Week 40: Target vs. Zellers

Can you remember your first official job?  I say official because taking out the garbage or cleaning your room for an allowance does not count.  I will always remember mine.  I was very excited to turn 16 so that I could get a job and have my own spending money for whatever I wanted.  My grandmother was the personnel manager at Zellers at the time so I begged her to give me a job in the record department.  I loved music and thought it would be the best department to work in.  It turned out to be just that.  I worked in the record department at Zellers part time throughout my high school years until I graduated and moved out of town for university.  I will always look back fondly on that store and be grateful for the opportunity my grandmother gave me.

As you can guess, I was sad to hear that Zellers was closing.  I had never been to a Target store so I had little idea what to expect.  Finally, after much talk and anticipation a Target store recently opened in my area.  So off I went to explore and compare.  I'm sure every Target is similar but not identical so this description is based on the one store I've been to thus far.

I find Target to be like a combination of Winners, Zellers, and Walmart wrapped into one.  For instance, the housewares dept. reminded me of Winners, whereas the clothing area looked like Zellers and the food section Walmart.  The women's clothing dept. was quite limited, which was disappointing, but a few of the juniors tops resembled some I've seen at American Eagle only less costly.  They also had some Roots clothing (what you'd see at Sears) at reduced prices than the Roots store.  I'm unsure if all Target stores are like this one but this particular store had many grocery items from fresh to frozen, excluding fresh produce and deli.  From what I saw, Target's grocery products are less expensive than the main grocery stores such as Sobeys and Loblaws.

There were really only two things that set Target apart from the other big stores.  1. Starbucks  2. Target MasterCard or bank card that allows you save 5% on every purchase.  I like the idea of Starbucks.  But, another card to weigh down my wallet?  The discount sounds nice and all but think about it...  that's only $5 for every $100 you spend.  I don't plan on spending that much at Target.  I'd rather bite the bullet and go to Walmart to get my groceries and miscellaneous items.

Overall, I don't think that Target is the new and improved Zellers.  It's just the end of an era and beginning to another.  I will continue my quest to visit more Target stores to try to get a better idea of what all the hype is about.  What's next to be "Targeted"?  Sears?  The Bay?  Don't say our beloved Dollarama?!