The Zellers Reboot. Will the Nostalgia be Enough?

The Good Old Days

I grew up in rural Saskatchewan. The closest city to our farm was Moose Jaw. Trips to the city, especially when those trips were with my grandparents, inevitably involved shopping at Woolco and having dinner at Bonanza. Depending on your age it is very possible you have never set foot in a Woolco store. To explain the store in simple terms, it was just another Zellers. Mediocre merchandise at lower end prices. Complete with it’s own in store cafe style restaurant. The chain, in Canada, closed it’s last location in 1994.

Immediately after the Woolco ceased to exist in Moose Jaw a shiny new Zellers store took it’s place in the Town ‘n Country Mall. By this time I was a full on adult (but a VERY young adult!) and actually living in Moose Jaw. As a student, and later a not much above minimum wage worker, at the time Zellers (as well as the old Army & Navy) was my go to store for most of my essential shopping. This was back in the day when malls were vibrant and busy and sometimes you just went to hang out in the food court with your friends.

Years passed and I relocated to Regina. At the same time that Zellers replaced Woolco in Moose Jaw, Walmart had replaced other Woolco locations across the province. So, by the time I came to Regina both retailers were co-existing. I didn’t frequent Zellers often at this time. Walmart was closer to my home and seemed to have a bit more to offer in terms of selection. However, when I started a job that was almost across the street from the Northgate Mall, shopping at Zellers became part of my regular routine. At that time I was a new, work outside the home mother, so my lunch hours were often spent running over to the malls to grab some essentials at Zellers. It wasn’t the ideal shopping experience but it was pretty much all I had.

By early 2013 Zellers closed up shop across the country. Some shoppers saw this as sad news. However, Target took over many of those spaces and that got people excited. Anyone that had ever visited a Target south of the border was all over this announcement. The Target brand coming to Canada felt like something to get excited about. Sure, Walmart came north years ago and is successful, but Walmart feels like a massive, emotionless chain store. It meets lots of needs, but nobody really gets excited about Walmart. Target, or the Target we expected, just felt different. With better lighting, wider isles, items with more style and a bit less of a “mass retailer” feel, Target was exactly what we thought we wanted.

We all know how that story ends. Target’s launch in Canada was a disaster. Within two years they packed up and pulled out. I could write an entire post about the why of it all, but this post isn’t about Target so let’s move on.

The Relaunch of Zellers

In the fall of 2021, right around the time there was some kerfuffle over HBC’s trademark on the Zellers brand, a Zellers “pop up store” emerged in the Hudson’s Bay store in Burlington Ontario.

I haven’t spoken to anyone that’s actually visited this pop-up location and there’s very little feedback to be found beyond the initial launch. From what I’ve managed to find, it contains “Canada” branded clothing, some housewares and a few toys. Has it been successful? I have no idea but one could speculate that is has met with some success given the news that followed.

In the summer of 2022 the Hudson’s Bay Co. announced it had plans to revive the Zellers brand beyond the single pop-up site in Burlington. This month they have elaborated on those plans and announced they will be opening 25 locations, within existing Bay stores, as well as online shopping on the Zellers.ca website.

Details are a little scarce at the moment. Will these in store locations be modelled after the currently opened pop up? How much space will the be allotted within the Bay stores? Further digging tells us 8,000-10,00 ft² depending on location. Will Zeddy, the pantless bear mascot be back? The most frequent question I’ve seen be raised is “will the Zellers Restaurant be back?”. I think, logistically, one can assume that probably isn’t in the cards. It’s probably best to not get your hopes up to see hot chicken sandwiches in the middle of Bay stores any time soon.

Will it Work?

This is the big question. Is a relaunch of the, arguably, iconic Zellers brand going to fly? Nostalgia sells. For a while. But nostalgia really is a niche market and once us 80’s/90’s kids have had our little tours of the store, maybe picked up a Zellers brand hoodie (if those exist) then what? Currently, Regina is not on the list of Zellers locations. But, when I think about how often I actually visit the Bay, I know I would not make a special trip just to gawk at the retro Zellers space. Certainly if I was already downtown with some time on my hands I’d pop in but it’s not something I would plan as a destination.

Zeller’s tag line was “Where the Lowest Price is the Law”. If that’s what consumers are expecting, will HBC be able to deliver?” That’s doubtful. I don’t think Walmart, Amazon or even the dollar stores have batted an eye over this announcement. I think they best that we can hope for is a cheaper store within a more expensive store. So maybe the Zellers blanket will be half the price of the Bay blanket but you could probably scoot over to Walmart and get the same Zellers quality for less, and pick up some groceries while you are at it. We cannot underestimate the passion consumers have for convenience. We are busy, We work hard. Our kids have a calendar full of sporting and social events. Tie that in with the soaring price of everything (including fueling our cars to get to stores) one stop shops are an easy sell.

What we are being promised is a “refreshed identity”, “unique and exciting products”, and “every day value”. Can what is now an entirely American owned company tap into what exactly Canadians are looking for in this relaunch of a brand we to use feel warm and fuzzy about? We use to feel that same way about Target and that went nowhere fast.

Clearly I have my doubts that this is going to be something sustainable. I feel like the Bay has already been having an identity crisis for years. Their current tag line on social platforms is “The essential space for life, style and culture.” I’m not sure they are hitting that mark. Will plunking a “bargain” brand in the middle of the store work for or against that messaging? Time will tell.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited about seeing the big red Z again? Do you think they can make this work?