Target and Mexx...? Nordie's and Saks?

Carla

Yesterday AM two news stories that I was able to confirm...Target is shutting down ALL of its stores in Canada within the next 3-4 months. They only set up in 2013. Mexx is also closing all their shops.

Nordstroms is supposed to open in the Eaton Center (in Toronto) in 2016 and Saks is advertising in the same mall.

Anyone have any Intel on what is going on?

11 years ago

General

8 replies

Latest reply was from

Elizabeth P

Veteran

And of course Smart Set is also going, and we already lost Jacob...

11 years ago

Sveta

(website)

Veteran

Canadian retail meltdown? Target Mexx, Smart Set and Jacob were all in my mall but I have no hope to ever see Nordstrom or Sacks there...heck, even Zara is absent in my city!

11 years ago

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Yes, we have been yakking about the Target thing. Mexx has been long gone in K'town -- we used to have one but it closed a couple of years ago.

11 years ago

Tanya

Veteran

How interesting.

You know, back when I used to live in Boston, for about 7 or so years we used to have a Jacob store in one of the Cambridge malls. It was the only Jacob store in the entire USA, or at least that it what I was told. I loved it, and was so sad when it closed and even more so when it got replaced with some Forever 21-type store. I am sorry to hear that Jacob closed in Canada as well.

11 years ago

Carla

Veteran

Yikes! Sorry! Looked to see if a thread had been started and missed it. (Thanks Suz.)

FWIW...I've stayed out of Wallmart. No love there. Shopped Zellers in Timmins. They had Zac Posen and Alfred Sung stuff (I still have some of the Alfred Sung stuff I got!) and housewares could be very nice with a Martha Stewart line. Some of my best Christmas ornaments were from Zellers, and I stocked up on bath sheets (yes, the giant towels) for a steal when they were closing down. We never got a Target when the Zellers closed. Our most 'upscale' was Sears!

Locally (where I live now) there is no Target and the old Zellers remains empty. However, before Christmas, DH and I did a weekend of retail theraphy and visited our first. We really liked the merch, but found the store sadly under stocked, as many others have commented.

Funny, like others have mentioned, I have found service at The Bay non-existent, though the stock was extensive. While shopping in Aug. 2013 I did glom on to an SA in menswear who really knew the merch in the store, and went outside her dept to help me. I made sure I told folks (about 4 people) how helpful she had been! I bought just about everything she helped me find, including the grey leather belt that had eluded DH (his personal HEWI)!

11 years ago

Gaylene

Veteran

Mexx is a Dutch company that just went into bankruptcy in the Netherlands and was forced to close all its stores, including the ones in Canada. The timing of the closure with Target's withdrawal from Canada is unfortunate, but probably more coincidental than anything else.

Sears is definitely having a rocky time, but, along with Hudson Bay, is sitting on quite a bit of prime real estate. Some of the closures and selling off of their leases and land are probably an attempt to put the both companies into a better financial shape to please investors. Nordstrom bought up some of the Sears Canada holdings for their stores, just like Target bought the Zellers locations from Hudson Bay. Right now it doesn't look promising for Target to sell off their locations so those spots will probably remained shuttered for some time.

The retail outlook for many of the smaller malls in the smaller Canadian cities definitely looks bleak since there isn't as much interest in that sort of retail property these days since the big box stores have grabbed so much of the mid-range retail sector.

11 years ago

Style Fan

Veteran

I was sad to see Mexx and Jacob go. I liked their style and bought clothes there when I was working. I never went to Target. The Zellers in our town is still empty.

I was in Sherway (Toronto) a couple of days ago. Big changes. Looks like Nordstroms in coming there.

11 years ago

Anonymous

Canadian retail is a tough gig right now. Very tough.

11 years ago

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