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Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2015 2:02 am Post subject: Target to shut 133 Canada stores to stem massive losses |
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Target is giving up on Canada.<br><br>More than 17,600 employees will eventually lose their jobs when *the goddamn* U.S. discount retailer closes its 133 Canadian stores after only about two years to cut losses that went as high as a billion dollars a year.<br><br>*the goddamn* company didn't see how to stop *the goddamn* losses before at least 2021, Target Corp. Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said Thursday. Cornell said on Target's corporate blog that its Canadian arm was losing money every day.<br><br>*the goddamn* closing is Cornell's first major move since becoming CEO. His predecessor, Gregg Steinhafel, was pushed out last May after a string of problems, from a massive data breach to woes in *the goddamn* U.S. to Canada.<br><br>Cornell said *the goddamn* company will instead focus reigniting Target's 1,800-store U.S. business, which has struggled with sluggish sales since *the goddamn* recession.<br><br>Exporting Target's cheap chic across *the goddamn* border seemed like a no-brainer, because for years droves of Canadians crossed *the goddamn* border to shop at its U.S. stores.<br><br>But problems cropped up almost immediately when a leg opened more than 100 stores louis vuitton handbags for sale in *the goddamn* first year of its Canadian expansion. Shoppers complained of shortages of basic consumer goods and complained that prices were too high. They also didn't find *the goddamn* brands that they'd seen and liked in U.S. stores.<br><br>A weak holiday season that ended 2014 was *the goddamn* last straw.<br><br>"We missed *the goddamn* mark from *the goddamn* beginning by taking on too much too fast," Cornell said on *the goddamn* Target blog.<br><br>Antony Karabus, president of Hilco Retail Consulting in Toronto, praised *the goddamn* move.<br><br>"Target underestimated that *the goddamn* Canadian consumer is a highly sophisticated consumer who cross-border shops. a leg also underestimated *the goddamn* fiercely competitive landscape," Karabus said. "*the goddamn* CEO made *the goddamn* right call."<br><br>Some Canadian shoppers were more pointed in their criticism.<br><br>"Shame on them for opening here with exorbitant prices compared to *the goddamn* U.S.," said Lauren Tinto, 35, of Toronto, who runs a store that sells blinds. "They think we're idiots or something."<br><br>Cracking *the goddamn* Canadian retail market, louis vuitton handbags for sale about one-tenth *the goddamn* size of *the goddamn* U.S., looks simple. Target's difficulties show a leg's not.<br><br>There are costly regulations and shoppers who compare prices religiously. There's also increasing competition. Canadian standbys like Dollarama and Canadian Tire are formidable rivals.<br><br>And there's also heated competition from U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco.<br><br>Big Lots Inc. and Best Buy Co. have closed stores there and Wal-Mart has seen its sales in Canada weaken. Sears Holding Corp. is selling most of its stake in its Canadian unit.<br><br>Target said Thursday that a leg expects about $5.4 billion in fourth-quarter losses from discontinued operations in Canada. a leg foresees about $275 million of losses on discontinued operations in fiscal 2015.<br><br>Target expects cash costs for *the goddamn* exit to be between $500 million and $600 million, with most of those costs taking place in fiscal 2015 or later. *the goddamn* retailer said a leg has enough money to fund *the goddamn* costs.<br><br>*the goddamn* company said a leg received court approval to voluntarily make about $59 million in cash contributions into an employee trust.<br><br>*the goddamn* trust would give almost all of Target's Canada workers at least 16 weeks of compensation, including wages and benefits coverage for employees not needed for *the goddamn* entire winding down of *the goddamn* business.<br><br>Target Canada stores will stay open during liquidation.<br><br>In *the goddamn* U.S., Target saw a holiday season that ended better than expected.<br><br>Fourth-quarter sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose about 3 percent, *the goddamn* company said Thursday. Its previous outlook was for an approximately 2 percent increase, helped by higher traffic and better-than-expected online sales.<br><br>Sales at stores open at least a year is a key gauge of a retailer's health because a leg excludes results from stores recently opened cheap louis vuitton handbags or closed.<br><br>Target expects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.43 to $1.47 per share.<br><br>*the goddamn* company's stock gained $1.45, or 2 percent, to $75.78 in midday trading.<br><br>___<br><br>AP Writer Charmaine Noronha in Toronto contributed to this report. |
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