Zellers pop-up returns to Langley’s Willowbrook Mall

Zellers will return to Langley this summer – sort of.

Langley’s Hudson’s Bay store will be one of 21 locations across the country where Zellers pop-up stores will open by Aug. 11, HBC announced on July 18.

The pop-ups will be within the existing Bay stores, and will vary in size, from 1,000 square feet to 2,800 square feet depending on location.

The pop-ups are described as “strategic market tests” to determine if future permanent Zellers locations will be opened. The permanent Zellers stores, still withing Hudson’s Bay outlets, range from 8,000 to 10,000 square feet.

“Pop-ups are a key ingredient in our expansion strategy, allowing us to explore and test in new markets, gather valuable customer insights, and fine-tune our offering before establishing larger format store locations,” said Sophia Hwang-Judiesch, president of Hudson’s Bay.

READ ALSO: Hudson’s Bay Company unveils 25 Zellers locations to open inside select stores

The Bay announced last year it was resurrecting the discount retailer, which closed almost all of its outlets across the country in 2013, when a large number of its stores, including the one in Langley’s Willowbrook Mall, were bought in a deal with Target.

Target expanded into the old Zellers locations, but failed spectacularly, and its Canadian arm going into financial restructuring and shuttering all its stores less just two years later.

In addition to the Langley pop-up Zellers, pop-ups were announced for Victoria, Nanaimo, Penticton, and Prince George in B.C.