Target closure to affect more than 100 P.E.I. workers

Islanders are reacting to Thursday's announcement that retail giant Target is closing its Canadian stores, including the store in Charlottetown.

The P.E.I. store opened in November 2013, expecting to hire up to 150 employees.

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The chain lost nearly $1 billion in its first year in Canada.

Target's chairman and CEO says the decision was made to close after estimates suggested the company's Canadian operations would continue losing money for at least the next six years.

Analysts say the 133 Target stores across the country didn't deliver what customers wanted and that prices were too high and shelves were too bare.

That's what Campbell Likely found when he visited the Charlottetown store.

"When I first heard, I was kind of shocked, but at the same time, I saw it coming. Whenever I'd go there, the shelves would be pretty bare."

Asked what they thought about the closure, most people told CBC News they were concerned about how it would affect the store's P.E.I. employees.

"Very unfortunate, it's a hard time of year to find work. Not much around anymore for people. It's going to be hard, really hard," said Billy Curran.

Melissa Arsenault said: "It's kind of sad that's happening, job losses. It's kind of hard on families to make it by."

The company says a 16-week severance package is being prepared for the more than 17,000 affected workers.

'Big shock'

Kathy Hambly, executive director of the Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce, says Target was a good employer in the city and the news came as quite a surprise.

She says the chamber met with Target a few months ago, and the company admitted to growing pains. 

"This came as a big shock today, because we certainly knew that, while they were very challenged, they were very optimistic about their future when we met with them last fall," said Hambly.

"It's certainly a great concern for the employees at Target and also for the Charlottetown Mall," said Hambly.

"You know, the Charlottetown Mall is certainly a major shopping destination for all Islanders and Target is their anchor tenant, or one of their anchor tenants. And it will be difficult, I'm sure, in this climate to find another retailer to occupy that size of space. So that certainly will be a major concern for them going forward."

Hambly says she was pleased to hear that Target will be providing some short-term financial relief for displaced workers.

RIO-CAN, the Toronto-based company that manages the Charlottetown Mall, did not respond to requests for an interview.

At this time, it's unclear how much longer Target stores will remain open.