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Target Canada opens 17 new stores across Ontario, more on the way

Early this morning Target opened 17 stores across Ontario – and it’s about time.

It’s been just two weeks since three pilot stores opened in Guelph, Fergus and Milton – and the demand has been overwhelming. In fact, John Morioka, senior vice-president of merchandising, says it’s been “almost too good.”

Shoppers have been complaining about lack of inventory and heightened demand at the pilot stores, but Morioka says it’s all part of the process.

“We were definitely slammed,” he said Monday on a media tour of the new Target at East York Town Centre in Toronto – the GTA’s first location.

““We thought that there would be an initial sort of bump, but the bump has not leveled off to the degree that we thought,” he tells the Financial Post. “That has probably been the most surprising part of it — that we haven’t been able to recover [in those three stores] because we are always surprised by the demand.”

According to the Toronto Sun, about 50 people lined up outside the East York Town Centre store this morning for Target’s 8 a.m. opening.

Morioka says Target officials have pulled the “best of the best” from traditional stores as well as added some unique elements to the Canadian locations. The stores feature a number of Canadian collaborations, including a collaboration with Roots, as well as a home decor collaboration with Canadian brand Umbra.

Four more stores will open next week, and most locations are expected to be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. The majority of stores will also feature a Starbucks and in-store pharmacy designed to “provide guests with superior patient-centered healthcare.”

By the end of the year, Target plans to open 124 stores across the country.

The locations which opened on March 19 are:

Ajax – Durham Centre

Aurora – Aurora Shopping Centre

Brampton – Shoppers World Brampton

Burlington – Millcroft Centre

Cambridge – Cambridge Centre

Etobicoke – Cloverdale Mall

Hamilton – Centre Mall

Lindsay – Lindsay Square Mall

London – Masonville Place

London – Westmount Shopping Centre

Newmarket – Upper Canada Mall

Toronto – Centrepoint Mall

Toronto – East York Town Centre

Waterdown – Flamborough Power Centre

Whitby – Taunton Road Power Centre

Windsor – Devonshire Mall

Stores opening on March 28:

Brampton – Trinity Common

Burlington – Burlington Mall

Mississauga – Square One Shopping Centre

Toronto – Shoppers World Danforth

Do you plan to shop at your nearest Target Canada?