Popular American department store chain Target announced Thursday it has purchased the option to acquire leasehold interests in up to 220 Zellers locations in Canada but it’s too soon to tell if the St. Albert location will be affected.
“We intend to open 100 to 150 Target stores in Canada in 2013 and 2014 so now we’re going to be talking to all the landlords and property owners of the Zellers locations and determine which locations we’d like to convert to Target stores,” said Amy Reilly, a spokesperson with Target.
With the agreement, Target Corporation will pay $1.825 billion CDN to purchase the leasehold interests in up to 220 sites currently operated by Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC).
Target will make two equal payments of $912.5 million CDN to Zellers in May and September of this year. Zellers will then sublease these sites from Target and continue to operate them under the Zellers name for a period of time.
“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,” said chairman, president and CEP Gregg Steinhafel, in a statement.
“We are very excited to bring our broad assortment of unique, high-quality merchandise at exceptional values and our convenient shopping environment to Canadian guests coast-to-coast. We believe our investment in these leases will strengthen the surrounding communities as well as create strategic and financial value for Target stakeholders,” he said.
The company said it expects to create thousands of jobs for Canadians in the coming years through store renovations, expansions and new construction as well as subsequent store operations. Currently, there are 1,752 stores in 49 states within the United States. A typical Target store employs between 150 and 200 people.
Once the company opens stores in Canada, it will continue its commitment to donate five per cent of its income back to the community.
The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce officially changed its name to the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday at its monthly lunch meeting.
Members also updated the chamber’s bylaw to add a more formal process for the nomination of directors and to enhance the eligibility to be a director. The chamber also added a secretary position to its board of directors.
The chamber is currently registered with the Alberta Societies Act and intends to register with the Canadian Board of Trade.
2011 will be a steady year for the housing market, according to Chris Mooney, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton. Mooney made the announcement on Wednesday in Edmonton.
He said realtors can expect sales figures to change direction over the next year and to climb from 18,293 (Edmonton MLS System total) to 19,500 by the end of the year.
“Consumers appeared wary in 2010 and after an initial surge of sales in the first quarter, stayed home and waited for the market to bottom out,” he said.
“We expect the market to return to normal in 2011 and for sales to increase slightly.”
Mooney said he expects prices for single-family homes to increase about three per cent but that an oversupply of condos will keep prices stable in 2011.
Average prices for all types of property will vary through the year within a small range while the average price for a single family detached homes is expected to increase. In 2010, average prices for single-family detached homes rose 2.5 per cent.
Mooney said prices in July were up over seven per cent year-over-year but by the end of the year were down 2.5 per cent from the previous December.
For the second year in a row, condo prices are expected to remain flat with no significant increase in the yearlong average price. Buyers can expect to pay $240,000 (on average) for a condominium next year, similar to what they would have paid in 2010.
Mooney suggested residential inventory would balloon in the second quarter, topping out at 7,000 properties, a number that is expected to fall to normal levels by the end of the year.
He said sales of rural and recreational properties would be swallowed by low-cost real estate opportunities.
