Target Eying Canadian Market

Target Corp. has been meeting with developers on its store rollout plan for Canada, where the Minneapolis-based retailer may be opening as many as 200 stores over the long haul.

Target is looking to open six to 10 stores in late 2014 or 2015, Fred Waks, COO at RioCan, the largest public real-estate developer in Canada, told the Montreal Gazette. The news came amid Target’s first-time attendance at a major Toronto shopping center trade show, considered an indication that Target will make Canada a key component of its international expansion strategy.

“We are exploring opportunities in Canada,” Target spokeswoman Amy Reilly told the Gazette. "We are optimistic that our first stores could open by mid-decade."

Waks said Target is looking at an “urban strategy” that it plans to launch in the greater Toronto area. He told the Gazette that Target is looking to open “a couple of hundred units” over a decade but could not comment on future store opening details.

Target has offered more fresh food at its stores as part of a more recent consumer-focused service strategy that has also seen the retailer pursue urban stores in the United States. It opened its first retail outlet in Manhattan this year and is now building smaller-format urban stores between 60,000 and 100,000 square feet; a typical Target store is 125,000 to 180,000 square feet.