On January 14, 2015, Target Corporation ("Target US") announced the exit of substantially all of its Canadian operations less than two years after opening its first Canadian stores in a strategic push to operate at least one store in every province of Canada. The following day, on January 15, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) in Toronto (the "Court") granted Target Canada Co. and certain other wholly owned subsidiaries of Target US (collectively, "Target Canada" or the "Debtor") protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (Canada) R.S.C. 1985, c. C-36, as amended ("CCAA") to orderly wind down and liquidate its Canadian operations.
Target Canada is the Canadian wholly owned operating subsidiary of Target US, one of the largest retailers in the United States. In early 2011, Target US undertook an extensive investment to expand its retail presence in the Canadian market. Initial sales and operating results of Target Canada proved to be substantially worse than expected. Having faced significant losses in every fiscal quarter, Target US projects cumulative pre-tax losses of more than C$2.5 billion from its entry in the Canadian market to the end of the 2014 fiscal year. With little prospect of seeing profits in the near future, Target US concluded that that it was in the best interest of all its stakeholders to cease its Canadian operations.
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