First new Zellers locations revealed ahead of brand’s return to Canada this spring

The first locations of new Zellers department stores have been revealed ahead of the retail chain’s return to Canada this year.

Hudson’s Bay Co.(HBC), the parent company of Zellers, first announced the comeback last summer and the first 25 locations (full list below) will be opening up within Hudson’s Bay stores.

The first wave of the ‘store within a store’ concept will be popping up in seven different provinces across the country. The locations are expected to open sometime in the spring, though an exact opening date has not been given.

Related: Zellers teases its 2023 return to Canada

In the GTA, three new Zellers stores will open at Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto, Erin Mills in Mississauga, and at the Burlington Mall. There are six other locations set to open in Ontario.

“The brick-and-mortar locations will complement the first-ever Zellers.ca ecommerce site,” reads a release from HBC.

The new stores will be up to 10,000 square feet but sizes will vary depending on the location.

First 25 Zellers locations

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

Alberta

• Kingsway Garden Mall, Edmonton
• Medicine Hat Mall, Medicine Hat
• Sunridge Mall, Calgary

British Columbia

• Pacific Centre, Downtown Vancouver
• Aberdeen Mall, Kamloops
• Guildford Town Centre, Surrey
• 7 Oaks Shopping Centre, Abbotsford

Manitoba

• St. Vital, Winnipeg

Nova Scotia

• Micmac Mall, Dartmouth
• Mayflower Shopping Mall, Sydney

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

Saskatchewan

• Midtown Plaza, Saskatoon

HBC has said the new Zellers locations will “tap into the nostalgia of the brand Canadians know and love, while introducing a refreshed identity and a unique and exciting product assortment for families at everyday value.”

The return of the chain comes as inflation has pushed consumers to discount retailers in search of lower prices.

The Zellers department store was founded in 1931 and bought over by HBC in 1978, when it operated as the discount division of its flagship Hudson’s Bay department stores. The store hit its peak of about 350 locations in the late 1990s.

In 2011, HBC announced plans to sell the majority of its remaining Zellers leases to Target Corp., closing most stores by 2013. The retailer kept a handful of Zellers locations open as liquidation outlets until 2020.