Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Combat Target’s Move into Canada with $750 Million in Expansions

Palm Beach, FL 2/7/12 (StreetBeat) -- With U.S. discount rival Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) slated to commence major initiatives to develop a presence in Canada, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) is planning to spend more than $750 million this fiscal year in expansions in the country itself.

Wal-Mart already has 333 stores in the Great White North, but intends to bolster its total number of stores to in excess of 375 stores by the end of January 2013. Through a record year of a minimum of 73 projects, including renovations, relocations and new stores, Wal-Mart will be adding more than 4.5 million square feet of retail space in Canada. A portion of the expansion will be the re-opening of the 39 former Zellers stores that Wal-Mart Canada bought leaseholder rights to in June 2011, which will now become Wal-Mart stores. At least half of the new stores will be Wal-Mart Supercenters, according to the company.

Target has stated that it intends to open up to 135 stores in Canada, mostly all of them during this calendar year.

Headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Wal-Mart Canada employees more than 85,000 people currently. “We are proud of our 18-year record of growth, and of the investment we make in the Canadian economy,” said Shelley Broader, President and CEO of Wal-Mart Canada. “As the country’s fastest growing retailer, every year we create thousands of new jobs, spend billions of dollars with Canadian suppliers, and invest millions in Canadian communities.”

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