Target, Sony close stores throughout Canada

Launches failed to meet sales demands

By Angela Espinoza, News Editor

Target and Sony Corp store chains announced mass closures throughout Canada last week. The brands join Mexx Canada, Jacob, and Smart Set, among other store chains, in recent closings announced in the past year.

Sony Corp is closing all 14 of its stores in Canada within the next eight weeks. The chain currently has three locations in British Columbia in Vancouver, Burnaby, and Langley.

As for Target, the major chain opened 133 stores across Canada starting in March 2013. With the company having lost approximately $2-billion since opening, all Target stores will be closing.

Along with cutting thousands of jobs, various Canada-specific deals will be lost with the closures.

Many critics have said the failure of the chain’s launch was due in part to higher-than-expected prices.

“Many in the Canadian market expected TCC (Target Canada Corp.) to follow Target’s US prices,” said Mark Wong, Target’s general counsel, in court. Target’s Canadian locations, however, had prices comparable to many other major Canadian chains.

The lack of a Canadian online shopping option and the high number of openings are also linked to Target Canada’s failure.

As Target and Sony begin their closures, Mexx Canada has already begun closing 95 of its stores.