An employee at a new CityTarget store walks through the store as it prepares for its opening in downtown Chicago, July 18, 2012. Target Corp is tweaking its playbook to appeal to city dwellers and others who already shop in busy downtown locations as it t
An employee at a new CityTarget store walks through the store as it prepares for its opening in downtown Chicago, July 18, 2012. Target Corp is tweaking its playbook to appeal to city dwellers and others who already shop in busy downtown locations as it tries to boost sales growth in a weak U.S. economy. Reuters/Jim Young

Hundreds of Canadians stand to lose their jobs in the coming months as two more American retailers, Sony and Target, decide to abandon ship and close operations. In respective statements issued on the same day, Thursday, Sony said all 14 of its stores in Canada will close over the next six to eight weeks, while Target will close all whopping 133 stores within 16 to 20 weeks. Although the latter's announcement wasn't surprising, observers somehow hoped it would instead sell some of its stores to rival WalMart. The closures will result to 90 layoffs for Sony, 17,600 for Target.

Barely 2 years in the Canadian scene, Target Canada didn't kick off mainly because it failed to live up to high expectations of the market. The selections it placed in Canada bore higher prices albeit less in number compared with those sold in the U.S. Despite only being 2 years old in Canada, its record losses were a whopping $2 billion in just a short span of time. "After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021," Brian Cornell, Target chairman and CEO said, in a news release.

While Target maintained honesty over its looming business closure in Canada, Sony was the opposite. It didn't state why it is closing shop in Canada. The retail locations that will be affected include three each in Alberta and in the Greater Vancouver area, five in the Greater Toronto Area, and one each in Ottawa, in Montreal and Quebec City, information posted on Sony Canada website revealed.

Sony, in a statement, advised its Canadian customers to buy Sony products at third-party retailers across the country. These could be either through its online store or by telephone, it said. It added it would continue to support authorized Sony retailers by enabling them to continue selling its products. It would also provide support for customers. Sony also said it will reach out to previous Sony store customers about warranties and technical support in the future.

Read more: 2015 Make Or Break For Target Canada