TORONTO - Target Corp. says it has doubled its renovation budget to as much as $2.3 billion for the Canadian Zellers stores it plans to revamp in the next three years.
The U.S. retail giant is expanding its renovation budget to between $1.8 billion and $2.3 billion from an earlier plan to spend about $1 billion to convert Zellers stores into modern, bright and clean Targets.
In U.S. regulatory filings, the company also says it will open a majority of its planned 100 to 150 Canadian stores in 2013.
Target announced in January it would spend $1.83 billion to take over the leases of as many as 220 Zellers stores.
The discount-chic retailer made the first of two $912.5 million payments last week to the Hudson's Bay Company and unveiled the first 105 Zellers locations that it plans to take over.
It has the right to select another 115 locations when it makes a second payment in the third quarter.
