The Zellers store in Port Alberni is staying a Zellers store and is staying put, a corporate headquarters official said Wednesday.
“The Port Alberni Zellers store leasehold was not acquired by Target. It remains a Zellers store,” said Tiffany Bourré, external communications manager for the Hudson Bay Company.
In January Minneapolis-based Target Corp. purchased leaseholds on 189 Zellers stores from the Hudson’s Bay Company for $1.8 billion.
Target chose 105 locations in 10 Canadian provinces to become Target stores, including 15 in B.C.
On the Island, stores in Campbell River, Courtenay, Nanaimo and Victoria are converting to Target stores.
Target finished cherry-picking Zellers stores earlier this fall. The process is now complete and no further stores will be acquired.
Although Port Alberni wasn’t among the stores picked by Target, the Third Avenue location remains open for business for the foreesable future.
“The store is not scheduled to close; it is operating business as usual,” Bourré said. “No move is planned.”
reporter@albernivalleynews.com