OTTAWA — Ottawa has approved Target Corp.’s plan to enter the Canadian market and sell books and other cultural products such as DVDs, music and magazines.
The plan by the U.S. retailer to open stores in Canada was reviewed under the Investment Canada Act to ensure the store’s shelves will have enough home-grown content.
In approving Target, Heritage Minister James Moore said Target plans to create more than 20,000 new jobs and has committed to sell uniquely Canadian cultural products in its Canadian stores.
“Our government is committed to strengthening Canada’s economy in all sectors, especially arts and culture,” Moore said in a statement Friday.
“Target’s investment in Canada’s economy shows our plan is working and will be of great benefit to Canadian workers, Canadian consumers and their families.”
The review was launched in March to see if Target’s plan to open stores in Canada would be of net benefit to the country.
As part of the approval, Target has committed to employ 100 to 200 people at each store as well as sell and promote Canadian cultural products.
Target has also agreed to support Canadian cultural events and organizations
The U.S. retailer is poised to begin opening the first of between 125 and 135 stores in Canada at former Zellers locations acquired from Hudson’s Bay Co.
The store openings are set to start next year.
Target, a 109-year-old U.S. retailer that was part of Dayton-Hudson Corp. before changing its name in 2000, is one of the biggest U.S. department store chains, with revenues of more than US$67 billion in its last fiscal year.
The company has more than 355,000 employees and 1,763 stores and is the second-biggest discount retailer in the U.S. after Wal-Mart Stores Inc.