With the return of Zellers, people feel like a part of our history is coming back. Everyone remembers the day Zellers got traded for Target. Target did not last long due to a few factors including but not limited to poor management and the constant need for renovations. Outside of these issues, Target just didn’t capture the same energy as Zellers. Sure, it had a lot of similarities but Zellers felt distinct since it was a version of Target we can call ours.
Canadians traded #Zellers for Target. Target then created one of the worst retail disasters in history – losing $2.1B over 2 years on the Canadian expansion. It was so bad, someone wrote a play about it.
Now 8 years later, Zellers is resurrected… and a country rejoices! pic.twitter.com/dwcycbP0mW— Marie the Pop Culture Historian (@karmacakedotca) January 9, 2023
As someone who experienced half their life without Zellers, I can’t exactly have the same sentimental feeling that older generations had. But I’ve been there enough times to know what it feels like. It felt like Walmart but less intimidating. Those bright red colours were in your face which helped me stay energized compared to stores with more muted colours. The toy selection, as far as I can remember, was better than Walmart’s by a mile, the clothing quality was immaculate (we had clothes from there that lasted longer than some other places), and the smell felt like a home inside a store (even more than furniture stores).
i’m sorry, putting zellers back inside The Bay does NOT COUNT as zellers actually coming back. give me a zellers restaurant and then we’ll talk HBC
— mk (@mkbowyer) January 18, 2023
One of the unfortunate parts of these reopenings is that these aren’t going to be dedicated places like before. They’re going to be located inside Hudson’s Bay stores. This is something that was already being experimented with in other locations. That isn’t the Zellers we remember. I would love to go to Target, but having it inside Hudson’s Bay feels depressing. Every time I enter that place, I feel like I’m about to go to sleep. On top of that, there’s a good chance we won’t get the Zellers restaurants inside these locations, one of the main sources of the distinct smell.
I’m still excited about Zellers’ return. Even if it’s not the same as before, there’s still something to look forward to. Maybe one day we’ll see the return of dedicated locations.