Canadian department store Zellers is hoping to make a comeback next year, a decade after the discount chain closed most of its locations.
Hudson’s Bay Co.  said Zellers will debut a new e-commerce site and expand its footprint to select Hudson’s Bay department stores across the country in early 2023.
The company said the relaunched Zellers will offer “a digital-first shopping journey that taps into brand nostalgia.”
Zellers’ return comes as rising inflation is driving consumers to discount retailers in search of lower prices and stiff competition from existing stores such as Walmart, Dollarama and Giant Tiger.
It also comes amid an ongoing lawsuit over the use of the Zellers brand by a Quebec family.
The Moniz family is behind several recent trademark applications and corporate registrations, including Zellers Inc., Zellers Convenience Store Inc.  and Zellers Restaurant Inc.
In a statement of claim filed last fall, HBC accused the Moniz family of trademark infringement, understatement of goodwill and so-called passing off — misleading marketing or counterfeiting of goods.
Retail analyst Bruce Winter said Zellers’ reintroduction likely stems in part from the lawsuit.
“It’s probably related to the legal issue with trademarks,” he said.  “For Zellers to really say, ‘This is ours,’ they have to show that they’re using it.”
Zellers will face an uphill battle from established competitors in the discount retail market, he said.
“It could be a niche opportunity and I hope it works, but I just don’t see it making a successful comeback en masse.”
Zellers department store was founded in 1931 and acquired by HBC in 1978.
It operated as the discount department of the iconic Hudson’s Bay department stores, with the slogan “Where the lowest price is the law”.
The store peaked at about 350 locations in the late 1990s before losing ground to larger competitors such as Walmart.
In 2011, HBC announced plans to sell most of its remaining Zellers leases to Target Corp., closing most stores by 2013.
The retailer has kept a handful of Zellers locations open as clearance locations through 2020.
The company recently launched Zellers pop-up stores inside Hudson’s Bay Department Stores in Burlington, Ont.  and in Anjou of Que.