Business & Personal Finance

In 2011 Target bought 189 Zellers stores across Canada and is planning on renovating between 125-135 of them to open Target here in 2013 and 2014. 

Founder George Draper Dayton opened the "Dayton Dry Goods Company" in Minneapolis in 1902.  The store became known for dependable products, fair business practices and a sense of community.  In 1918 Dayton establishes the Dayton Foundation because he believed in creating a better world and setting an example in helping others. It became the Target Foundation in 2000 and reached a giving-milestone in 2007: $3 million per week to various charities and organizations.

After his death in 1938 Dayton's son and grandsons took over the store and grew it into a nationwide retailer and became known as Dayton's. In 1954, to meet the needs of suburban families, Dayton's began expanding beyond Minneapolis to the suburbs. By the 1960's Dayton's leadership decided to create a different kind of store by moving away from the department store format to a new kind of mass-market discount store that would cater to value-oriented shoppers. In 1962 this new store becomes known as Target and it's logo, a bulls-eye. After a decade of growth Dayton's goes public in 1967 with five autonomous divisions: Dayton's department stores, Target stores, B. Dalton Bookseller, Dayton Jewelers and Dayton Development Company.  Over the years Dayton's has continued to expand its Target stores by joining forces with other retailers and continuing to change its product lines and store format to meet the changing needs of its customers.

Target is the second largest discount retailer in the U.S. after Walmart, so it is inevitable that domestic retailers like Canadian Tire, Sears, The Bay and others will feel some pressure when Target first opens its doors in Canada. We can only hope that they will weather the storm.

Read about Target and other retail stores operating in Canada: