A small business lesson from what Target did right in Canada

In 2011, Target Corporation, the successful national retailer out of Minnesota, announced they were expanding into neighboring Canada.

The launch was aggressive; by assuming almost 200 spaces vacated by a recently bankrupted chain,Target Canada opened 133 stores in less than two years, including one just 500 miles from their headquarters in Minneapolis.

Having successfully gone head-to-head with U.S. competitors who’d already expanded successfully north of the border, why wouldn’t Canada be a g...