Zellers returned to the Canadian retail scene in March with a new shop-in-shop format in The Bay locations across Canada, but a few days after the brand’s much-heralded revival, it kind of feels like the euphoria is a disappointment given way
At malls like Erin Mills Town Center and Scarborough Town Center, people formed long lines to feed their nostalgia for the defunct department store “where lowest price is the law,” though some say the well-known Zellers -Slogan no longer applies to the revived iteration of the brand.
Zellers is back Toronto! Here’s a first look at their Scarborough city center location, which will open to the public on March 23rd 🛍️ – 🎥 @FareenKarim #Toronto #Zellers pic.twitter.com/KNCeV4cnVF
— blogTO (@blogTO) March 22, 2023
blogTO reader Matthew Rozak vented his frustration via email, explaining that he thinks “the Zellers’ prices are way too high.”
He sends links explaining that a chair is listed for $175 on Zellers’ website, but Kmart Australia’s website appears to be listing the exact same chair for $79, which translates to about $71.
Both products appear to be virtually identical and are both sold under the same “upholstered wooden chair” name. The only noticeable difference is the roughly $100 price difference.
@zellers when are you going to adjust Anko prices to match Kmart Australia prices where you source the products from?
— Matthew Rozak (@vnztccb4mn1) March 27, 2023
“Zeller’s reopening was more of a Kmart expansion into Canada than a Zellers revival,” enthuses Rozak. “Is this going to be another failure of Target Canada as they are already way too expensive compared to where they came from?” he asks.
This lady said it was Zeller with Hudson’s Bay prices. That’s a lie. It’s Hudson’s Bay with a Zellers sticker😂
— true🦋 (@honeygirltru) March 26, 2023
Like any botched reboot of your favorite childhood movies, the revival doesn’t quite live up to the nostalgia of some buyers. Some were disappointed to learn that the department store – despite having been known for months – was only returning in a limited format.
I feel so betrayed. I thought we were getting a real Zellers store 😭
— 🧚🏽♀️ (@rumhoneyy) March 27, 2023
Underwhelmed customers seemed to appear out of curiosity and nostalgia rather than an actual need to purchase goods.
@Jax_Dream If you needed an update on Zellers, it happened in my group chat when you were friends: pic.twitter.com/dm7xtM4WC3
— Tisha Raj (@tish_A_tish) March 27, 2023
Others expressed only general, non-specific disappointment at the Zellers’ revival.
Zeller’s experience at stc was like a 4/10
— • ℳ • (@Miriam_0598) March 27, 2023
Even the much-heralded return of Zellers’ food (but served in food trucks instead of the in-store restaurants you fondly remember) fell flat for some.
Zellers Canada – Waited 2 hours at the food truck. Then the staff laughed as the food ran out hours before the end of the meal
— Board Picture (@BoardPicture) March 27, 2023
Food trucks running out of food were not an isolated case, and even Zellers’ official account shared photos of locked trucks.
Thank you Kingstone! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/j3hLQwswx0
— Zellers (@zellers) March 25, 2023
Love it, hate it or be completely lukewarm about it, Zellers is now back in business across Canada.