Did you hear that cheering sound? That was the American expat community in Canada greeting the news that U.S. retailer Target is entering the Canadian market.

Target is purchasing most of HBC’s Zellers chain, and over the next two to three years, they’ll convert 100 to 150 Zellers outlets into Target stores.

Before I moved to Canada, I never thought that the Target stores were any big deal. Sure, they had good prices for household basics, and they had a lot more style than other discount retailers, but I guess I took them for granted.

Then, when I arrived in Canada, I suddenly understood. I was surprised at how often Vancourites cross the border to shop in the U.S., a phenomenon that’s repeated in border cities across Canada. Most Canadians — except those in fashionable Montreal, perhaps — will tell you that there’s simply a better choice of merchandise available in the United States, particularly if you’re looking for well-designed, low- to mid-priced goods of the kind Target sells.

As Canadian Business magazine recently wrote in “What’s so great about Target?“:

Canadian shoppers still consider Target one of the few American retailers that still merits crossing the border….

What does Target have to offer Canadians that they can’t already scoop up at the local Walmart, Canadian Tire, or Loblaw Superstore? The answer is found not in the products on the shelves so much as the shopping attitude the Minnesota-based Target Corporation has masterfully manufactured….

Shopping at Zellers is about necessity. Shopping at Target is about taking pride in the simple delights of middle class life.

Of course, we American expats know that Target is just a store, one of the ubiquitous big box stores that has gradually taken over our shopping existence. And who knows whether Target’s prices, when the stores do open in Canada, will be as competitive as they are in the States?

But I’ll still look forward to the arrival on this side of the border of Target’s cheap-chic underwear, towels, and other household goods.

And in the meantime, I’m heading for my local Loonie–Toonie store. (For all you Canadian newcomers, the “Loonie-Toonie store” is Canada’s equivalent of the Dollar Store, where most everything costs a dollar or two.)

What about you? Do you still cross the border to shop at “Tar-jay?” Are you looking forward to Target’s opening in Canada? Leave a comment and let us know.