Confused American reveals 'mind-blowing' truth about Target Australia

A US woman has gone viral on TikTok after sharing a mind-blowing discovery about Target.

In the 39-second video, TikTok user @glowopedia shocked viewers by revealing that Target stores in Australia are not what many people think they are.

“Dove down this Target hole and have so many questions,” reads the caption of the viral video.

“If you like Target, this blew my mind,” says the woman in the TikTok, who explains that she was inspired to make the video after discovering Australia has its own Target stores.

“Australia thinks they have Targets but they actually don’t. It looks like Target, it has a Target logo but it is not affiliated with Target,” she explains.

After a bit of digging the woman confirms that Target Australia is not affiliated with Target US, as it is owned by Kmart.

“[Kmart] came in and bought the chain stores called Lindsay’s, transformed it to look like Target, called it Target, but it’s not Target…What?” she asks.

However, this fact was disproved by the Target Australia website, which states that the company is owned by Wesfarmers.

Wesfarmers acquired both Target Australia and Kmart as part of the of acquisition of Coles Group Limited in 2006.

“So, now I wanna know, do Kmart and Target have beef?” she asks users on TikTok. “This was a very a**hole move from Kmart to swoop in and pretend to be Target and convince everyone they’re Target when they’re not."

She ends the video with a question: “But, like, I just need the tea, what happened here?”

TikTok video sparks debate over which Target is the real Target

The world seemed to share the US woman’s confusion over the Target debate, as the TikTok video has already been viewed over 1.2 million times in three days.

Thousands of users also flooded the comments to voice their own shock at discovering the Target franchise was not the same across the US and Australia.

“My jaw dropped,” wrote one user.

“Oh my God, this blew my mind!” wrote another.

“How is this legal?” asked a third.

Meanwhile, several Aussies took the opportunity to poke fun at Americans reacting to the video and assuming the US Target is the real Target.

“Plot twist: America thinks they have the real Target but they don’t,” wrote one Aussie.

“The US actually has zero Targets and Australia has all the Targets,” laughed another.

While a third hilariously responded to the woman’s question over the Target and Kmart beef: “Target and Kmart CEOs usually have a punch on once a week at a local shopping centre to decide which is more dominant.”

TikToker confirms Target confusion is a ‘weird coincidence’ in follow-up video

In a follow-up TikTok video, @glowopedia confirmed that the identical branding of Target in the US and Australia is a “weird coincidence”.

“So, in 1967 the US filed for copyright of its name, its logo and everything else. A year later, the Australian Target did the same, but in Australia,” she says in the video.

The truth behind the history of Target Australia

According to the Target Australia website, the company began in 1926 when George Lindsay and Alex McKenzie opened a drapery store in Geelong, Victoria after signing a partnership the previous year.

“The store primarily sold dress fabrics, manchester and furnishings. A pioneer of discount retailing, Lindsay's business methodology was 'half the profit, twice the turnover,” reads the website.

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By 1968, Lindsay & McKenzie Pty Ltd had grown to 14 small stores around Victoria at which point Myer Emporium Ltd bought the business and the company became Lindsay's Target Pty Ltd.

It wasn’t until March 1973, that the franchise officially became Target Australia Pty Ltd.

Despite sharing the same name and logo, Target Australia carries no relation to the Target Corporation in America.

While Target Australia stocks homewares, clothing, cosmetics, electronics and books, their American counterpart sells groceries, clothing and electronics.

Target Corporation spokesperson Eric Hausman previously told the Star Observer that the US Target is a completely different company to Target Australia.

“Target Corporation has no affiliation with Target Australia,” said Mr Hausman.

“There is no relationship between our companies.”

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