Zellers Expands Into Ontario With New Toronto and Windsor Stores After Edmonton Success

Zellers is taking its comeback story into Ontario, and this phase will say far more about the brand’s future than its first relaunch did. After drawing stronger-than-expected interest at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton, the retailer is preparing to open new stores near Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall on June 18, 2026, and at Tecumseh Mall in Windsor in July.

The move gives Zellers a chance to prove that its return is not simply a one-city nostalgia event. Ontario is a bigger and more competitive test, with shoppers already served by Walmart, Amazon, Costco, Winners and other value-focused retailers. For Zellers, the challenge is clear: turn an emotional Canadian retail name into a store format that people visit repeatedly.

The new locations will carry apparel, accessories, home goods, luggage and seasonal products, but the Ontario rollout will also add toys and snack foods. That shift came after the Edmonton store tested a smaller toy selection and saw the category become one of its strongest performers. Zellers chief operating officer Joey Benitah had initially been cautious about toys because of heavy competition, but the early response changed the company’s thinking.

That is an important detail because it shows the revived Zellers is not just rebuilding the past. The new owners are adjusting the assortment based on customer behaviour, which could help the brand avoid becoming a short-lived novelty. The company’s relaunch plan has described Zellers as a smaller, modern department store concept with a curated mix of apparel, home and seasonal goods. More details on the official store concept were outlined in the company’s announcement through Newswire.

For Windsor, the return has a local memory attached to it. Zellers previously operated at Tecumseh Mall before closing in early 2013, when most remaining locations disappeared after Hudson’s Bay sold many leases to Target. Target’s Canadian expansion began in 2013 but ended in 2015, leaving Zellers as one of the most recognizable casualties of a turbulent period in Canadian retail.

The latest version of Zellers is now owned by Les Ailes de la Mode, a company controlled by the Benitah family. The family also operates Fairweather, International Clothiers and home retailer Wyrth. Les Ailes de la Mode acquired the Zellers trademarks in August 2025, months after Hudson’s Bay filed for creditor protection in March 2025.

Zellers’ history stretches back to 1928, when Walter Philip Zeller opened the first store. The brand changed hands several times, eventually becoming part of Hudson’s Bay and growing into a familiar discount department store chain across Canada. Most stores closed in 2013, the final outlets shut in 2020, and Hudson’s Bay later tried a smaller pop-up revival in 2023 before the trademarks moved to new ownership.

The timing of this expansion is notable because many familiar retailers are shrinking rather than growing. Store closures and creditor protection filings have become a recurring theme across the sector, including cases such as Warehouse One and Bootlegger’s planned store closures across Canada. Against that backdrop, Zellers is making the opposite bet by opening new locations and leaning on a mix of value shopping, brand recognition and carefully selected mall sites.

The company also plans to include nostalgic in-store moments and surprises tied to the Zellers legacy. That may help bring shoppers through the doors, especially those who remember Club Z points, Zeddy and the chain’s long presence in Canadian malls. But the real test will come after the opening crowds fade.

If Toronto and Windsor can deliver steady traffic, Zellers may have a stronger case for national expansion. If shoppers treat the stores as a one-time memory trip, the revival could face the same problem many legacy brands encounter: affection does not always turn into repeat spending.

For now, Ontario gives Zellers its most important stage yet. The brand has survived ownership changes, closures and multiple revival attempts. Its next challenge is proving that a nearly 100-year-old Canadian retail name can still compete in today’s value-shopping market.

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