Zellers returns with expansion plans after resurrection
The discount department store chain has reopened in Edmonton and is plotting stores across Canada.
Zellers, the discount department store that died and was revived multiple times over nearly 100 years, is back — and this time with national ambitions.
Les Ailes de la Mode, a Quebec-based retailer owned by the Benitah family, acquired the Zellers trademark in August 2025 and opened its first new location at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton in October. A second store is set to open June 18, 2026, at Orfus Road in Toronto, with a third planned for July 2026 at Tecumseh Mall in Windsor.
The Zellers comeback is the latest chapter in a roller-coaster history. Walter Philip Zeller founded the first store in Waterloo, Ontario, in 1928, but it changed hands repeatedly — sold to Schulte-United within months, then repurchased when that firm filed for bankruptcy in 1931. By 1976, W.T. Grant's bankruptcy led to Fields Stores taking a controlling stake. Hudson's Bay Company acquired majority ownership in 1978 and the remainder in 1981, holding the brand for decades.
HBC's 2011 decision to lease most Zellers locations to Target Corp. proved pivotal. Target opened its first Canadian store in 2013 but closed all locations by 2015. Most remaining Zellers stores shuttered in 2013, with the last outlets closing in 2020.
HBC rebooted the brand with pop-up shops in 2023 before filing for creditor protection in March 2025. The Benitah family's acquisition and Edmonton reopening signal renewed confidence in the budget retail segment. Whether this resurrection sticks longer than the previous attempts remains to be seen.