Target Revamps Canada Lineup in Bid to Rescue Troubled Expansion

Target Corp. (TGT), looking to fix its Canadian operations after a money-losing expansion into the country, is revamping the product lineup, improving supplies and teaming up with celebrity designer Sarah Richardson.

The move follows a review of the Canadian business this year, the Minneapolis-based company said today in a statement. In addition to releasing Richardson-designed products next year, Target Canada is expanding its maternity and cosmetic products and will roll out an exclusive brand of household cleaners called Better Life.

Canadians, who for years shopped at Target just over the border in the U.S., were unimpressed by its expansion into the country. They found prices at the local stores were higher, while the retailer failed to keep enough merchandise in stock. Target said today it will begin matching rivals prices and better the supply chain in a bid to change that impression.

Youve got to have more local and regional taste in Canada than just thinking you can go out there and open U.S. stores with a bunch of U.S. brands, Brian Yarbrough, an equity analyst at Edward Jones in St. Louis who rates the stock a buy, said in a phone interview. Its got to resonate.

The shares fell 0.3 percent to $58.26 at the close in New York, extending a 7.9 percent decline this year.

The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc. executive Brian Cornell as its new chief executive officer in July. Close

The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc.... Read More

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The move was part of a broader shake-up at Target Corp., which tapped PepsiCo Inc. executive Brian Cornell as its new chief executive officer in July.

The Canadian division, which lost $941 million before interest and taxes last year, has been a headache for a company already reeling from a hacker attack during the holiday season of 2013. Mark Schindele, who was senior vice president in charge of merchandising operations, replaced Tony Fisher as head of the Canadian business in May.

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Target Revamps Canada Lineup in Bid to Rescue Troubled Expansion