The Target store next to Sobey's is expected to shut down within the next 16 weeks. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
Target says it will close its stores in Canada — a market that it entered only two years ago.
The U.S. based retail company has 133 Canadian locations and 17,600 employees across the country.
The North Bay Target is located on Algonquin avenue in the former Zellers building and opened its doors in the summer of 2013.
Sources told BayToday.ca that most of the local workers were unaware of the potential closure until they came to work on Thursday. Sources add that Target Management called an employee meeting at 11:30 a.m. to give the bad news.
Target Canada has struggled from the start and there has been speculation in business circles that its days were numbered.
Brian Cornell , who became the U.S. company's chairman and chief executive last year, said he had promised to take a hard look at ways to improve the discount retailer's performance.
"After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021," Cornell said in a statement.
"Personally, this was a very difficult decision, but it was the right decision for our company."
The company says the stores will remain open during a court-supervised liquidation period and it's working to ensure employees are paid at least 16 weeks of severance.
With files from Canadian Press
