Discount shoppers will lose one of their local destinations on Nov. 12, when Zellers closes its Bower Place Shopping Centre store.
However, relief is expected next spring with the scheduled opening of Target in the same space.
Target Corp. struck a deal in January 2011 with Zellers Inc., a subsidiary of the Hudson’s Bay Co., to purchase Zellers’ lease interests in 189 commercial sites. The American retail giant made the move to jump into the Canadian market, and has since confirmed plans to open 125 to 135 stores here.
Target has now indicated that Red Deer will be among the first Canadian communities it lands in. It included the city on a list of 48 sites it expects to open by next spring, with 11 in Alberta, 10 in British Columbia, three in Manitoba and 24 in Ontario. Additional store openings are scheduled for the summer, fall and winter of 2013, with more planned for 2014 and beyond.
Minneapolis-based Target said each site will be closed for six to nine months while renovations occur. More than $10 million is expected to be spent at each location.
Tiffany Bourré, external communications manager with Hudson’s Bay, said Zellers’ November closure date will be preceded by a stock liquidation. “Typically, liquidations start about 12 weeks out.”
Bourré said Hudson’s Bay does not disclose the number of staff who work at its stores. But the average is about 100, she said.
Target said it will employ between 150 and 200 people at each store and is already hiring managers. Recruitment of hourly staff is expected to occur late this year and early in 2013.
Target has 1,764 stores across the United States.
Zellers currently operates at about 280 locations in Canada.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com