Missing the mark on advertising and prices
By Tara Nykyforiak
Photos by Flikr
Descending the staircase at Commercial Skytrain station this week, my eyes were met with a bright red and white display of a Target ad plastered on the wall. When it clicked in my head what I was looking at, I was reminded why I do not embrace Target’s move to Canada.
I’ve been reading about what Target will bring when they come here, and it doesn’t sound like all that much. Sure they will bring a larger selection of brands and products to Canadian consumers, but not at the level of savings that one might expect. A recent article from CBC’s website explains how Target’s vice-president of external relations, Derek Jenkins, wants Target to be a competitive store: “We want to make sure that we are competitive in the Canadian market.”
What does this look like? A comparison of American vs. Canadian prices reveals significant differences in the prices of some major products. For example, 400g of Cheerios is $4.99 at Target stores in Canada, while for only .2g less, American Targets charge almost half at $2.84. Similarly, the Silver Linings Playbook DVD is $23.99 in Canadian stores, but only $16.99 in American stores.
Extending this comparison further, I will take a quick look at pricing found at Walmart stores in Canada. The same 400g of Cheerios is $4.97 when bought at Walmart, and the Silver Linings Playbook DVD is $24.97. So while the Cheerios are only marginally cheaper at Canadian Walmarts, and the DVD is just under a dollar more, I’m left wondering what real benefit Target will bring that Walmart and Zellers (which Target bought out) cannot and could not provide.
A recent survey conducted by The Globe and Mail concludes that there is no significant savings being offered by Target to its Canadian consumers. In fact, prices are, on average, 0.2 per cent higher than their Canadian Walmart counterparts.
Funny enough, before opening its doors here, promotion and marketing efforts centred on the low prices that Canadian shoppers would be able to enjoy. Coming from an American company taking away business from Canadian retailers, low should definitely mean less than the status quo. As it stands price wise, Target fails to justify their move into Canada.
Target has faced backlash because of this, and attempts have been made by them to defend their prices. It states the cost of doing business in Canada as a factor (i.e. higher real estate costs and higher minimum wages), and the president of Target’s Canadian division has encouraged consumers to continue to do cross-border shopping.
So let me get this straight. Target comes into our country and takes over Canadian business and then tells us to keep spending money in the US? This definitely does not bode well with their ad’s message of “CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU NEIGHBOUR.”
We really have to think about what they mean when they say “neighbour.” They are taking over our space by “moving in” and are trying to undermine this through the façade of being “warm” and “inviting.” But why then are they not offering anything new?
The Target by my house opened up this past week, and I have no plans of stopping by and meeting my “new neighbour.” My city is not for the taking, and I will continue to stand by my loathing of American stores invading our country under false pretences.
