Retailer set to return

The lowest price will soon again be the law. Zellers, the Canadian discount department store, is being revived and reimagined by its parent company as a digital-first shopping site.

The Hudson’s Bay Company announced the return of Zellers in August, with a plan to relaunch the brand “in early 2023,” according to a news release. The new Zellers will be an e-commerce site with selected “bricks and mortar” locations within existing HBC department stores across Canada.

Zellers was incorporated in 1931 by Ontario retailer Walter Zeller and acquired by HBC in 1978. In 2011, HBC sold most of its Zellers leases to Target Corp. Most stores were shuttered by 2013, although some remained open until 2020 as liquidation outlets. HBC chief business officer Adam Powell said the Zellers brand evokes feelings of nostalgia among many Canadians. “We know how special Zellers is in the hearts and minds of people in Canada,” he said.