Target to buy Zellers for $1.8 billion
Target Corp. said Thursday it is buying Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company, for $1.8 billion.
U.S.-based Target said the purchase will allow it open its first stores in Canada beginning in 2013.
"This transaction provides an outstanding opportunity for us to extend our Target brand, Target stores and superior shopping experience beyond the United States for the first time in our company's history," Gregg Steinhafel, Target's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
Target expects to open 100 to 150 Target stores throughout Canada in 2013 and 2014.
Under the agreement, Target will acquire the leasehold interests of as many as 220 sites now operated by Zellers Inc.
"Zellers Inc. will sublease these sites from Target and continue to operate them under the Zellers banner for a period of time," Target said.
Hudson's Bay Company said in a statement Thursday that it was also anticipated that a number of Zellers locations will be assigned to other retail enterprises.
Fred Waks, chief operating officer at RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, told the Financial Post in October that Target is looking for an urban strategy and will roll out first in the Greater Toronto Area.
Meanwhile, Steinhafel said Target's chief marketing officer, Michael Francis, will lead the company's move into the Canadian market.
"Under Michael's leadership, Target has emerged as one of the most recognizable brands in the world and I am pleased that he will guide our expansion into Canada," Steinhafel said in a separate statement. |
發表於 2011-1-13 07:13
| 