Wal-Mart to Ramp Up Canadian Retail Holdings
Retail heavy hitter Wal-Mart Canada will expand its holdings as its biggest U.S. competitor hits the Canadian market in 2013.
Canada’s retail scene is heating up despite the winter chill.
On Tuesday, Wal-Mart Canada announced it will pump $750 million into a massive expansion effort this year to build, remodel or relocate its stores across the country.
The expansion will provide a minor boost to Canada’s lagging economy, as the new retail locations will generate more than 14,000 new jobs.
According to Wal-Mart, the company already employs around 85,000 people in Canada.
The announcement comes as U.S. discount department store Target looks to enter the Canadian market in 2013. Just last week, Target settled a branding lawsuit that gives the company exclusive rights to use the Target name in Canada.
Many Americans are aware of the Target-Wal-Mart rivalry (full disclosure – I side with Target), and the proposed Wal-Mart expansion echoes like the throwing down of a retail gauntlet.
Looks like Target is exporting more than its unofficial “cheap chic” motto to the Great White North.
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