Zellers to reopen with 25 locations across Canada early this year

The Hill

Hudson’s Bay Co. (HBC) is bringing discount brand Zellers back to life with 25 locations inside its The Bay department stores early this year.

HBC announced the new locations in seven provinces on Jan. 18, but didn’t give a specific opening date. Last August, the company said the Zellers stores would arrive in early 2023.

Alongside the physical stores, HBC will also launch a Zellers e-commerce site, which it said will bring Zellers products to “nearly every community in Canada.”

“Zellers is a brand deeply rooted in the Canadian experience. Spanning generations, people hold distinct connections to Zellers through shared experiences with family and friends, and we look forward to building on that in the future,” Adam Powell, chief business officer of the discount brand, said when the brand relaunch was announced last year.

HBC has remained tight-lipped on its motivations for bringing back Zellers, but the revival could be a play to boost revenues.

The 352-year-old company — which owns The Bay department store, luxury Saks Fifth Avenue and discount luxury retailer Saks Off 5th — has spent the past decade trying to cope with a shifting retail environment.

In March 2020, HBC’s owners took the company private so it could change direction without having to answer to shareholders amid declining sales, which were down 1.7 per cent in its final earnings release. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization had also fallen 32 per cent year over year.

To shore up sales, HBC has added a number of individual brands to its stores, such as Forever 21, Mango and Mountain Equipment Co. Ltd.

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Zellers locations inside The Bay stores will take up between 8,000 to 10,000 square feet of brick-and-mortar space depending on the size of the department store, the company said. The shops will offer home decor, toys, baby products, apparel and pet products, among other items.

Is there a Zellers store coming to a location near you? Here’s a list of locations:

British Columbia

• Pacific Centre, downtown Vancouver

• Aberdeen Mall, Kamloops

• Guildford Town Centre, Surrey

• 7 Oaks Shopping Centre, Abbotsford

Alberta

• Kingsway Garden Mall, Edmonton

• Medicine Hat Mall, Medicine Hat

• Sunridge Mall, Calgary

Saskatchewan

• Midtown Plaza, Saskatoon

Manitoba

• St. Vital, Winnipeg

Ontario

• Erin Mills, Mississauga

• Burlington Mall, Burlington

• White Oaks Mall, London

• Scarborough Town Centre, Scarborough

• Pen Centre Shopping Plaza, St. Catharines

• Cambridge Centre, Cambridge

• Rideau Center, Ottawa

• St. Laurent Center, Ottawa

• Cataraqui Town Centre, Kingston

Quebec

• Place Rosemère, Rosemère

• Galeries d’Anjou, Ville Anjou

• Carrefour de l’Estrie, Sherbrooke

• Les Promenades Gatineau, Gatineau

• Les Galeries de la Capitale, Quebec City

Nova Scotia

• Micmac Mall, Dartmouth

• Mayflower Shopping Mall, Sydney

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