I Got A Sneak Peek At The New Zellers & It's Not At All What I Expected (PHOTOS)

The decor

As someone whose memories of Zellers are a bit more on the "senior citizens shambling down dusty aisles" side of things, I was really surprised with the quality of the new space.

It was sleek and modern, but also with a few nostalgic touches like the Zellers logo and murals of the iconic mascot, Zeddy.

And while it was, functionally, just a section of an existing Bay store, it did feel well-organized and actually pretty big.

The products were arranged nicely, and it sort of felt like something between an IKEA and a HomeSense.

The products

The products on offer at the new Zellers were among the biggest surprises for me.

Zellers is introducing a new-to-Canada brand called Anko that will be exclusive to them.

This is my first introduction to the brand, but to my understanding, it's already particularly popular in Australia.

Nearly every single product in the new Zellers was from Anko, asides from some brand-name items like coffee machines and vacuums.

On first look, a lot of the Anko items looked modern and stylish, almost like something you'd get at IKEA or even a more expensive store.

Looking at each item further, it was clear a lot of the items were very affordably priced on top of being well-designed and, from what I could see, pretty good quality.

Growing up, Zellers was synonymous with cheap and crappy for me, but this new exclusive brand might be about to change that.

The prices

Going into the new Zellers, I really wasn't sure if it was going to be a larky nostalgia trip or an actual relaunch of their original store with the "lowest price is the law" ethos.

And it was definitely the latter.

I found a lot of the products were priced reasonably and pretty much all of the Anko items had affordable price tags.

You could get massive coffee tables for only $90, packs of utensils for $3, kids' clothes for $10, cabinets and furniture for less than $200 — the list goes on and on.

There were tons of cheap products in sections like pet, kids, decor, kitchen, appliances and much more, and I was really, truly surprised by how little everything cost.

Overall experience

Walking into Zellers, I really wasn't sure what to expect.

However, I was greeted with what I imagine Zellers could look have looked like today had history been a bit kinder to it. Or, maybe what Target could have been had that worked out in the Great White North.

It was gleaming with just the right touches of red and nostalgic signifiers without feeling like a pop-up made for getting Instagram engagement.

Walking through, I was surprised by how much there was available, and how affordably the products were priced.

It's the sort of place I could see people hitting up when they move into a new apartment to get some cheap essentials or for anyone looking for a deal on homeware and decor.

Ultimately, it was a cool experience to relive the Zellers life, even if it can't top the time I bought Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island for the Game Boy Advance in 2003 — but what can really exceed those hazy nostalgia-smoked memories?