The American retailer’s debut at Tillicum Centre in Saanich started with an early-morning lineup of more than 100 shoppers, who cheered when the doors opened at 8 a.m.
And they kept arriving — and spending — as the day wore on.
First in line was Saanich resident Leila Rogers, 25, who arrived at 5 a.m. armed with coffee. “I always want to be the first person in the store. It just feels special,” she said. Rogers wanted a new bedspread and was planning on using a pre-paid credit card given as a gift.
Shoppers of all ages fanned out through the bright store with wide aisles. Target spent more than $11 million to revamp the former Zellers location.
Tuesday was what is called a soft opening. Target is “still finalizing merchandising assortment and putting the final touches on the store,” Lisa Gibson, company spokeswoman, said in a statement. “The stores are expecting a number of trucks throughout the week and next.”
The grocery section does not have fresh produce, but offers refrigerated and frozen foods, and packaged goods. The store also has a Starbucks and a pharmacy.
The 18 cash registers were still humming and the store was filled with the chatter of shoppers late Tuesday afternoon. Staff in red shirts directed customers to the tills. Traffic was heavy in the parking lot, with some gridlock in the early afternoon.
Brent D’Argis of Saanich, who went shopping with 13-month-old son Lucas, paid $4.99 for a four-litre container of milk, the same price as other stores. But Target saved him on gas because it’s close to home.
He’s pleased that Target opened after the Zellers store closed last year. “It is right in my backyard ... I’ve been walking by every day and looking in the windows.”
“I loved the layout — absolutely awesome,” D’Argis said of Target. “Zellers was so crammed.”
Target is carrying some Canadian brands, such as Roots. Sweatpants are $24.99 and a long-sleeved top is $29.99.
Tony Schreurs of Colwood spent $110 to buy three dolls to take home after work for 10-year-old daughter Kaija to help complete her collection of popular Scary Tale dolls. “No one else in town has them,” he said.
Harold Slaunwhite of Esquimalt didn’t buy anything, saying that after looking at prices, he will stick with Walmart.
Hot Wheels toy collector Earl Anderson of Langford purchased three motorcycles and three cars to add to the “thousands” he already has. At $18 in all, Anderson said, “That’s a really good price.”
Lisa McNeill, a mother of five children ages 17 months to 12, left Target with several bags of merchandise. The store has a good variety of products “different from everywhere else in Victoria.”
Daughter Georgia, 12, is planning to decorate her own room with a carpet and other items from the store. She also liked the clothing selection.
Ramy Gerber, a teacher, bought a doormat and will be returning in August for school supplies. “Their back-to-school stuff is amazing.”
Kathe Gerber spent $67 on a tunic dress and gift-wrapping supplies. “I did really well here today.”
Rebecca and Chris Hargens, parents of baby Orion, recently purchased a house nearby. “I’m planning on designing it. I love the pillows here and all the accents,” Rebecca said.
The enthusiastic welcome for Target shows how Canada’s retail landscape is being carved up in a period of slow growth, a retail analyst said Tuesday.
“Generally, all over the country, retail sales are pretty sluggish,” retail analyst Ed Strapagiel said from Toronto. “So the only thing that is really growing in retail is the level of competition. Someone has got to lose. We don’t know who that will be and it doesn’t always mean someone going bankrupt. It means all the other players in the space having to tighten their belt one more notch.”
Target is rolling out two dozen stores in Western Canada this month. The two-level, 122,000 square-foot Tillicum Target is among the 22 that opened Tuesday. Nine of those were in B.C., including stores in Nanaimo and Campbell River.
A second Greater Victoria Target store is under construction at Hillside Centre and will open in 2014. This year, the U.S. company is opening 124 stores in Canada. It has already launched 24 in Ontario.
Research shows Sears and Walmart will be the most affected by Target’s arrival in Canada, given the overlap of customers and products, while other retailers are probably more insulated, Strapagiel said.
London Drugs, for example, has prospered despite Walmart’s presence in the Canadian market, so “they should be able to hold up well against Target as well,” he said.
Even so, Target’s impact will be felt as it delivers revitalized retail square footage in Canada, he said. Target acquired lease rights to 220 Zellers stores in 2010.
Nationally, retail trade, including vehicle sales, rose by 0.8 per cent to $39.5 billion in February from January, Statistics Canada said. Year-over-year for February, it climbed by 1.5 per cent.
The yearly change for February in the furniture and home decor category saw an increase of 0.9 per cent, and a drop of 4.4 per cent in electronics and appliances stores, the federal agency said. Clothing and accessories moved up 0.6 per cent in that time, and sales in general merchandise stores increased by 2.6 per cent.
