BY KEITH LACEY
After months of negotiations, Sudbury?s downtown mall has signed a new deal with Hart Stores Inc. to occupy 45,000 square feet, replacing much of the space left after Zellers closed shop 11 months ago.
The new store will be opening in early August, just in time for back-to-school specials.
?It?s taken a lot of work, but we just finished signing the deal and all the paperwork is finished and Hart will be opening in early August,? said Rainbow Outlet Mall general manager Ray Hirani.
A Hart Store opened last month in the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre. A Hart store will be opening a new store in Espanola in the fall as well.
The Rainbow mall location is the fourth in Ontario for the Quebec-based retail outlet giant.
Hart Stores now owns and operates 68 mid-size department stores under the Hart, Bargain Giant and Genat des Aubaines banners.
Hart Stores are usually located in smaller cities and towns throughout Quebec and Eastern Canada, but downtown Sudbury is considered a primary market and signals a new direction for the company, said Hirani.
Since Zellers closed, there has been a strong demand by consumers for a large retail outlet to move into that space, said Hirani.
?One of our main goals was to get a strong retail anchor to replace Zellers and we?ve done that,? he said. ?All of our other tenants are very excited
about this deal.
?The opening of this store will provide a lot of people downtown with more choices.?
The store will offer ?one-stop shopping? with a vast array of merchandise.
The store will offer national and exclusive fashion apparel brands as well as family footwear and many lines of home furnishings, bedding, linens, giftware, toys and seasonal merchandise.
