The last two remaining locations of discount retailer Zellers will shutter its doors early next year, says Hudson’s Bay Co. The retailer expects to close the Toronto and Ottawa locations in January 2020. The Zeller’s in the East York Town Centre closed in 2012 followed by the disastrous Target adventure in Canada.
This story was posted first in 2011: The Hudson Bay company has provided a nice history of Zeller’s, the store chain which seems destined to disappear from Canadian streets after 80 years of business. Even though there is a plan to keep some Zeller’s stores operating, the writing seems to be on the wall about the end of the chain. Target stores of the US has bought most of the leases and it seems likely the rest will go shortly. In 1931, a Waterloo County boy named Walter P. Zeller (left) bought the 14 Canadian stores of American retailer Schulte-United. And so was Zeller’s born. Zeller called his concept the Store for Thrifty Canadians and even during the depression his plan worked. All during WWII and into the 50s and 60s the Zeller’s concept thrived and Zeller expanded, And Zeller proved to be a good employer which was unknown at the time, offering a company pension plan and competitive pay.
