Montreal shoppers were underwhelmed by the liquidation sale at Target which kicked off Thursday.
Several empty-handed shoppers interviewed by CTV Montreal said that prices were reduced by 10 to 30 percent, not nearly as much as they had hoped.
Target Canada received court approval to liquidate its stock Wednesday at a hearing involving dozens of lawyers representing the retailer, landlords and suppliers.
Merchants who share mall space with the chain were already speculating on the fallout of the impending vacancy, including one who expressed disappointment when the much-hyped chain went kaput north of the border.
"The reason why I stayed in the mall was because Target was coming and it was going to be a big thing and it fizzled and it wasn't anything as we expected," said Alex Kalemdjian, owner of the Bonne Sante boutique in the Alexis Nihon mall.
One retail analyst told CTV Montreal that the disappearance might be good news for locally-based merchants.
"Losing a retailer like Target - they're a tough competitor. That is going to help clothing retailers like Reitman's for example, plus the foreign retailers and home and furnishing retailers like Sears Canada and The Bay, so there are some beneficiaries," said Lorne Steinberg, President of Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management.
The U.S.-based retailer announced last month that it would close all 133 of its Canadian stores and lay off more than 17,000 staff.
Target opened its doors in Canada less than two years ago, after it purchased old Zellers locations and remodelled them to more closely reflect the U.S. company's image.
But the retailer failed to deliver on customer expectations -- sales never got off the ground and it continued to bleed money from its Canadian operations with no sign of a solid improvement.
"Canadians were really upset that the pricing at Canadian Target stores was so much higher than at US stores and that really killed it for them," said Steinberg.
When Target announced its decision last month to exit the country, the company emphasized plans to make it happen quickly, promising that a liquidation would start within a few weeks.
Part of the exit strategy includes selling off the valuable properties and existing leases for its stores, which are estimated to be worth about $1.1 billion.
On Wednesday, the retailer and its liquidator were told they could begin to hunt for others interested in buying up those assets.
Major brands like Canadian Tire, Loblaws and GoodLife Fitness are expected to put an offer in on at least some of the locations.
Lawyers representing some landlords agreed to meet with the court next Wednesday to work out further details on how the real estate sales will proceed.
The retailer and its liquidator have argued that it needs to sell the properties immediately to keep its speedy exit from the Canadian market on schedule for mid-May. But landlords are concerned that Target's liquidation sales will take away business from other tenants.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
