There was a lot of talk - a lot of hype around how great it was that Target was coming to Canada. "Better than Wal-mart!", "Another option" - all of these bold statements.
To be honest, I was happy too, but I was more so happy about Zellers closing down; Gap kids could have replaced Zellers and made me just as happy (read about my hatred here).
Anyway - Target has arrived - and today the location nearest Michelle and I opened, so I decided to pay a visit. They already have a one up with way more locations on the subway line and major bus routes than Wal-Mart - so getting there takes me all of 5 minutes.
My initially thoughts:
- As you might expect - it was clean, modern and had that "new stuff" feeling that WM has down-pat.
- The store had two floors and was laid out a little weird - with some clothing and home goods on the main floor - and more clothing, grocery and other stuff up top. This is the first time I've seen grocery on a floor of a store that doesn't have any entrances or exits.
- Evidence that they're trying to bring in customers who aren't Zellers' carryovers is the giant Starbucks embedded in the store
On to te important stuff:
- This wasn't a super centre - so to compare it to one of those huge WM stores is unfair. Although they had quite a good selection of all items for such a modest sized department store. I think they keep it that way by not piling stock on the floor like WM annoyingly does.
- The prices were good. I checked certain items I know the prices of and it was at least comparable. They don't carry produce or meats, but they have all other grocery - and it's definitely worth a look when you do your shopping.
- The clothing: everyone talks about Target for their clothes, but I was iffy. I was actually very pleasantly surprised - as their menswear was all very modern and geared towards more professional men, rather than the logo t shirts you often see at WM. They had tons of dress shirts for $24.99 and an awesome wall of 'fun' dress socks for $3.99 a pair. I'll be back for those.
- One thing I did notice they lacked was a decent sized sports section. It might be too early, but I didn't see bikes which I thought would be huge business for them
- The Target red card - look it up: links to your bank account so you use it like a debit card but you get 5% off just for using it.
My verdict:
I'm surprisingly VERY impressed - and actually enjoyed just walking around. Te fact that it's closer than WM gets me in the door - but their comparable prices and alternative selection will keep me coming back.
Don't get me wrong - WM and I have a love affair - but if I'm going to be in Toronto for a while - we might have to start seeing other people...
0 thoughts: