Here is where 25 new Zellers stores will open in Canada this year

CTV National News: The Zellers comeback Heather Wright reports on why the Hudson’s Bay is bringing back the long-defunct discount retailer Zellers.

After a years-long hiatus, Zellers has announced the locations of its first 25 store "experiences." The stores are set to open within Hudson's Bay locations across Canada this spring.

Parent company Hudson's Bay Co. (HBC) shuttered nearly all of the original Zellers stores in 2013, with the final two stores closing in 2020. However, HBC announced in 2022 it planned to bring back the Canadian discount chain. The new generation will offer a digital-first experience, complemented by physical locations and a "hint of the nostalgia that Canadians know and love," according to a media release.

Each location will be between 8,000 and 10,000 square feet, and will sell home decor, toy, baby, clothing and pet products, according to HBC. The stores and e-commerce website will launch simultaneously, though HBC has not confirmed when.

Here are the locations of the new stores, by province.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

ALBERTA

SASKATCHEWAN

MANITOBA

ONTARIO

QUEBEC

NOVA SCOTIA

WHY DID ZELLERS CLOSE?

In early 2011, U.S. department store chain Target acquired the leaseholds for 189 Zellers locations from HBC for $1.825 billion.

Of those 189 locations, 125 were converted to Target stores, leaving HBC with 64 remaining Zellers stores.

In 2012, HBC announced that keeping the retailer alive was not financially viable. It closed the doors of its last Canadian Zellers location in 2013.

The Zellers locations converted into Target stores survived for a few years, but in 2015, the U.S retailer withdrew from Canada.

– With files from CTV News Toronto multi-platform writer Abby O'Brien