Target to Shut Down All Canadian Stores

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Target is calling it quits on its entire Canadian division after just under two years of operation. Fortune reports that the company couldn't overcome initial expansion setbacks that drove Canadian customers away and cost Target billions in losses.

The shutdown will affect 133 Target Canada stores and 17,600 employees, although the company has invested over $70 million to ensure workers a minimum of 16 weeks of wages and benefits coverage during store closeouts. In an interview posted on Target's corporate blog, CEO Brian Cornell explains that the decision was made after all options were sussed out and it was determined that the company wouldn't start reaching profitability in Canada until at least 2021. "Target Corporation is in a very healthy financial position, but our Target Canada business had reached the point where, without additional funding, it could not continue to meet its liabilities," says Cornell. "Simply put, we were losing money every day." Canadian stores will start the liquidation process and the company will retreat to focus entirely on its US business.
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