BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Canadian retail chain Zellers marked its official comeback on Thursday, opening a dozen stores in Ontario and Alberta and launching a new website.
The return of the discount department store comes amid a wave of nostalgia for the brand and growing demand for affordable goods as inflation pushes up the cost of living.
The company plans to open 25 locations across Canada within Hudson's Bay department stores, Hudson's Bay Co. spokeswoman Tiffany Bourre said.
The additional store openings will be phased in over time, and the retailer isn't ruling out the potential for stand-alone locations, she said.
The 10,000-square-foot Zellers stores feature an assortment of products, including clothing, toys and home and living items, under the company's in-house brand name Anko.
The private-label products are exclusive to Zellers within Canada, with no crossover between Hudson's Bay and Zellers stores, Bourre said.
Gillian Alleyne stopped into the Zellers at the Hudson's Bay at Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto during her lunch hour on Thursday.
"I work close to here and I came in to see the prices and the quality of the products," she said in an interview. "It looks a little more like a high-end Zellers compared to what I remember. It's appealing to the eye."
Although she went to Zellers to browse, Alleyne said the products looked "enticing" and made her want to open her wallet.
""It makes me want to spend a little more money than I expected," she said.
The products and displays look like a blend between Ikea and Walmart, Alleyne said.
"It looks nice but the prices are still reasonable," she said. "Bath mats are about $10. It's really affordable."
The company has also launched a Zellers e-commerce website.
All items both online and in-stores feature so-called rounded pricing, so for example $5 rather than $4.99 or $5.49.
It's about offering customers a "simplified and easy" shopping experience with reasonable prices for quality goods, Bourre said.
The relaunch of Zellers comes a decade after it closed most of its locations.
It also comes at a time when Canadians are seeking relief from the highest inflation in nearly 40 years, offering more competition in a discount market largely dominated by Walmart, Giant Tiger and Dollarama.
The resurrection of the retailer also taps into the nostalgia for the Zellers brand, evoking fond memories for some of meals at its diner and Zeddy, its teddy bear mascot.
While the footprint of the new Zellers stores -- within the existing Hudson's Bay department stores -- does not accommodate a restaurant, the company will have food trucks at some locations offering the top menu items.
The five menu items are the big "Z" burger, hot chicken sandwich, grilled cheese, chicken fingers and fries with gravy.
The chain's Zeddy mascot -- which arguably elicited some of the greatest sentimentality among some former shoppers -- is expected to make a return soon, Bourre said.
The mascot was adopted by a charity after Zellers wound down operations, she said.
"Zeddy has been in active service since Zellers closed," she said. "He's working hard in the background."
The store is hoping to bring Zeddy back into stores soon with a charity component, Bourre said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.