It's not opened here yet but I've heard the same things you have. Why go there if not for better prices? Everyone will just stick with Costco and Walmart.

I watched a great Market Place show on why prices are higher in Canada than the USA. It's not because of shipping or production costs, it's just that Canadians will pay more. Time to stop paying more as far as I am concerned!

I didn't go when it opened here, but I have been a couple of times since. It is close to my house and was on the way when there was something I needed.

My opinion? Meh. It's okay. Can't say there is a better or different selection there, or that I saw anything that would make me want to go there over any other store.

Dances.

We like Target very much. Great selection of everything.
Much better quality clothing than Walmart. Good prices. As a matter of fact we have 2 Targets that are located within 1/4 mile of each other and they're both packed all the time. We're in the
SF Bay area. I don't understand why Canadian Targets would
be any different.

you couldn't pay me enough to shop at Wal-Mart...DH & I used to go to Marketplace stores (walmart just food) and continually say when he gets his big job we are paying someone to do this for us LOL cuz at that point I'm not putting up with them! I shop at Super Target, Publix, Fresh Market and WholeFoods in that order...I will pay whatever I have to so I can stay out of Walmarts. All are also with in 1-2 miles of my work route & house whereas Wal-Marts are outside of my normal driving routes. My time is FAR more valuable & the level of frustration too exorbitant to bother saving dollars. I also hate WalMart and everything they are about. ~ liz

We have shopped in both the Targets in Canada and the ones in the United States. The Canadian Targets are very inferior in terms of selection and quantity. The quality is certainly better than Walmart, but the shelves look virtually empty here. Almost look like a store going out of business in comparison. I had really looked forward to Targets coming to Canada and am really disappointed. They remain one of our favourite stores when we go to the U.S.

I too don't understand why stores like Target, KMart, Walmart etc should be so different. The Target in Minot is pretty good, but others I have been in are junk. Same with KMart --one in Minot good, others not.
When I have been in Canada, I try to find stores that reflect that country. Since it has been awhile I have been there, not sure how it is, but many years ago, I found so much I could not find here (Lower 48). Even now, especially with tomatoes, if not marked US, I will look for Canada.

I haven't even been in our Target since it opened last month. One day I might get there.

Sorry to hear that the Canadian Targets are not as good as the US ones. I prefer Target over Wal-Mart because here the quality of the goods is usually better than wal-Mart and a little more ahead of the curve as far as fashion trends go. Sometimes the prices are a little higher, but it helps to weed out some of the nasty People of Wal-Mart crowd so don't mind paying this as much. I mainly use it for kids clothes and home good items like towels or bedding. Holiday items for Christmas and Halloween seem to be a bit nicer than Wal-Mart also.

I don't see anything great about Targets in the US, either. We go to WalMart. But we get produce and meat elsewhere.
Yesterday we were looking for new curtains for our bedroom. We started at WalMart, then went to Menards, Kohls, Target and wound up back at WalMart getting the first ones we liked.

gosh that's soo sad to hear...in fact, we have both wm and target minutes from the house...I do shop more now at wm only because the store has more in my women sizes and the fresh food in target (just added) is very small...but I wouldn't give up my target pharmacy for anything!!! the staff is more than kind, we're on first name basis! dh won't go to the local wm..he doesn't like the staff, so we drive 10 miles further to another store...they are also better at keeping the diet candy we like (go figure!)

I love Target, and there's not a week that goes by that I'm not there. I get anxiety attacks just thinking about going to Walmart to get the sunflower seed they have that we like. As for KMart , every year I say this will the last year this store will be in business. On a Saturday night , there will be one cashier open and about two people in the whole store. Two miles down the road, Target will be jammed with all cash registers open. Their housewares and decorative additions are great. Nate Berkus has a line there.

Love this store and the the customers are a whole other caliber than the Walmart crowd.

KMart is even worse IMO...I went there once for an electric blanket in an ad on a sunday late a.m. and the customer service manager had to get out those OLD inventory logs (apparently they don't have puterized inventory), I kid you NOT! First she couldn't find it in the logs, then couldn't find where it was 'supposed' to be on the shelf, there never was a spot on the shelves for them. After 30 minutes of her pathetically trying to find any info on them I gave up and left...if I tell you they are not on the shelf, show you them in the ad and after looking in a PAPER log book you can't help you have NO business working in the store or even w customers. Several months later I sent DH in that store to get me diet pepsi while I waited in the car. He was gone 45 minutes...finally came out with one 1/2 case and told me he accidently knocked over their pyramid display of diet pepsi boxed cans LOL and we were never ever ever going into that store again LOL! Thinking he spent his time picking up the boxes and he was mad about it I said something and he tells me he offered to help they refused and he had to wait 45 minutes in line to pay LOL! ~ liz

Our caliber of Walmart shoppers is good. Walmart shoppers also shop at Zehrs, Sobey's, Winners etc.

We don't buy produce or anything like that at WM. It sucks, and not a bargain.

We'll go there if they have half-and-half on sale, as an example, as it's very near me. But last Friday there 2 tills open and the express lane where you wind thru and go to the nearest open till. At least 6 tills were closed. There were long lines at the 3 open cashiers stretched down the aisles. A walmart employee was directing people to the end of the lines, they were so long. Instead of calling for more tills to open.
I was livid, as this was the first day of their flyer, on a Friday. Funnily enough they did have what I wanted in stock, which is not usually the case.

Guess I fit into that "other caliber crowd at WM", can someone explain to me what that is please? SMH

Depends where the Walmart is located. They are building another small one in a different location here, and I'm sure the crowd will be a different. I'm talking about fat tattooed guys in muscle shirts in January carrying 4 week old babies at midnight. That kind of caliber.

I live in Toronto and also do not care for the Cdn. Target stores. I have been to a Super Target in the U.S. and prices charged for several of the things that I buy in Canada were considerably lower. However, when returning to Toronto via a plane, one has to consider what one can buy. Same with Costco. I used to be a member in Canada but have dropped the membership. But snowbirds at the Cdn. stores told me how much they prefer the U.S. Costco stores. Also, Costco wasn't exactly close to me. The Target stores in Canada will charge more for their goods - plus they will only bring certain things in to Canada - and more importantly, some things they can't bring in. I remember a few years ago when the first Lowes opened in Canada. I met a woman there practically in tears. She had recently married a Cdn. and moved to Toronto from North Carolina, so over she went confident that she could buy all of her beloved cleaning products etc. at the Cdn. Lowes. No - Lowes could only bring into Canada the same things as the other big box stores. Then there was Talbots. I remember when the Cdn. store opened years ago. Someone in the press kept asking the store reps if the classic navy blazer sold in the Cdn. stores was the same as that sold in the U.S. stores. Finally a Target rep had to say it was not the same. A woman I worked with used to buy lovely blouses at Talbots in the U.S. that were/are not available here. The sad thing is that before everything was made in China, many of the items sold in the U.S. were made in Canada, but not available here. I was shocked though to see produce in Miami labelled as Product of Canada. I am so used to seeing so much of our produce being labelled Product of the U.S. (and hoping 100% of it was made in the U.S.). We were recently in Italy and the food was so good - simple and not GMOd. Our Walmarts are really the same either. As to shelves being empty on Fridays - flyer day - it is the same at one of our major grocery stores - Loblaws - don't even bother going on a Friday - and check the expiry dates on everything you buy. Often there will only be 2 cashiers open - and I go to a big store - one being the express. Food prices are very high here which makes it worse. We do not have all of the specials etc. that are available in the U.S. We are going to NY in Sept. because my husband has meeting. I am taking my CVS card - so far have done well with it.

Canada isn't the US in a gazillion ways. It's a different country with different traditions, a different history and a different culture. It has protectionist legislation to prevent its much smaller existence from being buried by American cultural imperialism. As it well has the right to do. Things aren't the same between the two countries, any more than things are the same in Mexico and in the US. Some similarities, yes, but different overall.

The stores are different, carry different products or have different prices. So what?

I don't like shopping in Target. I don't see what is so great about them. I once in awhile shop in Walmart, but don't buy many foods there only certain things. I do shop at Sam's Club maybe once a month. If my daughter didn't have a membership there I would not be going. I do like shopping at Meijer though.

Sue

I miss our Zellars store in canada and the old walmart store as they had great plus clothes to buy and wear.

I went looking at the new big size walmar they build and there is nothing in it, and the target store checked that out and nothing in it.

And we are stuck with these stores and I live on an island so no choices when you are my size for clothes and nighties.

I am not happy with those stores they stuck us with.

To each his own they say, and we all have our reasons for the way we feel. Personally I don't like Walmart or what they seem to stand for, never had a Sam's card. I like Target because they are cleaner, better quality merchandise and the prices may be higher but the merchandise, for the most part is not comparable to Walmart. FWIW, even the clientel is different For clothing Kohl's probably has better prices and better quality.although I'm sure neither Target nor Kohls has all the outdoorsy stuff that Walmart has. In our town Kmart is just about gone....one store left, I think.

I like Target but since I seldom go to the mall I have only been once. We are looking forward to when they open an east end location. I can't stand shopping at Walmart - it is my least favourite place to shop. I have found some good sales there but I just don't like the store so if a Target comes to this end of town I will shop there over Walmart. Myself I tend to stay out of department stores and would rather purchase whatever I need from a local business in my community.

It has been my experience too that Target in Canada doesn't have the products that I appreciate from U.S. Targets. When I first shopped at a Canadian Target, I had fingers crossed that I would find products that I could only get in the U.S., but no such luck!

I no longer shop at WM or Target after the way they treated Paula Deen. I'm saving a bunch of money too!

Thanks for the explanation Lily, but I would no more judge a fat tattooed man in a muscle shirt with a 4 week old baby at midnight than I would a person wearing a hoodie. He just possibly had a reason for his midnight jaunt with the baby, I have no idea but I certainly wouldn't be judging him. Enough of this though, just trying to understand why a person fits into a certain caliber.

I shop both Walmart and Target, I'm an equal opportunity shopper, but since Walmart is closer to me, I do shop there more often. If I drive 45 minutes to shop, then by all means I will shop Target too.

I agree with Liz and Jude. I dislike Walmart and everything it stands for. Target stores near us are OK. We do shop Costco about every six weeks.

A recent news story compared employee salaries and benefits at Walmart and Costco. What a difference! You can make a living wage at Costco and get good benefits.

snidely, I agree that Canada is vastly different from the U.S. for the reasons you mentioned. However, I guess we Canadians always look forward to the opening of an American store we love and are hopeful it will match the quality of the U.S. stores. We do not expect inventory or pricing to be identical between the American store and the Canadian version, (even when our dollar is the same) but many of them are very close, so it's disappointing when some are so vastly inferior, such as the Canadian Targets.

Walmart, Sears, Home Depot, Best Buy, Old Navy and American Eagle are examples of stores that offer pretty much the same inventory in both countries and price things not exorbitantly higher than the American prices. Many of us like Target better than Walmart in the U.S., but Target will not be able to compete with Walmart here in Canada, unless they are willing to bring in similar inventory to their American stores and keep their pricing competitive.

They just did a comparison on school supplies on the news last nite.

Staples (an office supply store), Walmart, Dollarama and Target were the test stores.

Dollarama was the cheapest at $65, Walmart and Staples were almost the same at $112 and $115, and Target was the most expensive at $125. Dollarama didn't have the name-brand items but if that doesn't matter, the savings were worth it.

Its my understanding the Target has only recently entered Canada and I expect they have a lot of bugs to work out. From the posts above, It seems that Target is not price competitive with the state side Targets. Maybe their supply line is not in place, and if they import from the states, there will be tariffs added.

The Canadian store managers need to learn what to stock for their Canadian customers. Maybe they should swallow their pride and sneak a peak at Hudson Bay.

Frankly, I can't see a lot of difference between Americans and Canadians - we are pretty much the same, except when it comes to shopping and then we are considered "international" - and of course our ridiculously high airline taxes. When the Cdn. $ is weak against the American $, Americans buy everything they can from Canada provided it is the same product as is sold in the U.S. (skin care etc.) - either in person or on-line - and without the horrible tax/customs/shipping hits that Cdns. are forced to pay if a product can be shipped/mailed here. Actually there are many U.S. cosmetic lines that are not allowed to ship products to Canada period since our dollar rose in value - although it is weaker now. Yes, Canada is a different country - but there are good and bad things about each of our respective countries. Everyone gets excited when a U.S. store opens here - no one who understands finance expects the prices to be the same - but we would like access to the same merchandise. Hudson's Bay (thankfully the name has returned to the original from "The Bay") carries a small selection of items under the Lord & Taylor brand. My gloves were "liberated" last January and I had to buy new ones. I looked at the Lord & Taylor gloves carried in Toronto and they were garbage - a feeling shared by other glove purchasers. I mentioned this in NY while shopping at L & T and was told that many Cdns. have said the same thing. Now Hudson's Bay has purchased Saks (although I expect it is the holding company that did the purchasing) - but do I expect Saks Canada to be the same as Saks in the U.S. - absolutely not. It would be nice if more than one store in Canada carried many of the skin care makeup lines that are offered for sale in so many U.S. stores. Pretty bad when only Holt Renfrew carries a line - makes it tough when the store is sold out and associates are no longer able to check with another Holt's location and have it delivered to the customer's store. Personally, I buy most of my clothing and my husband's at a specific consignment shop in Toronto - although the owner can only carry what the stores have been selling and a lot of it is rather unattractive - depending on your taste and "look". Food is also extremely expensive here. I really miss the linens that were made in the U.S. - they lasted for many, many years, unlike the stuff we get now. But I do not fear products made in the U.S. and judging from what I have seen Americans do not fear products made in Canada (including food and pharmaceuticals). My dog's food is made in the U.S. - costs practically double here, but he does well on it.

"I can't see a lot of difference between Americans and Canadians - we are pretty much the same"

I've had A LOT of dealings with Canadians over the years, in the US and in Canada, both in a business context and for vacations. I've encountered this opinion often and I don't agree with it. In my experience, the differences are numerous and not so subtle. Americans and the US may be familiar to Canadians (again, due to a small country being overwhelmed by a gigantic neighbor) but familiarity and similarity are different.

Americans make a similar mistake with the UK, thinking it's a very similar place because of the common language and the long/familiar relationship between the countries. In fact, I find the UK to be quite foreign and believe many countries (and peoples) on the continent to be much more like us than the Brits are.

Everyone can have their own personal view, all of them are right in the eyes of their owners!

I personally found the new Target (in Alberta) to be of lesser quality and higher priced than the Zellers that it replaced. I won't go back. I am another that will shop at WM for some stuff but I love Costco, but of course you can't get the same kind of stuff.

I really liked Zellers when we went to Canada years ago. Sad to see it go. My closest Cosco is Regina Canada, but I haven't been there and if I did, would have to watch what I bought due to the restrictions coming into lower 48--like no meat products.

Only our Canadian guests send me 'thank you notes' after staying at our vacation condo. I find Canadian guests to be more polite and better-spoken (written). Some are also a bit 'sharper' dealers, but nothing like the occasional 'bottom feeder' young American who is focused solely on price. I'm happy that more than half of our guests now are Canadians. (Do we think that Canadian mothers demand better manners? LOL)