Target to try and be as "Canadian" as possible

According to CanadaEast, Target will try to make its stores as "Canadian" as possible when the Minnesota-based merchant opens in Canada in 2013. Part of that endeavor will include tailoring its food assortment to local palates, according to its head of property development.

"We don't want to simply replicate Minnesota stores here," John Griffith, the retailer's executive vice-president of property development, said recently in a speech to the International Council of Shopping Centres Canadian convention in Toronto. Target tries to cater to the demographics of the area where it sets up shop, he said, citing images of stores with Spanish-style architecture in California, prairie architecture in Wisconsin and tropical landscaping in Hawaii. Beyond fitting in with the look of the neighborhood, a key component is food.

"You might find one ethnic group that really enjoys long-stem brown rice," he later elaborated. "Then you might find somebody else that wants white rice - that's their culture and that's what they want. If you don't have that product in the store you lose an opportunity to connect."