MGT 3862 Quiz: The Last Days of Target Case
1
The Last Days of Target
1. Price: Shoppers believed the price would be cheaper much like the prices in the US
stores, however due to supplier and distribution issues bringing in certain products, the
prices ended up being higher because of the costs for Target to bring those items to
Canada. Prices were also higher due to the US to Canadian exchange rate. Target kept the
price the same as the US prices only converting them to the Canadian exchange rate
which at the time of launch made the prices for some goods higher than other competitors
in Canada, such as Walmart. Target did not look at the prices of their competition in
Canada prior to launch. After more store openings, they did become more conscious of
their prices and more competitive price wise with their competition.
Promotion: There was lots of media coverage surrounding Target’s entrance into Canada.
Shoppers were excited over the large retailer that had a good reputation in the US
opening in their cities. Once Target started opening stores in Canada, the problems that
customers were having with stock was also largely publicized which may have
discouraged potential customers from going to the store. Another misstep for Target was
broadcasting an “apology” where they admitted to all of the flaws and mistakes they
made when launching the company in Canada. They believed that the apology would
show their appreciation for customers and hoped it would bring customers back to the
store now that they had fixed some of their issues such as stock problems and POS
payment issues. By the time they fixed most of their problems and issued the apology it
was too late to turn the company around and they were already on the way out. It is also
not a good idea for companies to admit failure as they lose the trust of the customers
because they will fear that if mistakes were made once, they will make more mistakes
down the road.
Place: Since Target bought out all the Zellers buildings, they did not have control of the
locations where they opened meaning these stores may not have opened in the most
convenient locations for their target market of customers. Another problem they had was
with their supply chain. They moved so fast that they did not spend any time developing
their distribution and supplier relationships for consistency which meant that product was
not being delivered to the stores at appropriate times.
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Document Summary
Prices were also higher due to the us to canadian exchange rate. Target kept the price the same as the us prices only converting them to the canadian exchange rate which at the time of launch made the prices for some goods higher than other competitors in canada, such as walmart. Target did not look at the prices of their competition in. After more store openings, they did become more conscious of their prices and more competitive price wise with their competition. Promotion: there was lots of media coverage surrounding target"s entrance into canada. Shoppers were excited over the large retailer that had a good reputation in the us opening in their cities. Once target started opening stores in canada, the problems that customers were having with stock was also largely publicized which may have discouraged potential customers from going to the store.
