01-19-2015, 01:55 PM
Re Target's demise, don't blame me; I never set foot in any of their stores 
On a more serious note the lunchtime program on CBC Radio 1 had a retail consultant who was very critical of Target's strategy. For instance Target took no interest in any of the customer data that Zellers had accumulated over the years. That would have gone a long way in planning what merchandise to stock in each store.
A more poignant example was that they walked away from Zellers' pharmacy operation, preferring to start from scratch. As a result they lost important data including both customer files (prescriptions) and related demographic information. He estimated that information alone was worth $100s of millions. So not only did they lose a reliable stream of pharmacy revenue because customers went elsewhere to fill prescriptions but they also lost related sales in other departments when those customers would have come in to pick up prescriptions.
By contrast when Wal-Mart took over the Zellers' store at Bridgeport and Weber they created a temporary location next door while they renovated their "new" store. The leaseholds for the temporary location were quite elaborate and I imagine cost a lot of money. The temporary pharmacy remained open throughout the transition. The original Zellers staff stayed on with Wal-Mart before, during and after. (My family has been getting prescriptions filled there for years and continues to do so.)
The pharmacy is but one example of how Target shot themselves in the back of their red jackets as a result of HQ's arrogance and hubris. He gave several more.
On a more serious note the lunchtime program on CBC Radio 1 had a retail consultant who was very critical of Target's strategy. For instance Target took no interest in any of the customer data that Zellers had accumulated over the years. That would have gone a long way in planning what merchandise to stock in each store.
A more poignant example was that they walked away from Zellers' pharmacy operation, preferring to start from scratch. As a result they lost important data including both customer files (prescriptions) and related demographic information. He estimated that information alone was worth $100s of millions. So not only did they lose a reliable stream of pharmacy revenue because customers went elsewhere to fill prescriptions but they also lost related sales in other departments when those customers would have come in to pick up prescriptions.
By contrast when Wal-Mart took over the Zellers' store at Bridgeport and Weber they created a temporary location next door while they renovated their "new" store. The leaseholds for the temporary location were quite elaborate and I imagine cost a lot of money. The temporary pharmacy remained open throughout the transition. The original Zellers staff stayed on with Wal-Mart before, during and after. (My family has been getting prescriptions filled there for years and continues to do so.)
The pharmacy is but one example of how Target shot themselves in the back of their red jackets as a result of HQ's arrogance and hubris. He gave several more.