Target moving into Maritimes
Four Target stores will come to the Maritimes when the company formally takes over from Zellers early in 2013.
The Zellers locations at the Bedford Place Mall in Bedford, N.S., Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth, N.S., McAllister Place in Saint John, N.B. and the Charlottetown Mall in P.E.I. are part of the first 105 Canadian locations for Target, Target Canada president Tony Fisher announced Thursday.
The company announced in January that it would purchase as many as 220 leaseholds from a U.S. investor who owns the Hudson's Bay Co. assets.
Amy Reilly, a spokeswoman for Target, told CBC News on Thursday that the company will announce a second wave of store sites in September.
"This was just our first wave. We have until the fall to complete the transactions. So this was just the first selection of sites," she said.
"We're going to continue to select sites between now and September."
Chris Keillor, the general manager for Mic Mac Mall, said the mall couldn't be happier to be caught in the crossfire of the corporate takeover.
"They offer such a wide variety of retail goods and fashion accessories and fashion itself, so it's exciting for that aspect of the retail environment," he told CBC News.
Maritime Target locations
- Bedford Place Mall – Bedford, N.S.
- Mic Mac Mall – Dartmouth, N.S.
- McAllister Place – Saint John, N.B.
- Charlottetown Mall – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
Some Zellers employees say it will be anxious times for them until the conversion to Target stores happens in 2013.
"I am worried, I'm very worried," said Hope Gray, a 60-year-old woman who has worked at Zellers for the past decade.
"We'll get laid off and then have to reapply. Hopefully my hard work will come into play and they'll hire me back, but we have to reapply for Target."
The future is up in the air for the remaining 11 Zellers stores in Nova Scotia, 10 in New Brunswick and the Zellers store in Summerside, P.E.I.