The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) has announced plans to resurrect discount department
store chain Zellers.
Zellers, which went out of business a decade ago, will return with an e-commerce website and
have a presence in a select number of Hudson's Bay department stores across Canada
beginning next year, according to the Hudson’s Bay Company.
The relaunch of Zellers comes as inflation drives Canadians to discount retailers such as
Walmart (WMT), Dollarama (DLMAF) and Giant Tiger.
Zellers was founded in 1931 and purchased by Hudson’s Bay back in 1978. Zellers popularized
the marketing slogan: “Where the lowest price is the law.”
The discount stores reached a peak of 350 locations in the 1990s before losing market share to
big box competitors such as Walmart.
In 2011, Hudson’s Bay sold its Zellers leases to American retailer Target (TGT), which
subsequently closed the discount department stores.
However, Target has since abandoned the Canadian market and Hudson’s Bay once again
owns the Zellers brand.
