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Topic: Hudson's Bay 'Target'ted for takeover
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Enniskillen
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7149
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posted 20 October 2004 11:23 PM
Target Coming To Canada Hoorah ! I have always been mystified why anyone still shops at the Bay or Zellers. The Bay is not competitive and Zellers stores are just abysmal. The Bay offers very little staff, and high prices to their customers. Zellers is a vast wasteland of inferior products, disinterested staff, and stock shortages. As a time killer I used to go into my local Zellers to visit the antique electronics. I watched a televison sit on the shelf for over 7 years. Count them 7 years, never did they reduce it, I moved away and for all I know , it could still be there. Fear of Target, brings back memories of hysteria surrounding Walmart's arrival in Canada. Do any of you remember the dingy places WOOLCO were ? Walmart ended up carrying far more Canadian products than Woolco ever dreamed of ! Not to mention all those Canadians that Walmart has brought jobs too. Prices have also been lowered by the competition that Walmart has brought to the marketplace. My family shops at Target when we are in the U.S.A. they offer a more upscale merchandise than Walmart, competively priced , in clean, well lit stores. If Target follows the model set by Walmart, they will bring jobs, increased consumer choice,lower prices, and an end to that waste of retail space that is Zellers. Fellow Canucks we deserve the best a retailer has to offer, not the least effort they can get away with. Shoppers will vote with their feet, as they have already done, ever tried to get into a Walmart on a weekend ? , as for Zellers you can usually go bowling in the aisles. Having said all that Sam's Club in Canada has been a disaster!
From: ontario | Registered: Oct 2004
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robbie_dee
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 195
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posted 21 October 2004 03:23 PM
I have always seen Target as the cooler, trendier kid brother to Walmart. They have their differences. And they certainly compete. But ultimately they're from the same family.If you're interested in finding out more about the wages and conditions for Target workers, you might want to check out this site: http://www.targetunion.org It's run by UFCW Local 789, which is one of the two major UFCW locals in Target's hometown of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Local 789 is also one of the best in the UFCW, in my opinion. [ 21 October 2004: Message edited by: robbie_dee ]
From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001
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robbie_dee
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 195
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posted 21 October 2004 08:36 PM
quote: By the way, I did a Google for Target and unions and in an hour of searching the only serious complaints I could find from employees were about the union. Nothing about the company.
That's interesting considering that not a single Target store or distribution center is unionized. Visit targetunion.org. Check out the forums. Check out the "Ask the Rep" question and answer section. There are certainly people posting who are against joining a union but it is mostly based on the general fears and misconceptions that come up in all organizing drives (i.e. "unions are communist," or "they protect lazy employees" or "if I support the union I'll just get fired.") But you'll also find some employees with very serious workplace concerns, who are looking for a solution and seriously considering unionization. As is their right, and something we should support. [ 01 November 2004: Message edited by: robbie_dee ]
From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001
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Enniskillen
recent-rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7149
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posted 22 October 2004 09:59 PM
Enniskillen is a large city in Ireland, and was the inspiration for the name of the small Hamlet , within Ontario in which I live.I too sold Commodore 64's and Vic 20's, but at Sears as a teenager. The pay was horrible, the chance of becoming full time non existent. It took me a month to earn the money, to pay for the suit I was required to wear. Woolco was horrible, I worked there for a week , for the company that operated the men's clothing concession within the store. The stock in the entire store turned over so slowly that it had to be dusted regularly. Woolco wasn't just bought out by Walmart, it was euthanized humanely. Canadians like Walmart, we like the glitz ( well lit, well stocked, fast turnover of stock) and it shows, I just came from there (7:00 Fri evening) and every line was 10 deep. There are very few retail jobs, that pay well enough to support a family. Most of the jobs are part time minimum wage positions, or commision sales of appliances. Walmart employees eligible for food stamps ! I will take your word for it. But do you suppose Zellers wages entirely support many Canadians ? Retail is an entry level job, you need to be able to walk upright, operate a calculator, practise good hygene, and for the most part the jobs pay what the market will bare. As for employees being mistreated, well Canadian labour laws will apply in the new Target stores, as well as everywhere else. Canadian retailing generally sucks, and Canadians deserve better than we have been getting. You may feel that I am wrong, and I may be, but let's watch the new target stores, I bet that there traffic flow through those stores will far exceed, what Zellers and the Bay are doing now. More traffic flow = more jobs . I hope I have replied to everything, oh and as for Unions, I am a 21 year member of the Teamsters, and from my experience, the Union really does more for the lazy, the alchoholics, and themselves, but that is another thread topic I am sure
From: ontario | Registered: Oct 2004
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robbie_dee
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 195
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posted 01 November 2004 02:57 PM
Just thought I would post again to note that Targetunion.org has been through a significant software upgrade. Check it out and feel free to post your comments on that site.I also thought this particular article was interesting and relevant: Giants of Retail: All About Target and Walmart (originally published in the Baltimore Sun 03/21/2004). quote: The story of how Wal-Mart and Target have remade discount retailing, if not retailing in general, is a combination of age-old business thrift and New World technology. Their rises have as much to do with dogged inventory control and holding the line on labor costs as with focused marketing and meeting consumers' changing tastes. Their evolution also shows how companies can take divergent paths yet arrive at nearly the same place -- competing with and complementing each other at the same time.Though they are the nation's two most popular sellers of general merchandise, Wal-Mart dwarfs Target in size and sales. The Arkansas-based company posted $256 billion in revenue for the 52-week period that ended Jan. 31 -- more revenue than International Business Machines, Coca-Cola, Time Warner and Microsoft combined. It is the world's largest employer with more than 1.3 million workers and 4,300 stores around the globe. By virtue of size alone, it is the market leader in almost any area it touches. It's the largest seller of toys, jewelry, groceries and many other products. Target's influence isn't nearly as immense, but its expansion during the past decade has also had a major impact on shoppers. With nearly 1,400 stores nationwide, it posted $48.1 billion in sales for the year that ended Jan. 31. Because it employs name designers for its home furnishings and clothing lines, the company has also had as great an influence on setting style for Middle America as anyone other than Martha Stewart. Its fans sometimes pronounce the store "Tar-j'ai," with faux French accent -- a sort of mock tribute to the stores' attempt to create a level of style and sophistication. "Wal-Mart is a very infrastructure-focused company that relies on behind-the-scenes low cost to deliver in-the- store low costs. They're able to draw a lot of volume from small communities," said Gary Ruffing, a former Kmart Corp. executive who works for a Michigan consulting firm. "On the Target side, they've been able to take a department store feel and bring to it a discount store price," he said. "It's two different approaches to the same end."
From: Iron City | Registered: Apr 2001
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Ravenscript
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6803
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posted 01 November 2004 06:01 PM
Enniskillen writes: "More traffic flow = more jobs ."I'm not sure that this has been the experience of all communities, especially where Walmart is concerned. Some wags say that for every part-time job Walmart creates, a full-time job leaves as smaller retaillers are forced out of business. Although I'm certain that the effect isn't that drastic (allowing for propaganda on both pro-and-con sides), it is certainly true that a Walmart can profoundly affect the make-up of the business community it enters into. That's why there are increasing revolts against Walmarts coming into communities, especially in the States. Maybe the experience is different in the East as opposed to the West where I live, but frankly, Walmarts here are as much "holes" as Zellers in terms of merchandizing appeal. This includes the newest Walmart that opened on the edge of our small city where the extreme height of the shelves gives a distinct tunnel feeling to the shopping experience. I do shop Canadian where possible. I also make it a point to support community-based and owned businesses whenever possible, especially because they tends to spend their hard-earned profits in my town, versus shipping the capital off to some distant shareholder who couldn't give a flying fweep about the quality of life in my community.
From: Regina | Registered: Sep 2004
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