A Zellers store opening at Edmonton’s Londonderry Mall has helped Leyad lease 82.7% of vacated former Hudson’s Bay stores in its malls across Canada.

Leyad released data Monday that shows the Zellers location at Londonderry accounts for a sizable portion of the total former Bay-occupied spaces now under lease to new tenants. Altogether, has leased 323,000 square feet of former Bay stores at malls within its portfolio. Leyad said previously that the Zellers store, which quietly opened at Londonderry in August 2025, comprises 60,000 sf.

The former Bay spaces were leased less than a year after the once iconic department-store chain went out of business.

“New tenancy will include a blend of grocery anchors, necessity-based retailers, and experiential uses, aligned with long-term traffic generation and community needs,” said Zellers.

All Bay stores and Saks Fifth Avenue outlets closed June 1, 2025. The company continues to go through creditor-protection and receivership proceedings in Ontario.

The opening in Edmonton has brought the dormant Zellers chain back to life. Quebec-based discount retailer Les Ailes de la Mode now owns the Zellers brand, and the Edmonton store is the first location in what Ailes hopes will be a revived national chain.

Ailes recently announced plans to expand Zellers across Canada in a bid to rekindle its heydays of decades ago. As a result, Ailes is attempting to revive the chain in other former Bay locations in the company’s home province and Ontario.

Oxford Properties has asked the Superior Court of Ontario to block a proposed Zellers lease at Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre on grounds the proposed store would be too downmarket for the mall’s luxury motif. Oxford contends that it also stands to lose millions of dollars of a Bay-RioCan REIT joint-venture succeeds in assigning the lease to Ailes. The JV is currently going through receivership proceedings.

Over the past year, Leyad has leased 600,000 sf space as part of 102 separate transactions.

Leyad said the completed lease deals reflect a deliberate strategy that challenges traditional retail assumptions and embraces the evolving role of shopping centres as multi-purpose community hubs.

“Retail today is not a single category; it’s a mix of necessity, service, experience, and community,” said Henry Zavriyev, CEO of Leyad. “Our leasing strategy reflects that reality.”

Meanwhile, Leyad’s newly released data shows that Prairie provinces are playing a large role in the firm’s strong leasing activity and overall growth. The company currently owns 631,000 sf of retail space in the secondary market of Prince Albert, Sask., alone.

Leyad purchased the 631,000-sf Cornerstone power centre in Prince Albert in 2024, indicating that it plans to expand the property.

The company owns retail assets across seven provinces: Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The properties’ grocery-store tenants, including Loblaws, Sobeys and Metro, now account for nearly 10% of Leyad’s retail portfolio.

Among other 2025 highlights, Leyad sold a retail site in Quebec City to Costco for an undisclosed price.

Recently, the launched a new centralized digital platform showcasing its national shopping-centre portfolio, Shopping.Leyad.ca.

While releasing the data on Monday, Leyad also announced that Matthew Peris as vice-president of operations. He moved to Leyad from Westcliff, where he spent about 12 years and most recently served as vice-president of the company’s commercial real estate operations.

Leyad also hired Katy Sedaghatian as vice-president of accounting. She joined Leyad from BTB REIT, having filled several account roles during a 12-year tenure there.

Pictured: Zellers mascot Zeddy at the Zellers store at Londonderry Mall in Edmonton

Photo: CNW Group/Zellers