It's the day shoppers hoped to see blowout prices at Target. But many bargain hunters who expected black Friday style deals, were disappointed once they got a look at sale prices.
Store signs promised discounts between five and 30 per cent and savvy Winnipeg shoppers came prepared to find the best price.
“We thought well if they have the deals to be had, we’ll buy, but otherwise we won’t,” said Diane Lysaichuk, who got to the Polo Park location before it even opened.
“We’ve checked our prices out with competitors and everything, hopefully it will be good.”
Liquidation at all 133 Canadian target stores began Thursday after an Ontario court gave the go-ahead Wednesday.
Shoppers say most of the 30 per cent discounts could be found on cosmetics or women’s accessories.
Many other products in the stores, including home electronics, were discounted between 10 and 20 per cent, and only a five per cent discount was applied to Apple products and accessories.
Lineups lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour could be found at Polo Park and Grant Park Target stores. For some shoppers, it was just too much.
“When I got to the registers the lineups are literally to the other end of the store, I just said I don’t need it that bad, I’ll go elsewhere,” said Brigitte Meier.
She also complained the deals just weren’t what she thought they would be.
“You know what, it says 30 per cent off, but you go there, and the prices were never that great in the first place, and that’s why they failed,” said Meier.
“So, I mean some of the stuff is, most of the stuff is 10 per cent, so 10 per cent off their prices is really not a lot.”
Sale prices are set by the liquidator, not by Target, and as with most liquidations, the discounts are likely to grow as time goes by.
Target says stores will likely close one by one, but they expect all location to shut down by sometime in May.
Across the country, 17,600 people will lose their jobs, 680 of them at the five Manitoba locations.
