company Consultants, says Sears has traditionally aimed for the mid-segment of the market.

She says Sears is changing – the core stores have been spruced up, clothing collections have been edited down and the Jessica brand – an inhouse line of clothing and accessories – is improving.

Communicating that change to the public is the next hurdle.

“You’re changing your position in the market and that doesn’t happen overnight,” said Evans.

Target will have a natural advantage when it launches in Canada, she added. The novelty factor alone will draw crowds.

“Everybody will be kicking the tires.”

Look! report began arriving at Canadian homes in newspapers and mailboxes on Tuesday. Sears typically delivers flyers to 3-4 million households across Canada, says Power.

The Toronto Star: Target to have big footprint in GTA

Toronto Star:  Emily Jackson

Target will have a big footprint in the GTA after its first round of store openings in Canada in spring 2013.

The retail giant released the locations of the first 24 stores it plans to open in March or April 2013. Four stores will be in Toronto and seven more will find homes in the GTA – depending where one draws the boundaries.

Target purchased leaseholds of 189 Zellers sites in early 2011.

“In addition to providing Canadian guests with an exceptional shopping experience, Target looks forward to continuing our strong reputation of being a good neighbour in the Canadian communities in which we will do business,” said Target Canada’s President Tony Fisher in the statement.

The retailer will spend between $10-11 million to renovate each location.

Each store will employ 150 to 200 people, which could provide up to 4,800 jobs for Ontarians. Hiring will take place in 2012.

Target will “engage” with current employees of Zellers to make it easier for them to apply for these jobs, according to the release.

Target plans to open up to 135 stores in Canada, mostly in 2013. It will announce more locations in the coming months.

Here is a list of the first Target locations:

• London Westmount, Westmount Shopping Centre

• Kawartha Lakes, Lindsay Square Mall

• Newmarket, Upper Canada Mall

• Milton, Milton Mall Shopping Centre

• Cambridge, Cambridge Centre

• Toronto, Centrepoint Mall

• Mississauga, Square One Shopping Centre

• Ajax, Durham Centre

• Orillia, Orillia Square Mall

• Brampton, Shoppers World Brampton

• London, Masonville Place

• Windsor, Devonshire Mall

• Toronto, Cloverdale Mall

• Toronto, Shoppers World Danforth

• Burlington, Burlington Mall

• Toronto, East York Town Centre

• Aurora, Aurora Shopping Centre

• Fergus, Gates of Fergus

• Hamilton, Centre Mall

• Guelph, Stone Road Mall

• Burlington, Millcroft Centre

• Waterdown, Flamborough Power Centre

• Whitby, Taunton Road Power Centre

• Brampton, Trinity Common

The Toronto Star: Target plans up to 135 Canadian stores by 2013

By Dana Flavelle |                 Fri Sep 23 2011

Toronto will be the first Canadian city to get a Target store when the hotly anticipated purveyor of cheap chic merchandise starts opening its first non-U.S. stores in March 2013, the company says.

Just where it might be located remains to be seen. Perhaps in one of the six Zellers locations in Toronto the retailer announced last May? Or in the Stockyards, a new development under construction at the corner of St. Clair Ave. W. and Weston Rd.

The retailer isn’t saying.

However, Target did shed more light on its plans for Canada on Friday.

Dubbed Tar-zhay by its legion of fans, the U.S.-based retailer said it plans to open up to 135 stores in 2013, including 134 in Zellers locations across the country and one in a vacant Walmart in Niagara Falls.

Target also said the stores, which carry mainly general merchandise, would sell food under an agreement it has signed with Sobeys Inc., the country’s second largest supermarket chain.

For now, the deal with Sobeys includes frozen, dairy and dry goods, but the retailer isn’t ruling out a wider assortment in future. In the U.S., Target has begun adding fresh produce and meat, making it more of a full-service grocer.

In a separate but related announcement, Walmart Canada Corp. released a list of the 39 Zellers stores it plans to convert to Walmart’s by the end of next year.

They include three Zellers stores in Toronto, one each in Gerrard Square, Sheridan Mall and Cedarbrae Mall.

Target’s entry into Canada is expected to be a game-changing event for the Canadian retail industry.

With its powerful marketing muscle and reputation for cheap-chic, reinforced by high-profile designer events, such as the Missoni collection that crashed its website last week, Target is expected to take a big bite out of the Canadian retail landscape.

The retailer, a major competitor to Wal-Mart south of the border, announced in January it would make a bold move into Canada, its first foray outside the U.S., by buying the leasehold rights to up to 220 Zellers locations for $1.825 billion.

But after reviewing the sites, it has chosen to take up the leasehold rights on just 134 Zellers’ stores. It announced the locations of the first 105 in May.

On Friday, it said it had taken up another 84 leaseholds, but only 29 would be converted to Targets. The additional 84 Zellers’ sites include 36 in Ontario. It declined to say which of those locations would become Targets.

The retailer, whose arrival is expected to dramatically change the Canadian retail landscape, said this completes its real estate transaction with Zellers.

However, it plans to build some stores from scratch, including one at St. Clair Ave. W. and Weston Rd. and is also taking over a vacant Walmart store in Niagara Falls.

Target plans to spend $10-$11 million converting each Zellers’ location. It’s already begun hiring in Canada.

In a separate release, Zellers said it will prepare its associates for the tens of thousands of jobs that will be created by Target and other retailers through a comprehensive career transition program which includes working closely with prospective employers.

Target will provide Zellers with a minimum six months notice of any planned store closure, with most stores receiving nine months notice. For the balance of 2011 and into 2012 Zellers customers will continue to be able to enjoy shopping at all of its locations across the country.

The remaining 84 Zellers stores that are not part of the Target transaction will continue to operate while the company reviews its options for these locations.

List of Target’s second and final selection of 84 additional Zellers leases

Includes potential Target stores and leases sold to other retailers or back to landlords

Alberta (8)

Calgary, AB – Deer Valley Shopping Centre

Edmonton, AB – Abbottsfield Shoppers Mall, Meadowlark Shopping Centre, Northgate Centre, South Park Centre, West Edmonton Mall

Westmount Shopping Centre

Medicine Hat, AB – Medicine Hat Mall

British Columbia (11)

Burnaby, BC – Brentwood Mall

Dawson Creek, BC – Dawson Mall

Kamloops, BC – Sahali Centre Mall

Kelowna, BC – Orchard Park Plaza

Penticton, BC – Penticton Power Centre

Prince Rupert, BC – Rupert Square

Richmond, BC – Landsdowne Centre

Salmon Arm, BC – Piccadilly Place Mall

Surrey, BC – Surrey Place/Central City

Vancouver, BC – Lynn Valley Centre

Victoria, BC – Hillside Shopping Centre

New Brunswick (3)

Fredericton, NB – Uptown Centre

Moncton, NB – Northwest Centre

Saint John, NB – Lancaster Mall

Newfoundland and Labrador (1)

St. John’s, NL – Zellers Plaza

Nova Scotia (6)

Amherst, NS – Amherst Centre

Dartmouth, NS – Colby Village Plaza

Greenwood, NS – Zellers Plaza

Halifax, NS – Bayers Lake Power Centre

North Sydney, NS – North Sydney Mall

Sydney, NS – Sydney Shopping Centre

Ontario (36)

Ancaster, ON – Meadowland Power Centre

Bowmanville, ON – Clarington Town Centre

Brantford, ON- Brantford Centre

Chatham, ON – Thames-Lea Plaza

Georgetown, ON – Georgetown Market

Gloucester, ON – Gloucester Centre

Hamilton, ON – County Fair Plaza

Hawkesbury, ON – Hawkesbury Gateway Shopping Centre

Kitchener, ON- Laurentian Power Centre,- Stanley Park Mall

Listowel, ON – Listowel Carriage Shopping Centre

London, ON – Northland Mall

Mississauga, ON – Sheridan Mall, Westdale Mall

Newmarket, ON – 404 Town Centre

North York, ON – Lawrence Square, Sheridan Mall North York

Oakville, ON – Hopedale Mall

Oshawa, ON – Kingsway Village, Oshawa Centre

Ottawa, ON- Heritage Place

Peterborough, ON – Parkway Centre

Pickering, ON – Pickering Town Centre

Scarborough, ON – Warden & Eglinton, Cedarbrae Mall

293 Bay St., Sault Ste. Marie, ON – Station Mall

285 Geneva St., St. Catharines, ON – Fairview Mall

640 Queenston Road, Stoney Creek, ON – Queenston Place

1020 Dawson Road, Thunder Bay, ON – County Fair Plaza

1101 West Arthur St., Thunder Bay, ON – Thunder Bay Mall

170 Broadway, Tillsonburg, ON – Tillsonburg Town Centre

1000 Gerrart St., Toronto, ON – Gerrard Square

2290 Dundas St. W., Toronto, ON – Southside/Pond Mills Shopping Centre

70 Bridgeport Road, Waterloo, ON – Zellers Centre

800 Niagara St. N., Welland, ON – Seaway Mall

1550 Huron Church Road, Windsor, ON – Ambassador Plaza

Quebec (16)

600 boul. Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Beloeil, QC – Montenach Mall

7200 boul. Taschereau (Local 21), Brossard, QC – Place Portabello

1324 boul. Talbot, Chicoutimi, QC – Place De Saguenay

920 boul. Maloney, Gatineau, QC – Les Galeries Gatineau

1055 boul. Firestone, Joliette, QC – Les Galeries Joliette

161 Route 230 Ouest, Bureau 400, La Pocatière, QC – Les Galeries De La Pocatière

2877 chemin Chambly, Longueuil, QC – Place Desormeaux

1700 rue Sherbrooke, Magog, QC – Les Galeries Orford

3121 rue Granby, Montreal, QC – Centre Commercial Domaine

7275 rue Sherbrooke Est., Montreal, QC – Place Versailles Shopping Centre

6700 chemin de la Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, QC – Plaza Côte Des Neiges

101 boul. Cardinal-Léger, # 74, Pincourt, QC – Le Faubourg De l’Île’

12655 rue Sherbrooke Est., Point-aux-Trembles, QC – Carrefour De La Pointe

940 13e Ave. Nord, Sherbrooke, QC – Galeries Quatres Saisons

450 boul. Poliquin, Sorel, QC – Les Promenades De Sorel

450 boul. Arthur Sauvé, St. Eustache, QC – Carrefour St-Eustache

Saskatchewan (3)

134 Primrose Drive, Saskatoon, SK – The Mall at Lawson Heights

2325 Preston Ave., Saskatoon, SK – Market Mall

255-277 Broadway St. E., Yorkton, SK – Parkland Mall

Location of former Walmart site acquired by Target

7190 Morrison St., Niagara Falls, ON