Shopping centre owner Leyad has announced iconic Canadian retailer Zellers is returning to the country’s retail landscape, with its first location to open Friday in the former Hudson's Bay store at the Londonderry Mall in North Edmonton.

The new Zellers location will occupy approximately 60,000 square feet in the first floor of the former Hudson's Bay space, which was vacated earlier this summer when the retailer went into receivership. The second floor will remain vacant at this point.

In an interview with RENX, Leyad CEO Henry Zavriyev said the owner of the Zellers is a Canadian retailer, but could not divulge the identity due to confidentiality restrictions.

“It’s a very well-known operator that has other brands,” he said.

He was waxing poetic on the return of the almost century-old brand, which had its last iteration as small pop-ups within Hudson's Bay stores in recent years as that company tried to prop up its sagging fortunes.

“I think it’s great news. I think it was very sad to see HBC go because they were the oldest retailer in Canada, and held a lot of nostalgia for Canadian consumers,” Zavriyev said. “But I think it’s a really great time in the (retail) market and this wouldn’t be opening if the demand for it to come back wasn’t there.”

Leyad is a Montreal-based retail owner and operator with holdings across several commercial real estate sectors. The company has been aggressively expanding in the past couple of years, with a particular focus on the retail sector.

"We are thrilled to bring back a beloved Canadian brand that stirs up nostalgic memories for many of our shoppers, while providing an opportunity to introduce Zellers to a new generation," Zavriyev said in the announcement. "This announcement represents a bold step forward in reimagining retail space and responding to community demand with purpose and vision."

Leyad has three former HBC spaces

Leyad is the first major retail owner to secure and announce a tenant for one of the former Hudson’s Bay spaces.

“We have three HBC spaces and we’ve had a lot of interest from different types of retailers,” he said. “We thought Zellers in particular would do well (at Londonderry). There were other options but we leaned towards them because of Canadian nostalgia and we do think Canadian consumers will come out in droves to support the brand.”

Zavriyev said Leyad’s other two former Hudson’s Bay stores are also in demand from potential new tenants, but said they are not slated to become Zellers outlets.

“We have inked deals and there will be other retailers backfilling them,” Zavriyev said, though he is not yet ready to announce any of the tenants. “Retailers are still hungry to take up vacant space because there really isn’t that much of it available.”

He told RENX preparation for the new Zellers store began about a month ago, so this weekend’s opening will represent a “soft launch” for the brand and the location.

The Zellers store and Londonderry Mall

The newly reimagined Zellers store will offer a range of clothing lines for women, men and youth, alongside contemporary home décor — blending the brand's heritage with modern design and value-driven offerings.

Zavriyev said there is still work to be done to complete the transition to Zellers: “It’s a really fast turnaround for store of that size.”

Zellers was founded in 1931 by Walter P. Zeller and had grown over the years to approximately 350 outlets by 1999. It was acquired by HBC in 1978, then most of the chain was sold to U.S.-based Target in 2013 and became part of the company's short-lived expansion into Canada. A few HBC-owned Zellers liquidation stores hung on as late as 2020 before closing. 

Londonderry Mall is among Leyad's largest retail holdings. The 780,000-square-foot shopping centre underwent a $130 million renovation in 2017.

The extensive redevelopment included modernized common areas, enhanced entrances, upgraded interior finishes and the introduction of major anchor tenants including Simons, No Frills, Shoppers Drug Mart, Service Canada and Winners.