TARGET Corporation Essay

Submitted By CrystalY2014
Words: 623
Pages: 3

Questions for Target to consider before entering Canada:
Will Target’s current strategy beat the Canadian market?
Currently Target’s strategy is aimed at Americans living in the United States
Target need to identify the needs of characteristics of their targeted Canadian consumers and understand the differences between Canadian and American consumers (important behavioural and psychographic differences exist)
There are already existing retailers similar to Target in Canada (i.e. Walmart) so Target needs to be certain about what will make Target’s current strategy and service/ product offering stand out
Are there any existing imperfections in the Canadian retail market
Target’s goal is to capture a portion of the Canadian market and retain an economic surplus
In order to be profitable, there must be an imperfection or an unfulfilled or unknown need in the market that Target can leverage to capture the market
Target executives also need to ensure that they aren’t making an inaccurate assumptions about the Canadian marketplace and the behaviours of both competitors and consumers
Target should test the assumptions they are basing their predictions on to ensure any changes in the external environment haven’t rendered obsolete the assumptions that underlie Target’s strategy to enter Canada
If assumptions have been tested and prove to be inaccurate/untrue, a new strategy must be created to align with the new situation
What resources does Target have that it can leverage in Canada and how far can these resources be extended across markets?
For example: Target is known as being “cheap-chic” and can leverage this brand perception to consumers in Canada who are looking to be chic but have a limited spending budget
With this intangible resource in mind, Target should be wary and not overestimate their ability to leverage their already widely-known brand and fully conduct thorough research and analysis to make sure that there is in fact an existing market in Canada that is looking for “cheap-chic”
What is Target’s true source of advantage?
Does Target have a positional advantage?
Target needs to confirm that whether entering Canada will place them in a structurally attractive market relative to its other retail competitors in the Canada marketplace (they need to identify barriers to entry and any threats to new entrants)
Does Target have any special capabilities unique to them?
Target needs to know what distinct competencies it has so it knows what it does particularly well compared to its competitors
This is much better than simply identifying the