Zellers<\/a> announced its return to Canada. On June 18, it opened its new 25,000-square-foot location in North York at 80 Orfus Rd.<\/p>\n\u201cFollowing the incredible response we saw in Edmonton, we\u2019re excited to bring Zellers back to Ontario in a meaningful way,\u201d Joey Benitah, Chief Operating Officer of Zellers, said. \u201cCustomer feedback has been instrumental in shaping our evolution \u2013 from what categories resonate most to how we deliver value and discovery in-store. Sales have been strong, engagement has exceeded expectations, and we\u2019re just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new location has expanded in home and lifestyle, toys, seasonal and specialty, and food, snacks and specialty grocery.<\/p>\n
\u2018I remember the smell\u2019: Torontonians share how they feel about Zellers returning<\/p>\n
For Gen Z Toronto resident Lucas L., he was too young to recall much, but of what he does remember, he has a fond memory of Zellers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst thing I think of is childhood memories, and red. I remember the sign was red, it was a cool sign,\u201d he told Now Toronto.<\/p>\n
He can vividly remember the smell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know exactly what it smells like. I can\u2019t describe it, but I remember the smell,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n
Though he\u2019s hyped for Zellers\u2019 return, Lucas prefers Sears.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember much more about Sears. It\u2019s really counterproductive. One is red, one is blue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But one Canadian store he wants to bring back is Spicy Chicken House in Scarborough\u2019s Parkwoods Village Drive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had the best Americanized Chinese mall food of all time. The best sweet chilli chicken. If I had the power today, I would bring that place back,\u201d Lucas said.<\/p>\n
A trip back to childhood<\/p>\n
For Gen X shopper Adam E., Zellers brings back memories of Club Z, the retailer\u2019s popular loyalty program.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s excited to see what they\u2019ve got, and loves to support Zellers over Sears for \u201cseeming a little bit more Canadian,\u201d he said. \u201cThey use red in the logo.\u201d<\/p>\n
For him, \u201cnothing beats nostalgia\u2026 Just being a kid and going in there and going to the toy section,\u201d those were his fondest memories of the store.<\/p>\n
Nicole S. is just as hyped for Zellers\u2019 return.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of feels nostalgic, it\u2019s like Kmart or Biway\u2026 Everything we remember from when we were younger,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Nicole has loved Zellers for several years and is interested in seeing if it lives up to the expectations. She\u2019s always been team Zellers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really had an affiliation with Sears growing up, but Zellers always had a positive vibe, and that\u2019s where my family always went,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Her favourite memory is also buying toys at Zellers.<\/p>\n
More than a store<\/p>\n
The excitement surrounding the reopening highlights something larger than retail.<\/p>\n
For many Canadians, stores like Zellers, Sears, Byway and Honest Ed\u2019s weren\u2019t simply places to shop. They were landmarks of childhood and community life.<\/p>\n
That nostalgia appears to be playing a major role in the retailer\u2019s comeback.<\/p>\n
\u201cCustomer feedback has been instrumental in shaping our evolution,\u201d Zellers chief operating officer Joey Benitah said when announcing the Toronto location.<\/p>\n
The company says customer response has exceeded expectations since relaunching physical stores.<\/p>\n
Whether the new Zellers can compete in a retail landscape dominated by Amazon, Walmart and Costco remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
But if early reactions are any indication, the retailer has already succeeded in one area \u2013 it\u2019s brought back memories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What to know Zellers returned to Toronto with a 25,000 sq. ft. store at 80 Orfus Rd. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17,3542,6381,48,36291],"class_list":["post-99217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-canada","tag-north-york","tag-nostalgia","tag-toronto","tag-zellers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}